Lost to the world for more than four decades, A Season on Earth is the essential link between two acknowledged masterpieces by Gerald Murnane: his debut novel, Tamarisk Row, a lyrical account of boyhood, and the revolutionary prose of The Plains. A hilarious tale of a lustful teenager in 1950s Melbourne, A Lifetime on Clouds has been considered an outlier in Murnane's fiction. That is because, as Murnane writes in his foreword, it is 'only half a book and Adrian Sherd only half a character'. Here, at last, is young Adrian's journey in full, from fantasies about orgies with American film stars and idealized visions of suburban marital bliss to his struggles as a Catholic student-priest, and finally a burgeoning sense of the boundless imaginative possibilities to be found in literature and landscape.
Text Publishing Company
|
9781925773347
|
Hardcover
The Outlandish Companion
By Gabaldon, Diana
#1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon has captivated millions of readers with her critically acclaimed Outlander novels, the inspiration for the Starz original series. From the moment Claire Randall stepped through a standing stone circle and was thrown back in time to the year 1743 - and into a world that threatens life, limb, loyalty, heart, soul, and everything else Claire has - readers have been hungry to know everything about this world and its inhabitants, particularly a Scottish soldier named Jamie Fraser. In this beautifully illustrated compendium of all things Outlandish, Gabaldon covers the first four novels of the main series, including: * full synopses of Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn * a complete listing of the characters (fictional and historical) in the first four novels in the series, as well as family trees and genealogical notes * a comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to Gaelic terms and usage* The Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel, explained * frequently asked questions to the author and her (sometimes surprising) answers * an annotated bibliography * essays about medicine and magic in the eighteenth century, researching historical fiction, creating characters, and more * professionally cast horoscopes for Jamie and Claire * the making of the TV series: how we got there from here, and what happened next (including "My Brief Career as a TV Actor")* behind-the-scenes photos from the Outlander TV series set For anyone who wants to spend more time with the Outlander characters and the world they inhabit, Diana Gabaldon here opens a door through the standing stones and offers a guided tour of what lies within.
Delacorte Press
|
9781101887271
|
Hardcover - Revised Ed.
The Night and Its Moon
By J, Piper C
An addictive fantasy romance from TikTok sensation Piper CJ, now newly revised and edited. Two orphans grow into powerful young women as they face countless threats to find their way back to each other.Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that's what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king's ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place - while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins.Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing: they will stop at nothing to reunite.
Bloom Books
|
9781728270678
|
Hardcover
Her Body and Other Parties
By Machado, Carmen Maria
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction"[These stories] vibrate with originality, queerness, sensuality and the strange." -- Roxane Gay"In these formally brilliant and emotionally charged tales, Machado gives literal shape to women's memories and hunger and desire. I couldn't put it down." -- Karen RussellIn Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella "Especially Heinous," Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we navely assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgngers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction.
Graywolf Press
|
9781555977887
|
Paperback
Blood Vow
By Ward, J R
#1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward returns with an all-new tale of paranormal passion in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter - and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he's unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect. For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe's dangerous appeal is enticing - and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin's death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart. Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary's new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear. As Axe's past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep - and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness. Praise for J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series "Utterly absorbing." - Angela Knight "To die for . . . I love this series!" - Suzanne Brockmann
Ballantine
|
9780451475336
|
Print book
The Overneath
By Beagle, Peter S
An odd couple patrols a county full of mythological beasts and ornery locals. A familiar youngster from the world of The Last Unicorn is gifted in magic but terrible at spell-casting. A seemingly incorruptible judge meets his match in a mysterious thief who steals his heart. Two old friends discover that the Overneath goes anywhere, including locations better left unvisited. Lyrical, witty, and insightful, The Overneath is Peter S. Beagle's much-anticipated return to the short form. In these uniquely beautiful and wholly original tales, with new and uncollected work, Beagle once again proves himself a master of the imagination.
Tachyon Publications
|
9781616962692
|
Paperback
The Tower of Fools
By Sapkowski, Andrzej
From the New York Times bestselling author of the legendary Witcher series--the books that inspired the Netflix show and the hit video games--comes the first in an epic new trilogy.Reinmar of Bielau, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a doctor, a magician and, according to some, a charlatan. And when a thoughtless indiscretion finds him caught in the crosshairs of powerful noble family, he is forced to flee his home. But once he passes beyond the city borders, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Strange mystical forces are gathering in the shadows. And pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools. The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order.
Orbit
|
9780316423694
|
Paperback
The Silent Corner
By Koontz, Dean R
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A dazzling new series, a pure adrenaline rush, debuts with Jane Hawk, a remarkable heroine certain to become an icon of suspense "I very much need to be dead."These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for - but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important - so terrifying - that they will exterminate anyone in their way. But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless - and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.Jane Hawk's story continues in The Whispering Room.Praise for The Silent Corner"Gripping . . . The paranoia and mystery increase as the story unfolds. . . . Koontz has created [a] wonderful character in Jane Hawk. . . . Koontz rocks it again." - Associated Press "In this era of stingy text-message prose, Mr. Koontz is practically Shakespeare. . . . The Silent Corner brims with both action and emotion." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "The Silent Corner is vintage Dean Koontz: paranoia-fueled suspense . . . sleek and highly realized action, developed characters, and more twists and turns than any two ordinary novels combined. . . . As relevant to current events as it is audacious . . . amongst Dean Koontz's finest contemporary work." - Mystery Scene "A proven specialist in action scenes, Koontz pulls off some doozies here. . . . The book is full of neat touches. . . . And the prose, as always in a Koontz novel, is first-rate. Perhaps Koontz's leanest, meanest thriller, this initial entry in a new series introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "The latest page-turner by Dean Koontz introduces readers to Jane Hawk. . . . An inspired choice for a protagonist . . . action, zippy dialogue and a winning character at the center of the book, part of a new series by Koontz." - Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Long an A-list bestseller, Koontz has always delivered the goods. . . . [His] varied bibliography now adds a new series and an exciting new heroine." - BOOKLIST "Fantastically written (as always by Mr. Koontz) . . . You are riveted on page one. . . . 5 stars!" - Suspense Magazine
Bantam Books
|
9780345545992
|
Hardcover
Council of Fire
By Flint, Eric
NEW ENTRY IN THE DRAGON AWARD WINNING ARCANE AMERICA SERIESfrom New York Times best-selling alternate history master Eric Flint. The passage of Halley's Comet in 1759 is catastrophic. The comet appears to strike the Earth, sundering the New World from the Old. A chain of mountains rises in the Mid-Atlantic. No ship from the Old World arrives in America. No ship from the New World can find a passage to the Old - and most who try simply disappear. The comet has also unleashed magic forces, which soon spread everywhere. Slaves begin using powers derived from African witchcraft, bringing monsters from that continent into the New World. The native tribes begin doing the same. Some European settlers devise ways to couple Old World technology with sorcery. Kraken in the Atlantic, revenants in Jamaica, Dry Hands and Floating Heads in the Hudson valley, African ogres and worse set loose in the streets of New York. Magic of all kinds, emerging everywhere, most of it poorly if at all controlled. The powerful Iroquois Confederacy disintegrates. The Onondaga Council Fire is extinguished; the Seneca and Cayuga follow their own shaman and war leader, and the Mohawks ally with the English. For their part, the English and the French in North America, who had been on the brink of war when the Sundering came, now have to contemplate what would once have been unthinkable. They must not simply forge a military alliance against the rising dark powers but may even have to unite politically behind the young English prince Edward, now the only person of royal blood left in the terrifying world created by the Sundering. About Uncharted: "History and mythology meld admirably, leading to a satisfying conclusion. This hardy adventure establishes a world ripe for many more rousing stories." - Publishers Weekly "With a light and brisk narrative that propels its heroes through a number of increasingly dangerous situations, this combination of alternate history and fantasy should appeal to fans of Eric Flint, Harry Turtledove, and historical fantasy in general." - BOOKLIST "While delivering plenty of action that approximates the best of cinematic fantasy, Hoyt and Anderson also strive for - and achieve - a kind of gravitas that suitably reflects the majesty of an untrammeled continent. Their descriptions of raw nature and its emotional repercussions on the humans are subtly poetic without being overblown. The native tribes are depicted in authentic ways, especially the people of Sacagawea. . . .The characterization of all the cast members is deep and revelatory of human nature. . . .There is also humor amidst the seriousness . . . [Anderson and Hoyt's] prose is a clear-eyed, sturdy naturalism meshed with flights of vivid unreality . . . filled with not only slambang adventures but also a kind of rational optimism that has become rare in genre works these days. . . Hoyt and Anderson, a kind of de Camp and Pratt for the twenty-first century, convey these ideals without lectures or sermons, embodying them in principled people doing exciting things." - Locus About Eric Flint: "This alternate history series is ... a landmark ... " - Booklist "[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians." - Booklist " ... reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis ... " - Publishers Weekly About Walter H. Hunt: "A compelling and immersive novel in which every word feels authentic and every chapter draws the reader deeper into the dark and terrifying power of the mind." - New York Journal of Books
Baen
|
9781982124151
|
Hardcover
Undermajordomo Minor
By Dewitt, Patrick
From the bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers, comes a brilliant and boisterous novel that reimagines the folk tale.A love story, an adventure story, a fable without a moral, and an ink-black comedy of manners, Undermajordomo Minor is Patrick deWitt's long-awaited follow-up to the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Sisters Brothers.Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in the bucolic hamlet of Bury. Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, Lucy is a compulsive liar, a sickly weakling in a town famous for producing brutish giants. Then Lucy accepts employment assisting the Majordomo of the remote, foreboding Castle Von Aux.While tending to his new post as Undermajordomo, Lucy soon discovers the place harbors many dark secrets, not least of which is the whereabouts of the castle's master, Baron Von Aux. He also encounters the colorful people of the local village - thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and Klara, a delicate beauty whose love he must compete for with the exceptionally handsome soldier, Adolphus. Thus begins a tale of polite theft, bitter heartbreak, domestic mystery, and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of human behavior is laid bare for our hero to observe.Undermajordomo Minor is an adventure, a mystery, and a searing portrayal of rural Alpine bad behavior, but above all it is a love story and Lucy must be careful, for love is a violent thing.
A Season on Earth
By Murnane, Gerald
Lost to the world for more than four decades, A Season on Earth is the essential link between two acknowledged masterpieces by Gerald Murnane: his debut novel, Tamarisk Row, a lyrical account of boyhood, and the revolutionary prose of The Plains. A hilarious tale of a lustful teenager in 1950s Melbourne, A Lifetime on Clouds has been considered an outlier in Murnane's fiction. That is because, as Murnane writes in his foreword, it is 'only half a book and Adrian Sherd only half a character'. Here, at last, is young Adrian's journey in full, from fantasies about orgies with American film stars and idealized visions of suburban marital bliss to his struggles as a Catholic student-priest, and finally a burgeoning sense of the boundless imaginative possibilities to be found in literature and landscape.
The Outlandish Companion
By Gabaldon, Diana
#1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon has captivated millions of readers with her critically acclaimed Outlander novels, the inspiration for the Starz original series. From the moment Claire Randall stepped through a standing stone circle and was thrown back in time to the year 1743 - and into a world that threatens life, limb, loyalty, heart, soul, and everything else Claire has - readers have been hungry to know everything about this world and its inhabitants, particularly a Scottish soldier named Jamie Fraser. In this beautifully illustrated compendium of all things Outlandish, Gabaldon covers the first four novels of the main series, including: * full synopses of Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn * a complete listing of the characters (fictional and historical) in the first four novels in the series, as well as family trees and genealogical notes * a comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to Gaelic terms and usage* The Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel, explained * frequently asked questions to the author and her (sometimes surprising) answers * an annotated bibliography * essays about medicine and magic in the eighteenth century, researching historical fiction, creating characters, and more * professionally cast horoscopes for Jamie and Claire * the making of the TV series: how we got there from here, and what happened next (including "My Brief Career as a TV Actor")* behind-the-scenes photos from the Outlander TV series set For anyone who wants to spend more time with the Outlander characters and the world they inhabit, Diana Gabaldon here opens a door through the standing stones and offers a guided tour of what lies within.
The Night and Its Moon
By J, Piper C
An addictive fantasy romance from TikTok sensation Piper CJ, now newly revised and edited. Two orphans grow into powerful young women as they face countless threats to find their way back to each other.Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that's what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king's ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place - while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins.Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing: they will stop at nothing to reunite.
Her Body and Other Parties
By Machado, Carmen Maria
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction"[These stories] vibrate with originality, queerness, sensuality and the strange." -- Roxane Gay"In these formally brilliant and emotionally charged tales, Machado gives literal shape to women's memories and hunger and desire. I couldn't put it down." -- Karen RussellIn Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella "Especially Heinous," Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we navely assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgngers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction.
Blood Vow
By Ward, J R
#1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward returns with an all-new tale of paranormal passion in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter - and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he's unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect. For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe's dangerous appeal is enticing - and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin's death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart. Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary's new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear. As Axe's past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep - and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness. Praise for J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series "Utterly absorbing." - Angela Knight "To die for . . . I love this series!" - Suzanne Brockmann
The Overneath
By Beagle, Peter S
An odd couple patrols a county full of mythological beasts and ornery locals. A familiar youngster from the world of The Last Unicorn is gifted in magic but terrible at spell-casting. A seemingly incorruptible judge meets his match in a mysterious thief who steals his heart. Two old friends discover that the Overneath goes anywhere, including locations better left unvisited. Lyrical, witty, and insightful, The Overneath is Peter S. Beagle's much-anticipated return to the short form. In these uniquely beautiful and wholly original tales, with new and uncollected work, Beagle once again proves himself a master of the imagination.
The Tower of Fools
By Sapkowski, Andrzej
From the New York Times bestselling author of the legendary Witcher series--the books that inspired the Netflix show and the hit video games--comes the first in an epic new trilogy.Reinmar of Bielau, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a doctor, a magician and, according to some, a charlatan. And when a thoughtless indiscretion finds him caught in the crosshairs of powerful noble family, he is forced to flee his home. But once he passes beyond the city borders, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Strange mystical forces are gathering in the shadows. And pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools. The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order.
The Silent Corner
By Koontz, Dean R
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A dazzling new series, a pure adrenaline rush, debuts with Jane Hawk, a remarkable heroine certain to become an icon of suspense "I very much need to be dead."These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for - but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important - so terrifying - that they will exterminate anyone in their way. But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless - and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.Jane Hawk's story continues in The Whispering Room.Praise for The Silent Corner"Gripping . . . The paranoia and mystery increase as the story unfolds. . . . Koontz has created [a] wonderful character in Jane Hawk. . . . Koontz rocks it again." - Associated Press "In this era of stingy text-message prose, Mr. Koontz is practically Shakespeare. . . . The Silent Corner brims with both action and emotion." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "The Silent Corner is vintage Dean Koontz: paranoia-fueled suspense . . . sleek and highly realized action, developed characters, and more twists and turns than any two ordinary novels combined. . . . As relevant to current events as it is audacious . . . amongst Dean Koontz's finest contemporary work." - Mystery Scene "A proven specialist in action scenes, Koontz pulls off some doozies here. . . . The book is full of neat touches. . . . And the prose, as always in a Koontz novel, is first-rate. Perhaps Koontz's leanest, meanest thriller, this initial entry in a new series introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "The latest page-turner by Dean Koontz introduces readers to Jane Hawk. . . . An inspired choice for a protagonist . . . action, zippy dialogue and a winning character at the center of the book, part of a new series by Koontz." - Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Long an A-list bestseller, Koontz has always delivered the goods. . . . [His] varied bibliography now adds a new series and an exciting new heroine." - BOOKLIST "Fantastically written (as always by Mr. Koontz) . . . You are riveted on page one. . . . 5 stars!" - Suspense Magazine
Council of Fire
By Flint, Eric
NEW ENTRY IN THE DRAGON AWARD WINNING ARCANE AMERICA SERIES from New York Times best-selling alternate history master Eric Flint. The passage of Halley's Comet in 1759 is catastrophic. The comet appears to strike the Earth, sundering the New World from the Old. A chain of mountains rises in the Mid-Atlantic. No ship from the Old World arrives in America. No ship from the New World can find a passage to the Old - and most who try simply disappear. The comet has also unleashed magic forces, which soon spread everywhere. Slaves begin using powers derived from African witchcraft, bringing monsters from that continent into the New World. The native tribes begin doing the same. Some European settlers devise ways to couple Old World technology with sorcery. Kraken in the Atlantic, revenants in Jamaica, Dry Hands and Floating Heads in the Hudson valley, African ogres and worse set loose in the streets of New York. Magic of all kinds, emerging everywhere, most of it poorly if at all controlled. The powerful Iroquois Confederacy disintegrates. The Onondaga Council Fire is extinguished; the Seneca and Cayuga follow their own shaman and war leader, and the Mohawks ally with the English. For their part, the English and the French in North America, who had been on the brink of war when the Sundering came, now have to contemplate what would once have been unthinkable. They must not simply forge a military alliance against the rising dark powers but may even have to unite politically behind the young English prince Edward, now the only person of royal blood left in the terrifying world created by the Sundering. About Uncharted: "History and mythology meld admirably, leading to a satisfying conclusion. This hardy adventure establishes a world ripe for many more rousing stories." - Publishers Weekly "With a light and brisk narrative that propels its heroes through a number of increasingly dangerous situations, this combination of alternate history and fantasy should appeal to fans of Eric Flint, Harry Turtledove, and historical fantasy in general." - BOOKLIST "While delivering plenty of action that approximates the best of cinematic fantasy, Hoyt and Anderson also strive for - and achieve - a kind of gravitas that suitably reflects the majesty of an untrammeled continent. Their descriptions of raw nature and its emotional repercussions on the humans are subtly poetic without being overblown. The native tribes are depicted in authentic ways, especially the people of Sacagawea. . . .The characterization of all the cast members is deep and revelatory of human nature. . . .There is also humor amidst the seriousness . . . [Anderson and Hoyt's] prose is a clear-eyed, sturdy naturalism meshed with flights of vivid unreality . . . filled with not only slambang adventures but also a kind of rational optimism that has become rare in genre works these days. . . Hoyt and Anderson, a kind of de Camp and Pratt for the twenty-first century, convey these ideals without lectures or sermons, embodying them in principled people doing exciting things." - Locus About Eric Flint: "This alternate history series is ... a landmark ... " - Booklist "[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians." - Booklist " ... reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis ... " - Publishers Weekly About Walter H. Hunt: "A compelling and immersive novel in which every word feels authentic and every chapter draws the reader deeper into the dark and terrifying power of the mind." - New York Journal of Books
Undermajordomo Minor
By Dewitt, Patrick
From the bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers, comes a brilliant and boisterous novel that reimagines the folk tale.A love story, an adventure story, a fable without a moral, and an ink-black comedy of manners, Undermajordomo Minor is Patrick deWitt's long-awaited follow-up to the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Sisters Brothers.Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in the bucolic hamlet of Bury. Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, Lucy is a compulsive liar, a sickly weakling in a town famous for producing brutish giants. Then Lucy accepts employment assisting the Majordomo of the remote, foreboding Castle Von Aux.While tending to his new post as Undermajordomo, Lucy soon discovers the place harbors many dark secrets, not least of which is the whereabouts of the castle's master, Baron Von Aux. He also encounters the colorful people of the local village - thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and Klara, a delicate beauty whose love he must compete for with the exceptionally handsome soldier, Adolphus. Thus begins a tale of polite theft, bitter heartbreak, domestic mystery, and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of human behavior is laid bare for our hero to observe.Undermajordomo Minor is an adventure, a mystery, and a searing portrayal of rural Alpine bad behavior, but above all it is a love story and Lucy must be careful, for love is a violent thing.