Synopses & Reviews
A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner! A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal. Evacuated to the Tower of Babel -- infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City -- Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a politician, and meets his one true love-a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to. You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.
Review
"The tale is intriguing and action packed, but if one has not read the first book, it is almost impossible to follow....Still mature fantasy fans who have read the first book will want to return to this fascinating, arbitrary world." VOYA
Review
"Swanwick continues to turn traditional ideas of Faerie life upside down while remaining true to ancient Celtic Faerie lore." Library Journal
Review
"The tone and ambience of Swanwick's dark, gritty fantasy are reminiscent of the Bordertown shared-world series...full of elves, haints, trolls, dwarves, centaurs, and more." Booklist
Synopsis
A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner!
A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.
Evacuated to the Tower of Babel infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a politician, and meets his one true love a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to.
You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.
Synopsis
A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner!
A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.
Evacuated to the Tower of Babel--infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City--Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a haint politician, meets his one true love-a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to.
You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.
Synopsis
A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.
Evacuated to the Tower of Babel--infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City--Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a haint politician, meets his one true love-a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to. You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.
About the Author
Michael Swanwick lives in Philadelphia, PA. He has won five Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award (for Best Novel).