Book description
In a theocratic world far into the future, cities control their own
movements and organization. Constantly moving, growing and decaying,
taking care of every need their inhabitants might think of, the cities
have decided that humans are no longer a necessary part of their
architecture, casting them out to wander in the wilderness and eke out a
meager subsistence. To the exiled humans, the cities represent a
paradisiacal Eden, a reminder of all they cannot attain due to their
sinful and unworthy natures. But things are beginning to change. People
are no longer willing to allow the cities to keep them out, choosing
instead to force an entry and plunder at will. The cities are starting
to crumble and die because they have no purpose or reason to continue
living without citizens. One woman, called mad by some and wise by
others, is the only human allowed to inhabit a city. From her lonely and
precarious position at the heart of one of the greatest cities ever, she
must decide the fate of the relationship between human society and the
ancient strongholds of knowledge, while making one last desperate
attempt to save the living cities. Gregory Dale Bear was born in San
Francisco in 1951 and is regarded as one of the world's leading hard SF
authors. He sold his first short story, at the age of fifteen, to Robert
Lowndes's
Famous Science Fiction
, and began to write full time in 1975, since which time he has produced
a body of work of huge significance and influence to the science fiction
canon. He is the winner of 5 Nebulas and 2 Hugos, amongst many other
awards, and is regarded as one of the natural successors to Olaf
Stapledon and Arthur C. Clarke. A full-time writer, he lives in
Washington State with his family. He is married to Astrid Anderson Bear,
daughter of award-winning SF writer, the late Poul Anderson.
