Fantasy 2005

File Updated: 23/10/2005

Tangled Web UK: New Fantasy Titles 2005

Geoff Ryman Was Pbk published January 2005 by Gollancz at Ł7.99 ISBN: 0575076690

An epic fable of lost innocence, WAS tells the stories of three people linked by the magic of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There’s Jonathan, a dying actor, whose life has been haunted by it ever since he first saw the movie in 1956. There’s Baby Frances, singing with her family in California in the 1920s. And there’s Dorothy, the orphan living in Kansas in the 1870s, whose life is a nightmare of abuse and loneliness, but whose encounter with a young teacher is the start of it all.
WAS is a powerful, moving story about survival, and about the power of human imagination to transcend the bleakest circumstances.
The Series: Fantasy Masterworks is a library of some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written. These are the books which, along with Tolkien, Peake and others, shaped modern fantasy.
‘Staggeringly original and profound… Extraordinary, wonderful’ Time Out
‘An absorbing and marvelously accomplished narrative’ London Review of Books
‘A moving lament for lost childhoods and an eloquent tribute to the enduring power of art… a forceful and resonant book.’ New York Times
‘The book and the characters will haunt you’ Daily Mail
About The Author
Geoff Ryman was born in Canada but moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was eleven. He has lived in London since 1973. He is the author of The Unconquered Country, which won the British Science Fiction Award and the World Fantasy Award, The Child Garden, which won the Arthur C Clarke Award and the John w Campbell Memorial Award, and 253, which won the Philip K Dick Award.

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by Geoff Ryman at Amazon.co.uk

Steph Swainston No Present Like Time Published April 2005 by Gollancz at Ł9.99 ISBN: 0 575 07006 4
It has been five years since the Insects last swarmed in the Fourlands. Their insatiable hunger left countless dead and the land devastated. Reconstruction proceeds under the watchful eyes of the immortal Circle but, increasingly, many are finding its pace too slow.
For Jant, the Emperor’s winged messenger, events are moving ever faster. A brilliant newcomer has joined the Circle, displacing him from his rightful position as centre of attention. He thinks his wife may be having an affair with the world’s strongest man, and an inhabited island has been discovered three months’ sail from the Fourlands (which is obviously impossible).
What’s worse, the Emperor has commanded that Jant join the small group of immortals who will travel as an embassy to the new land. just perfect for a man terrified of ships and the sea. And he increasingly suspects that he’s a pawn in an ancient political game.
It’d be enough to drive anyone to drugs…
Steph Swainston’s landmark fantasy, that began with the acclaimed The Year Of Our War, moves effortlessly into new waters.
Like its predecessor No Present Like Time is a wonderfully original fantasy of unusual depth and beauty. Here is a journey into a new world, a journey like no other.
Reviews for The Year Of Our War
`Thoughtful, exuberant, incredibly inventive, funny but never whimsical or mannered: a blistering debut, and honest-to-god unputdownable’ China Mieville
`Bristles up out of the fantasy flowerbed in sharp spined poisonously beautiful bloom. It has finely drawn characters, dialogue that crackles with humour and humanity, and a rich vein of imagery that veers with consummate ease between the wry baroque of Angela Carter and the austere weirdness of M John Harrison’ Richard Morgan
A great first novel, boldly imagined, coloured with impressive flourish. Essential reading for anyone who wants their imagination to soar’ Justina Robson

About The Author
Steph Swainston is 29 and comes from Bradford. She studied archaeology at Cambridge University and then worked as an archaeologist for three years, gaining an M.Phil. from the University of Wales.
She also worked as researcher in a company that develops herbal medicines. Her current job is in defence research.

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by Steph Swainston at Amazon.co.uk

Steph Swainston The Year of Our War Pbk published April 2005 by Gollancz at Ł6.99 ISBN: 0 575 07642 9

`All mortals dream, it seems, of joining the Castle Circle. Always pushing for immortality. Always seeking to stop the spin of the wheel of fortune, as it rips through their hands, leaving splinters. How splendid it would be to be eternal, and safe. But at the same time it is daunting to join such a fellowship.’

The Year Of Our War is 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. He is 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. 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.
‘A fascinating first novel, bristling up out of the fantasy flowerbed in sharp spined poisonously beautiful bloom. It has finely drawn characters, dialogue that crackles with humour and humanity, and a rich vein of imagery that veers with consummate ease between the wry, baroque of Angela Carter and the austere weirdness of M. John Harrison. Steph Swainston has cooked up a heady fix that will set the whole genre reeling. All hail the new queen of Weird Fiction!’ Richard Morgan author of Altered Carbon
`A great first novel, boldly imagined, coloured with impressive flourish. Fallible characters, unexplained cosmology, no quarter given to the lengthy infodump and no hanging on to the death to tired old structures - terrific. Fantasy that breaks out of the elvish straitjacket and takes over the asylum - essential reading for anyone who wants their imagination to soar’ Justina Robson author of Natural History
About The Author
Steph Swainston is 29 and comes from Bradford. She studied archaeology at Cambridge University and then worked as an archaeologist for three years, gaining an M.Phil. from the University of Wales.
She also worked as researcher in a company that develops herbal medicines. Her current job is in defence research.

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by Steph Swainston at Amazon.co.uk

Sheri S. Tepper The Companions Pbk published March 2005 by Gollancz at Ł6.99 ISBN: 0 575 07628 3

Humankind has arrived on Moss to discover if any intelligent native life exists there, and to assess the planet, recently discovered by the Derac, a nomadic space-faring race, for development - and profit. Multi-coloured shapes of dancing light have been spotted; strange sounds are heard in the night: the researchers name them the Mossen and send for a linguist to ascertain if this is evidence of intelligent life.
Jewel Delis has accompanied her half-brother Paul to this verdant paradise. Her task is to help Paul decipher the strange language of the Mossen - but she has a secret mission too. A new law on Earth means the imminent massacre of all beasts great and small, so Jewel must discover if Moss holds the promise of sanctuary for the doomed animals, once humankind’s beloved companions.
Time is running out for Jewel’s creatures, but it might be running out for Humanity too: the Planet Moss, itself a living entity, is not sure it cares for any of the species currently living on its surface ...
`All Tepper’s books are thought-provoking and unputdownable’ SFX
`Her characters, human and alien, are exceptionally well-drawn’ Time Out
`Combining an insight and understanding of human nature with an incisive yet eloquent wit that’s worthy of Kurt Vonnegut’ Starburst
‘Sheri Tepper weaves science fiction and fantasy superbly’ The Times
About The Author
Sheri Stewart Tepper is the highly acclaimed author of more than twenty novels. She was born in Colorado, where she lived until recently. She worked for many years for various non-profit-making organizations, and was a writer of children's stories. She sold her first adult novel in 1982. As well as science fiction and fantasy novels, Sheri Tepper has written crime and horror novels under her own name and various pseudonyms. She now lives in New Mexico.

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by Sheri S. Tepper at Amazon.co.uk

Chris Wooding The Skein of Lament Pbk published May 2005 by Gollancz at Ł6.99 ISBN: 0 575 07646 1

Book Two of the Braided Path
The hold of the Weavers on Saramyr’s ruling families is growing tighter. And all the while the blight that they have brought to the land grips ever more harshly. This cannot last and sure enough, as the people starve and trade falters, the land is slipping into civil war.
In the haven of the Xarana Fault, the followers of the orphaned Heir-Empress sense that the time has come to act. Yet how can they fight an enemy they do not yet understand? Amid the growing chaos, Kaiku and Lucia must unravel the secrets of the Weavers and discover the extent of their dark ambitions. But time is running out for the Heir-Empress, and the truth behind the masks is more terrible than they can imagine ... Chris Wooding has created a vivid and turbulent world with an authentic oriental air and its own rich and ancient history. Across this world plays an action-packed plot of politics, violence and betrayal. This is an extraordinary fantasy for the 21st century.
`Ultimately The Weavers of Saramyr is a triumph and resolutely stands out from the standard fantasy slop’ Dreamwatch
`Chris Wooding’s foray into adult fantasy gets off to a cracking start. He has a fertile imagination and spins a great yarn. He keeps tension high and his gift for description must be the envy of many a writer’ Starburst
‘Wooding takes care to undercut fantasy clichés with skillful characterisation, an oriental location and complex sexual politics’ Jon Courtenay Grimwood in the Guardian

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by Chris Wooding at Amazon.co.uk

Chris Wooding The Ascendancy Veil Pbk published May 2005 by Gollancz at Ł10.99 ISBN: 0 575 07446 9

Book Three of the Braided Path
The war that is tearing apart, the ancient Empire of Saramyr is becoming an apocalypse. The Weavers have stepped form the shadows and have taken control. The capital is a demon-haunted nightmare, the land ridden by pestilence. New, terrifying demons, immune to fire and steel, have been unleashed on the cities and armies of the resistance movement. And the Aberrant hordes are seemingly without end.
As the madness of the Weavers takes hold their tactics become even more crazed and bloody. Thousands are dying on both sides. Someone must stop the Weavers, someone must discover the secrets of what lies at the bottom of the massive pits they have dug across Saramyr. Kaiku must make the journey into the darkness.
And in the meantime, Lucia, focus of the rebellion, must face what she has become.
This is the final volume of what has proved to be one of the most original, exotic and exciting epic fantasies of the 21st Century. Chris Wooding melds as extraordinary imagination to deft characterisation and flair of gripping plots.
'A finely crafted and deeply visual oriental treasure' Dreamwatch
Reviews for The Braided Path
‘Will surprise, delight and horrify. A pleasure to read’ John Berlyne, SFREVU
‘Fantasy in a unique setting. Enjoyable and yes, very original’ SFSITE
‘Entertainment and energy in equal measures. A luxurious blend of oriental and occidental adventure with a double dose of intrigue’ SFX

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by Chris Wooding at Amazon.co.uk