A Parliament of Monsters - Paperback

by Gail Caress (Author)

Could Ireland spawn the beginning of the end? In 1999 the young Irish-American widow of a brilliant linguist stumbles into the center of a hellish scheme seeking to unite neo-Paganism with the ethereal domain of cyberspace. Claire O'Connell is wounded by grief and by infirmity, yet she must take her small and gifted son Patrick on a journey across countries, oceans and cultures, pursued and lured by ruthless enemies, betrayed by friends and helped by a mysterious man in black whose motives she cannot quite trust. Meanwhile the boy Patrick, with flashes of intuition and maturity beyond his years, is sought by influential powers in Ireland to help work their evil, yet protected like his ancient namesake for a mission of destiny. From South Carolina to Chicago and on to a convent in backwoods Tennessee, from Dublin to a final larger-than-life showdown in the West of Ireland, A Parliament of Monsters weaves a modern-day mythic tale in which ordinary individuals and storied nations struggle to find their ordained significance.This book reaches toward a broad, mostly college-educated audience, from college age to senior citizens who remember World War II, to men and women who love classic thrillers and those who appreciate intelligent fiction. Readers who question what's behind the scenes of current events, those who have questioned their faith or know someone who has, parents and adult children who've experienced generational struggles, those who have dealt with serious illness or loss, people who are attracted to the esoteric-codes and secret languages--and readers who love myth and math will all be drawn to this tale.

Author Biography

Gail Caress holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Bethel College in St. Paul, MN. She was also a Visiting Scholar Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame through the Jacques Maritain Center. She has spent some time working and studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. While co-directing Associates in Media, a nonprofit resource group for entertainment industry professionals, Gail worked with Women in Film and the Writers Guild Foundation. In L.A. she also led seminars and small groups for women in the media. She has been a high school choral director in Boston and a Catholic School Religion and Music Teacher in the Midwest and Northeast. She is also the mother of four grown children and lives with her husband on the North Shore of Boston.