A horror-fantasy hybrid, MOTHERLESS begins with: "A light in the valley below. Tiny as a star. Not especially bright, but bright enough for having cut through miles of city smog." As Exeter Kinion watches, the light expands. Expands until it is no longer a small point, but a clearly-defined circle of fire. And still it grows. When at last it fades, the hurricane of fire has destroyed a city and the million people who once called it home. Determined to find an explanation, determined that such a cataclysm never happen again, Exeter Kinion joins the imperial government's investigation. When his search is complete, he will wish he had left well enough alone....
