From the acclaimed author of A Short History of a Small Place and Seaworthy comes a wholesale departure -- a comic/horror/romance/fantasy infested with both unsavory American politicians and venomous Venetian lizards. Awash in Pearson's singular wit, Red Scare tells the headlong story of a public school biology teacher and a National Gallery curator who join forces to thwart the dire consequences of a medieval Italian curse. This novel, though slender, is packed to overflowing with priapic senators, clueless teenagers, dubious art history, clumsy quasi-romantic repartee, garish worldwide bloodletting, corrosive humor, and enough malicious scuttling reptiles to keep you from ever planting your bare feet on a darkened floor again. We're pleased to offer Red Scare at a special thanks-for-your-ongoing-support price.