Overview

Set in Portugal during the opening years of the Second World War, Breath of the Adamastor follows three lives drawn together by secrecy, faith, and quiet acts of courage in a country balanced between neutrality and conflict. Canadian biologist Ardis Lowney arrives in Lisbon determined to pursue research on the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, even as war tightens its grip on Europe. Her work brings her south to Portugal's rugged coast, where scientific purpose coexists uneasily with political surveillance and unspoken danger. In the north, Carlos, a Catholic priest deeply shaped by the miracles of Fatima, accepts a church assignment that conceals its true intent amid the strategic importance of wolfram mining. Meanwhile, Xisco, a young stable hand, earns extra money collecting rocks for foreign buyers, unaware of the forces gathering around his rural village. As these characters move through intersecting moral landscapes and extraordinary circumstances, their choices unfold against a backdrop that brings wartime Portugal vividly to life. The Adamastor-an ancient sea monster from Portuguese literature whose presence echoes throughout the narrative-adds a symbolic dimension that deepens the novel's exploration of fate, awe, and the forces that shape human lives. This second edition of Breath of the Adamastor, newly titled and revised, is a literary historical novel concerned less with spectacle than with conscience, human connection, and the search for meaning in an uncertain world. This novel is for readers who want to immerse themselves in actual events with characters who have authentic and pressing concerns. Breath of the Adamastor illuminates a lesser-known front of World War II: Portugal's precarious neutrality and its shadow world of spies, refugees, and religious tensions. At the heart of the novel are individuals who never sought to influence world events, yet find themselves changed by them in profound and irreversible ways. Publisher's note: Breath of the Adamastor is the new title and second edition of A Life on Water (ISBN 978-1-7386433-2-5) first released in March 2023.

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9781738643387

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Reviews

""I'm a sucker for wartime shenanigans and science, so this was great for me, with spying and marine biology against the backdrop of WW2 Portugal, plus walk on parts for Ian Fleming and Kim Philby. ​The characters all came off the page. Pulling off multiple viewpoints and timelines is tricky but worked. The story weaves together a cast of characters as a nuanced way into the humanity and morality of the hard moral choices forced by wartime, more Graham Greene than James Bond, but more charm and warmth than either of them.""Matthew Hurst, Barrie, Ontario, formerly of Norwich, UK ""Set during the 1930s and 1940s in Portugal, A Life on Water is full of detail, complex characters, and really interesting factual info concerning the activities of neutral countries during the war, the involvement of the church, etc. that is not well known ... [and what] really stands out for me about your writing is how visual it is. You create a strong image of the time and place. It would make a fantastic Netflix series. The imagery is magical, especially of the village and religious events.""Suzanne Paleczny, Whitehorse, Yukon ""The characters are strong, the dialogue is well written and the story is excellent. The various storylines are built carefully and each is engaging. You feel that you know the characters. As they start to connect and weave together the overall effect is excellent.""Mark Skalin, Oshawa, Ontario

Author Information

Timothy Paleczny has published three works of fiction. Breath of the Adamastor (2026) is the reimagined second edition of A Life on Water, his debut novel that first appeared in 2023. A Bill to Pay, a play in two acts, appeared in 2024, and The Tale of Indigo, a book of poetry, appeared in 2022. From 1991 to 1997, Tim co-founded and led Blood & Aphorisms, Canada's bestselling fiction quarterly, according to the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association. While Tim raised a son and a daughter, he worked as a corporate writer. Over the years, he has enjoyed traveling to locations in his stories, particularly Portugal, Italy, Brazil, and Paraguay. He now lives in Barrie, Ontario.For more info, please visit his website ""This is the Life"" at cavalarico.com

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