The Quintessential World of Darkness

The Quintessential World of Darkness is an omnibus collection of five Classic World of Darkness novels, some new and some reprinted.

Like its predecessor, The Essential World of Darkness, this omnibus is a combination of new and reprinted novels drawn from the five core World of Darkness game lines (Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion and Changeling: The Dreaming). The Vampire book in this volume is specifically a Kindred of the East novel - the only fiction ever produced for that product line outside of sourcebooks for the storytelling game. The included Werewolf and Wraith novels included are both reprints of books that were previously published as stand-alone novels (The Silver Crown and Beyond the Shroud, respectively); additionally, the included Changeling story is not a full novel but is instead a new short story.

Summary
From the White Wolf catalog:
 * One world. Five visions.
 * The Quintessential World of Darkness.


 * The Lotus of Five Petals
 * Kevin Andrew Murphy (House of Secrets)
 * For the first time in fiction, the mysterious Kindred of the East are exposed to the horror-stricken gaze of the gaijin. A demon baby and its disbelieving Gi father, a beautiful, deadly lady who births white tiger cubs, a flamboyant penangallan whose greatest pair of falsies are known as Godzilla and Rodan - there is a pattern here, unseen by mortal eyes...


 * The Silver Crown
 * William Bridges (Werewolf: The Apocalypse)
 * Long exiled from the noble Silver Fang tribe, Lord Albrecht must journey through the Spirit World to reclaim the mythical heirloom of his people. Only the Silver Crown can keep them all from being swallowed up by the corruption of the Wyrm...


 * Mister Magick
 * Edo van Belkom (Wyrm Wolf, 1995 Stoker Award finalist)
 * What better place for a mage to hide than amidst the glitz and glitter of a Las Vegas magic show? But soon Romano Minardi must confront the scheming televangelist who drove the Great Rantiki to his death, and who would like nothing better than to see Romano follow his mentor to Hell...


 * Beyond the Shroud
 * Rick Hautala (Impulse)
 * David Robinson's life after death has taken a decided turn for the worse. His ex-wife's dangerous new boyfriend possesses - and is possessed by - a relic so filled with destructive powers that the dark forces of the afterlife will do anything to gain control over it - even destroy the soul of David's young daughter. Nothing, we learn, ends with death...


 * The Muse
 * Jody Lynn Nye (The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern)
 * Every artist needs a muse. But what if one's muse has an agenda of her own - to escape this world altogether? Does the artist help her, knowing she will take his inspiration with her, or does he listen to the pleas of the Seelie Host and bind her to this world? The answer is not what you might think...

Contents

 * The Lotus of Five Petals by Kevin Andrew Murphy (referred to as "The Five Petals of the Lotus" in the table of contents)
 * The Silver Crown by William Bridges
 * Mister Magick by Edo van Belkom
 * Beyond the Shroud by Rick Hautala
 * "The Muse" by Jody Lynn Nye