Gods and Pawns
by Kage Baker

Description:
In the Company, you're either a God or a Pawn, but sometimes you have to be both. These eight stories, reprinted for the first time in this collection, delve further into the history and exploits of the Company and its operatives, including Mendoza, Lewis, and Alec. The book opens with the novella, "To the Land Beyond the Sunset," starring Lewis and Mendoza, and involving a strange tribe in Bolivia whose members claim to be gods. Their ability to grow a small tropical paradise in the middle of the desert certainly seems godlike, and it's Mendoza's job to figure what their secret is. "Standing in His Light" features Van Drouten, and her role in the career of the artist Jan Vermeer. The story illustrates how, with a little help from the Company, lost masterpieces can be found (or created) easily. Other stories include"Bad Machine," where Alec explores some of the ramifications of being a teenaged genius who's too successful with girls. The original novelette, "Hellfire at Twilight," concludes the volume and tells of Lewis infiltrating the famous Hellfire Club in the England of the 18th century.