Book description
A superb work of literary fantasy. In a truly original imagined world
of breathtaking, sometimes surreal, beauty, fifty utterly alien but
disarmingly human immortals lead mankind in a centuries-long war. Jant
is the Messenger, one of The Circle, a cadre of fifty immortals who
serve the Emperor, and the only immortal - indeed the only man alive -
who can fly. The Emperor is seeking to protect mankind from the hordes
of giant insects who have plagued the land for centuries, overwhelming
towns with their beautiful nests, eating everything and everyone in
their path. But he must also contend with the rivalries and petty
squabblings of his chosen immortals. These are squabbles that will soon
spill over into open civil war. Steph Swainston has written an
astonishingly original literary fantasy. She writes beautifully. Her
novel places her in a tradition of writing typified by Mervyn Peake, M.
John Harrison and, latterly, China Mieville. This is a breathtaking
debut novel of the finest quality.
