Gloom Rising (Revisited)

Winston Reynold's mind-numbingly dull life gets turned upside down after finding a magical tome that bestows upon him magical powers, alchemical knowledge, and the ability to enter the Gloom--a dark reflection of reality, filled with arcane reagents and eerie, inhuman dangers. After learning that he is a Book Wielder--a small group of individuals seemingly chosen by Fate to wield the strange tomes--Winston is exposed to an alliance of Vampires, Werewolves, and Mages hiding underground and behind the scenes of human society. These Supernatural beings depend on Book Wielders to cross into the Gloom, because the key ingredients to many of their priceless potions (and alchemically-enhanced drugs) can be found within the unnerving dark dimension. Winston, a young man brimming with ambition, sets himself up with the Shadow Circle (the most powerful Supernatural gang on his home continent) to escape from his unbearably mediocre life. However, an 'interview' for the most prestigious Book Wielder position within the gang changes Winston's life in more ways than he could have ever imagined--for it isn't just Fate that has taken a special interest in him. All the while, Alice Eve--a stern, pious, and unflinching Inquisitor General--is dispatched to end the criminal corruption that plagues the modern-day world of Mydia. Alice is unaware, however, that there are much more than crooked government officials and drug-peddling syndicates to worry about in the shadows of her society... nor does she realise true the significance of a strange book that she can't seem to be rid of.