The Treasure Box

Widely acclaimed, hugely successful speculative-fiction author Orson Scott Card takes another step into the mainstream with an extremely chilling, vastly engaging novel that sets the notion of family values on its head and chronicles a man's transformation from hermit to hero.

When Quentin Fears was 10, his sister left this world, the victim of a car accident. Her death made him withdraw from this world too -- into books, away from people. By the time he reaches adulthood, Quentin has become a certifiable recluse, moving restlessly from town to town, investing the millions he's made as a software creator and avoiding companionship. It's odd but maybe inevitable that on a rare outing to a party he should meet his dream woman, Madeleine. She's witty and beautiful and as naive to the world's ways as he is, and they marry in a matter of weeks. Their relationship seems idyllic but for one thing -- Madeleine's multigenerational, cantankerous, eccentric family who all live in a rambling riverside mansion in upstate New York.

But poor family dynamics isn't all that's wrong with them. Beyond the squabbling, there's an ancient family secret to which Madeleine holds the key. Only Quentin can stop her from unleashing an ageless malevolence that will rule the world. But to do so, he must do what seems impossible -- step outside himself into the world he has avoided. He must learn friendship, trust, forgiveness and the courage to face down the ultimate evil. Joining Quentin in this epic confrontation is a splendidly quirky cast of heroes, villains and witches -- from a no-nonsense nurse with a dash of the romantic in her to a small-town sheriff whose affable exterior conceals a dangerous past to a 10-year-old girl named Roz whose malign powers are rivaled only by her smart mouth.

Treasure Box introduces the most spectacularly dysfunctional family in recent fiction and a singular hero whose only weapons against them are his mind and his heart. How Quentin defuses this volatile mixture of comedy and horror makes for a viscerally unsettling, poignant and appealing tale that's sure to draw the legions of fans Card has won in other genres and new fans as well.