Cirrus@Austlit

Set in Melbourne in 1865, 'Rule Of The People' sees the city become home to a group of Olympian gods and semi-divines, such as Thetis, Vulcan and Proteus. More importantly, it has also become the home of Julia Branchester, a 900-year-old 'raptor', a mortal who has learned the knack of slaying vampyres and absorbing their essence to extend her own life. The gods fins themselves in trouble when Branchester forces from Proteus the secret of shapechanging - knowledge no mortal should possess. The immortals are also 'falling under the sway of Australia's egalitarian res publica, reducing the majesty of their divinity. One of the gods decides that something has to be done . . .'

[Source: Simon Brown. Aurealis: Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction 20/21 (1998)]