Synopses & Reviews
It is the 147th century.In the radically advanced post-human worlds of the Amaranthine Firmament, there is a contender to the Immortal throne: Aaron the Long-Life, the Pretender, a man who is not quite a man.
In the barbarous hominid kingdoms of the Prism Investiture, where life is short, cheap, and dangerous, an invention is born that will become the Firmaments most closely kept secret.
Lycaste, a lovesick recluse outcast for an unspeakable crime, must journey through the Provinces, braving the grotesques of an ancient, decadent world to find his salvation.
Sotiris, grieving the loss of his sister and awaiting the madness of old age, must relive his twelve thousand years of life to stop the man determined to become Emperor.
Ghaldezuel, knight of the stars, must plunder the rarest treasure in the Firmamentthe object the Pretender will stop at nothing to obtain.
From medieval Prague to a lonely Mediterranean cove, and eventually far into the strange vastness of distant worlds, The Promise of the Child is a debut novel of gripping action and astounding ambition unfolding over hundreds of thousands of years, marking the arrival of a brilliant new talent in science fiction.
Review
"Humming with energy, this is space opera like you've never seen it before. Absolutely brilliant."
Adam Roberts, author of Salt and Jack Glass
Review
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE PROMISE OF THE CHILDOne of the most ambitious and epic-scale pieces of worldbuilding Ive read. Reading The Promise of the Child, you feel youre in the presence of an author at the height of his powers. If this is what Toner is like when hes just getting started, I think we can expect great things from him. Utterly absorbing; a tremendous adventure.”
Karl Schroeder, author of Lockstep and Sun of Suns
Bold and intense from start to finish, The Promise of the Child is a master-class in innovative, evocative world-building. The entire book buzzes with imagination.”
Michael J. Martinez, author of The Daedalus Incident
An amazing debuta colorful space opera in the post-human tradition of Iain M. Banks, combined with the razor-sharp plotting of Alastair Reynolds. It left me feverish with delight.”
Loren Rhoads, author of The Dangerous Type
Humming with energy, this is space opera like you've never seen it before. Absolutely brilliant.”
Adam Roberts, author of Salt and Jack Glass
A gorgeously-written, wildly imaginative book. Its like no space opera Ive ever readcompelling and addictive.”
Will McIntosh, Hugo-award winning author of Soft Apocalypse and Defenders
An amazing debut. Intriguing, disorientating. Like Hannu Rajaniemis The Quantum Thief or Moorcocks Dancers At The End OF Time, it's told with the heightened vibrancy of a fable, and the melancholic sense of age and decadence so prevalent in Jack Vances Emphyrio.”
Gareth Powell, BSFA Award-winning author of Ack-Ack Macaque
A dizzying mash-up of science fiction and fantasy themes that are both mystifying and entertaining. . .will appeal to readers who enjoy the offbeat end of far-future sf. This is the kind of novel that could develop a cult following.”
Booklist Reviews
Ambitious. . .The several 147th-century cultures on display are fascinating. . .The pace picks up as the tale moves toward its end, but this is the kind of book that will most appeal to cerebral readers who can appreciate its characters many verbal interactions.”
Publisher's Weekly
Synopsis
To call The Promise of the Child one of the most accomplished debuts of 2015 so far is to understate its weightinstead, let me moot that it is among the most significant works of science fiction released in recent years.
Tor.com
It is the 147th century.
In the radically advanced post-human worlds of the Amaranthine Firmament, there is a contender to the Immortal throne: Aaron the Long-Life, the Pretender, a man who is not quite a man.
In the barbarous hominid kingdoms of the Prism Investiture, where life is short, cheap, and dangerous, an invention is born that will become the Firmament s most closely kept secret.
Lycaste, a lovesick recluse outcast for an unspeakable crime, must journey through the Provinces, braving the grotesques of an ancient, decadent world to find his salvation.
Sotiris, grieving the loss of his sister and awaiting the madness of old age, must relive his twelve thousand years of life to stop the man determined to become Emperor.
Ghaldezuel, knight of the stars, must plunder the rarest treasure in the Firmamentthe object the Pretender will stop at nothing to obtain.
From medieval Prague to a lonely Mediterranean cove, and eventually far into the strange vastness of distant worlds, The Promise of the Child is a debut novel of gripping action and astounding ambition unfolding over hundreds of thousands of years, marking the arrival of a brilliant new talent in science fiction.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
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Synopsis
Lycaste is a lovesick recluse living in a forgotten Mediterranean cove who is renowned throughout the distorted people of the Old World for his beauty. Sotiris Gianakos is a 12,000-year-old Cypriote grieving the loss of his sister, a principled man who will change Lycaste's life forever. Their stories, and others, become darkly entwined when Aaron the Longlifethe Usurper, a man who is not quite a manmakes a claim to the Amaranthine throne that threatens to throw the delicate political balance of the known galaxy into ruin.
The Promise of the Child is a stunning feat of imagination set against an epic backdrop ranging from 14th-century Prague, to a lonely cove near the Mediterranean Sea, to the 147th-century Amaranthine Firmament. Toner has crafted an intelligent space opera filled with gripping action and an emotional scale that is wonderfully intimate, a smart and compelling debut that calls to mind the best of Kim Stanley Robinson or M. John Harrison.
About the Author
Tom Toner was born in Somerset in 1986. After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from Loughborough University and the FHSH in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, he moved to Australia, teaching life drawing and working in an art gallery near Melbourne. Upon returning to England he completed his debut novel, The Promise of the Child. He currently lives in London.