When an oil rig drills too deep, it unleashes a torrent of nightmaresthe creatures of legend, always thought to be figments of our imagination, are now a very real threat to the survival of humankind. But when he kills a seven-foot-tall demon with an axe to the skull, Dave Hoopera booze-soaked, middle-aged oil-rig safety manageris transformed into an honest-to-god monster slayer.

John Birmingham is the British-born Australian author best known for his alternate history trilogies, Axis of Time and Without Warning. He also spent four years researching the history of Sydney for Leviathan: the Unauthorised Biography of Sydney, which won Australia's National Prize For Non-Fiction in 2002. He currently lives in Brisbane, Australia