The Phoenix and the mirror - Avram Davidson

Legend has it that Virgil, author of THE AENEID, was more than a mere poet. Legend has it that he was an adventurer, an alchemist - a magus.

Driven to do the bidding of Queen Cornelia of Carsus, who has taken hostage part of his soul, Virgil embarks upon an attempt to create a virgin speculum - a magic mirror - so that Cornelia can locate her kidnapped daughter.

Virgil's quest to assemble this artefact takes him across the ancient world to encounter powers and prophecies, gods and monsters - all the myths and legends of a time that never was. The time of Virgil Magus.