Sign of the Eight

wo messengers, six allies, one fight for survival! A gateway to a world of the past, of vanished names, hopes and dreams has opened in the depths of the Black Forest. Two messengers have come to our present from the immense sunken realms of time. Tristan is the messenger of doom. Martha is the messenger of preservation. They used to be lovers, now they are sworn enemies. They have come together to fight one final, decisive battle. But they cannot fight this fight alone. Both must win allies to fight by their side. Time is of the essence and there can only be a few - everything revolves around the eight, a mystical number that refers to infinity. Tristan and Martha must search the Black Forest to find six comrades-in-arms to join their fight. Ultimately, five fighters for doom and three fighters for preservation will face each other. And the battle of the eight will continue until only one of them is left and the fate of humanity is sealed. For many years Benjamin Lebert has been one of the most interesting literary voices in Germany. -Joachim Scholl, Deutschlandradio Kultur In short chapters with many changes of perspective, preliminary interpretations and cliff hangers, Benjamin Lebert creates a rapid narrative pace at which he seldom decelerates. Atmospherically dense, he describes uncanny encounters in the forest, and in a sometimes very poetic language he lets the reader participate in the emotional world of the protagonists. -Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Benjamin Lebert has published a total of seven novels since he was 16, including his debut, sensational bestseller Crazy, which was made into a feature film. The author is a founding member of the Lübeck literary meeting initiated by Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass (The Tin Drum). Benjamin Lebert grew up in Freiburg im Breisgau and has been familiar with the myths and legends of the Black Forest since childhood. He lives with his family in Hamburg, Germany.