Book description
Set on a distant planet, far in the future, WEST OF JANUARY tells the
story of a world in which the sun moves across the sky with agonizing
slowness. It takes lifetimes for a region to experience dawn, midday and
dusk and because of this the planet's population does not remember the
catastrophes that occur as the sun moves across the sky--entire
civilizations have been scorched into oblivion. The only people who
remember the dangers of the past are the planet's "angels"--a
people who have tried to preserve past technologies and the ancient
knowledge and who work to try and save the other people from the
destruction that threatens them when the sun moves. The hero of this
book, Knobil, was born among the herdsmen, a primitive civilization in
which the men kill each other and exile their sons so that each man can
have as many women and children as possible. Knobil, however, is the son
of an angel, and his destiny leads him to move among all the other
peoples of his world--the beautiful but unthinking seafolk, the cruel
slavers, the manipulative traders and, worst of them all, the spinsters
whose deadly secret he discovers nearly too late. This action-filled
story of a very strange planet showcases Duncan's remarkable ability to
create unique worlds. Dave Duncan, born in Scotland in 1933, is a
Canadian citizen. He received his diploma from Dundee High School and
got his college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved
to Canada in 1955, where he still lives with his wife. He has three
grown children and four grandchildren. He spent thirty years as a
petroleum geologist. He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction
novels published, among them A ROSE-RED CITY, MAGIC CASEMENT and THE
REAVER ROAD, as well as a highly praised historical novel, DAUGHTER OF
TROY, published, for commercial reasons, under the pseudonym Sarah B.
Franklin. He also published the "Longdirk" series of novels,
DEMON SWORD, DEMON KNIGHT and DEMON RIDER, under the name Ken Hood. His
website is DaveDuncan. com.
