Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
Praise for
The Dragons of Babel:
“The Dragons of Babel is an unqualified masterpiece representing the pinnacle of modern fantasy. Simply put, it is great fantasy as great literature.”
--SF Site
“A smart, stark steampunk fantasy. Its gritty and magical and, in sensibility, is similar to Neil Gaimans Neverwhere and MirrorMask….Original and dashing, The Dragons of Babel is a breath of fresh air.”
--Starlog
"This is modern fantasy at its finest and should hold great appeal for fans of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys. . . ."
--Publishers Weekly, (starred review)
“Dark, subversive, inventive, challenging, outrageous, and very funny… has to be a contender for one of the best fantasy novels of the year.”
--Interzone
“Swanwick's expert craftsmanship gives his fiction a brilliant, highly polished surface.”
--The Philadelphia Inquirer
“The Dragons of Babel will immediately capture readers interest…. Earthy, bawdy, and often brutal, its a story that will keep science fiction/fantasy fans involved till the end.”
--School Library Journal (starred review)
“Swanwicks major accomplishment here—aside from his standard authorial equipment of finely honed prose, inventive plotting, engaging characters and clever symbolical patterning—is to instantiate a world where BMWs and motorcycles can be parked side by side with hippogriffs and manticores without rendering either “vehicle” ridiculous…The ride you get from [Swanwicks] dragons will be like no other.”
--Sci Fi Weekly (grade A)
“Witty, inventive, written with enormous flair, this is one of Swanwicks most complex and rewarding novels.”
--Asimovs
“If you havent read Michael Swanwick yet, youve been missing some wonderful prose…Con men and ward heelers, cluricauns and hobgoblins, and a stunningly beautiful elf-woman who rides a hippogriff all entire and enrapture Will, and the reader as well.”
--The San Diego Union-Tribune
“I no longer read much fantasy, but would return to it in a Babel minute if I could find more like this: elegant, erudite, slyly funny, hard-nosed, compassionate, propulsive, and capable of punching through overused conventions and sentimentalities and delivering the jolt that restores the form to its primal power.”
--Locus
Synopsis
Five-time Hugo Award winner Swanwick delivers a fantasy masterpiece in his sequel to "The Iron Dragon's Daughter." A smart, stark steampunk fantasy. Original and dashing, "The Dragons of Babel" is a breath of fresh air.--"Starlog."
About the Author
Michael Swanwick lives in Philadelphia, PA. He has won five Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award (for Best Novel).