Synopses & Reviews
Jim Grimsleys previous science fiction novel, The Ordinary, was named one of the Top Ten science fiction books of the year by Booklist and won the Lambda Literary Award. His novels and short stories have been favorably compared to those of Ursula K. Le Guin, Jack Vance, and Samuel R. Delany. Now Grimsley returns to the richly complex milieu of The Ordinary with a gripping tale of magic, science, and an epic clash between godlike forces.
Three hundred years have passed since the Conquest, and the Great Mage rules over all of humanity, even as cybernetic links connect the varied worlds of the empire. Vast Gates allow travel from one planet to another, across unimaginable distances. Choirs of chanting priests maintain order, their songs subtly shaping reality, while the armies of the empire have known nothing but total victory for centuries.
But on the planet Aramen, where sentient trees keep human symbionts as slaves, a power has arisen that may rival that of the Great Mage himself. Hordes of unnatural creatures rampage across the planet, leaving death and destruction in their wake. An inhuman intelligence, cruel and implacable, meets the priests sung magic with a strange new music of its own. The Anilyn Gate is shut down, cutting off Aramen from the rest of humanity. The long era of peace is over.
Now a handful of traumatized survivors must venture deep into a hostile wilderness on a desperate mission to uncover the source of the enemys powers. And the future of the universe may depend on the untested abilities of one damaged child. . . .
Review
“Grimsleys yarn is fast paced and adventuresome, and features some interesting gods and their creatures as well as a fascinating, grand-scale dichotomy of magic and science.”—Booklist on The Last Green Tree
“Intricate, well-crafted. The inconclusive ending to this complex work of world-building and large-scale politics seasoned with gore and desperation will have readers anxiously awaiting the next installment.”—Publishers Weekly on The Last Green Tree
“One of the most exciting new voices in science fiction.”---Robert Silverberg
“Besides magic aplenty, there is a beautifully developed spirituality . . .that elegantly evokes a readers fascination and wonder.”---Booklist (starred review) on The Ordinary
“The Ordinary is an important novel. . . . Think of high-quality anthropological SF where antithetical societies meet, as in Le Guins The Left Hand of Darkness.”---Locus on The Ordinary
“In this thoughtful blend of science fiction and fantasy, Lambda Award winner Grimsley questions humanitys tendency to discount what it cant measure.”---Library Journal on The Ordinary
About the Author
Jim Grimsley is a 2005 recipient of the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the 2000 Lambda Literary Award for his fantasy novel Kirith Kirin. He is the award-winning author of Winter Birds, Dream Boy, My Drowning, Comfort & Joy, and Boulevard, as well as a number of successful plays. Grimsley lives in Atlanta and teaches at Emory University.