The Stranger

First published to wide acclaim in Russia in 1996, the intriguing first Labyrinths of Echo novel introduces readers to protagonist, narrator and pseudonymous author Max Frei. Max, a self-described classic loser, stays up all night and sleeps during the day. His erratic sleeping habits turn out to be a blessing when a dream brings him to Echo, an otherworldly city inhabited by magicians, where he is named the Nocturnal Representative of the Most Venerable Head of the Minor Secret Investigative Force. After training to shed his terrestrial habits, Max's investigative intuition quickly makes him one of the city's most revered—and feared—men, and soon he's taking on midget murderers and rescuing bewitched sea captains. Gannon's translation preserves the book's quintessentially Russian wit and makes it easily accessible to English-speaking fantasy mystery fans. (Apr.)
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"The whole effect is like a collaboration between Raymond Chandler and Gilbert and Sullivan-cheerfully noirish and disturbingly satirical." - Library Journal

"I've never looked forward to the publication of a book more than I did Max Frei's The Stranger...a fantastic book."-_January Magazine_

"_The Stranger_ is a hugely enjoyable mix of madcap mirth and fantastical adventure." -_California Literary Review_