No Present Like Time - Softcover

Steph Swainston

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575076410 ISBN 13: 9780575076419

Publisher: Gollancz, 2005

Synopsis

Another year in mankind's war for survival against the insects. God is still on holiday, the Emperor still leads and his cadre of immortals are still quarreling amongst themselves. It is known that the insects are reaching the Fourlands from the Shift but now mankind just has to do something about it. And in the meantime attention shifts to new lands and a naval expedition is launched. And Jant, the Emperor's drug-addicted winged messanger is expected to join it. Just perfect for a man terrified of ships and the sea. Steph Swainston's trilogy is building to be a landmark of modern fantasy. This is a wildly imaginative, witty yet profound fantasy, peopled with bizarre yet real characters.

About this title

About the Author:

Steph Swainston was born in 1974 and comes from Bradford, England. She studies archaeology at Cambridge University and then worked as an archaeologist for three years, gaining a masters of philosophy from the University of Wales.

She also worked as a researcher in a company that develops herbal medicines. Her current job is in defense research.

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Wonders abound in British author Swainston's polished sequel to The Year of Our War (2005). The Emperor San and his Circle of Immortals strive to protect the medieval empire of the Fourlands from monstrous creatures called Insects, but the continuity of the Circle is threatened. Serein, the Swordsman, is unexpectedly defeated in ritual combat by a young upstart, who is then sent—along with Comet, the Messenger, and other Immortals—on a mission to Tris, an idyllic and recently discovered island nation. Unfortunately, the Immortals, who assume their own superiority to mere humans, make a mess of things, upsetting the democratically minded islanders and accidentally loosing on them an Insect they'd brought along to help persuade the natives to join the empire. Swainston's scintillating prose, well-developed characters and talent for brilliant absurdities (one character alternates between human and shark and drives an automobile with a living engine) mark this as one of the more innovative fantasies of recent years. (Feb.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0575076410
• ISBN 13: 9780575076419
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 414