On January 24, 2023, renown stage and television actor Armin Shimerman will release the final book of his historical trilogy, Illyria. Imbalance of Power will be released by Jumpmaster Press. The story continues in the world he created, occupied by familiar and fantastic characters of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
With the threat of further imprisonment held over him, Doctor John Dee must use all his talents to solve the mystery of who on Illyria is shepherding religious insurrectionists bent on overthrowing the Queen. Helped by his acolyte, Will Shakespeare, they investigate the court of Count Orsino, their chief suspect. Their mission brings them in contact with the witty characters of Toby Belch, Malvolio, Feste, and others in a fancifully imagined prequel to Twelfth Night. Together, in this exciting final story steeped in Elizabethan history, Dee and Shakespeare must manuever through a labyrinth of religious intolerance as they seek to protect Crown and Country.
Pub Date: January 24, 2023
Publisher: Jumpmaster Press
Softcover / Hardcover: 380 pages; $14.99
Genre: Historical Fiction
Jumpmaster Press: https://www.jumpmasterpress.com/illyriaseries
Book Excerpt
The gallows’ rope collapses his airway though he struggles gyrating, suffocating; there is no release from the grip on his throat or the endless falling—yet not falling. Flailing. There is no purchase, and nothing below him but immeasurable emptiness despite the hellish knowledge that the floor is inches away. In an inner realm of despair, Dr. John Dee’s soul concedes, I am dead. What is left of him shrinks itself inside his scholar’s robes squeezing all pain and horror into a single dust mote to be blown away. Then, for thirty seconds he does not exist. Not even his fear.
John Dee had expected nothingness or angels. Neithercome. There is a dull, far-off sound. After the certainty of his end, the dead man is conscious of being prone on his back. The grisly memories of his demise revisit him—a circle of points lead back to the same pointless point. Am I still part of the world? His senses tell him of the physicality of the floor beneath him. Buttocks, back, and legs supported, his feet no longer pedal for a perch like a crazed victim of St. Vitus’ dance. Not possible. This is a devilish trick! Struggling with resurrection, a rhyme fills his head,
If St. Vitus’ Day be rainy weather,
it shall rain for thirty days together.
With his windpipe pinioned, and the soft tissues of his throat as sharp as glass, John Dee is mindful that he can breathe. Endeavoring to do more of what has always been taken for granted, Dee gags on the swollen blockage in his windpipe. His chest wheezes, high-pitched and foreign, nonetheless he breathes; he is not suffocating.
About the Author
Website: https://www.arminshimerman.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShimermanArmin
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