AustLit

'Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that's drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic's elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic's envoy is not what he seems, the Empire's delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can't, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone. None of these guests--invited or uninvited--have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world. But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they've never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.'

Source: NLA catalogue description (http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/37677099?q=fatal+alliance&c=book). Sighted: 1/9/2011

For centuries magicians have compiled grimoires to call up demons. In Victorian London, an ambitious warlock called Peter Owling designs a book to summon the Lord of Demons himself - Satan - and thereby achieve eternal life. But not even his beautiful young acolyte, Christian, grasps the full extent of his master's plans ...

In twentieth century Melbourne, a group meets in secret at Humberstone College, dedicated to reassembling Owling's book. But there are others meeting at Humberstone, too; three postgraduate students drawn to the College's mysterious past, its gloomy underground labrynth, and what they come to suspect are its current secrets. A beautiful young man appears to one of them in a mirror. He seems to carry a warning ... but can his dreadful story be true? (Publisher's blurb, back cover).