A Once Crowded Sky: A Novel - Hardcover

King, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1451652003 ISBN 13: 9781451652000

Publisher: Atria Books, 2012

Synopsis

A tour de force debut novel from a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, A Once Crowded Sky fuses the sensibility of bombastic, comic-book-style storytelling with modern literary fiction to bring to life a universe of super men stripped of their powers, newly mortal men forced to confront danger in a world without heroes.


The superheroes of Arcadia City fight a wonderful war and play a wonderful game, forever saving yet another day. However, after sacrificing both their powers and Ultimate, the greatest hero of them all, to defeat the latest apocalypse, these comic book characters are transformed from the marvelous into the mundane.

After too many battles won and too many friends lost, The Soldier of Freedom was fine letting all that glory go. But when a new threat blasts through his city, Soldier, as ever, accepts his duty and reenlists in this next war. Without his once amazing abilities, he's forced to seek the help of the one man who walked away, the sole hero who refused to make the sacrifice--PenUltimate, the sidekick of Ultimate, who through his own rejection of the game has become the most powerful man in the world, the only one left who might still, once again, save the day.

About this title

From the Author

(Excerpted from an interview with SFSignal.com)                                                                           SFS: How did A Once Crowded Sky come about?                                                                                 Tom King: I left the CIA shortly after my son was born. The type of career I wanted at the agency did not fit with the type of father I wanted to be. Prior to 9/11, I'd always wanted to be a writer, and after leaving the CIA, I decided to go back to my original plan. I wanted to write about my experience, not in terms of what I'd actually done, but in terms of the emotional and physical impact of such a life, a life spent in pursuit of an endless enemy--the joys, the frustrations, the moments of bravery and cowardice. I wanted to explore the virtues and follies of a world of violence.                                                                                                                                                                                      The lives of comic book characters, lives dedicated quite literally to quests without ends, seemed like an obvious metaphor. The basic idea of Crowded Sky then is what happens when that quest ends, when all the powers and villains are taken from these heroes, how do they go on, how do they fall.

From the Back Cover

A tour de force debut novel from a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, A Once Crowded Sky fuses bombastic, comic-book storytelling with modern literary fiction. Super men stripped of their powers must wrestle danger in a world without heroes.
"A Masterful Story About Humanity. King tells the tale of the heroes of Arcadia City, all but one of whom sacrificed their powers to save the world from an entity known as The Blue...The tale moves quickly and fluidly, making A Once Crowded Sky an incredible page-turner. It is King's careful character development that drives the story. He chronicles each character's struggle with the aftermath of The Blue, making them seem even more human....A Once Crowded Sky isn't just for comic book aficionados. Its message is universal and guaranteed to be appreciated." --The Charleston Post & Courier                                                                                                                              "For those who enjoyed the human drama contained in such hero-based series as Astro City and Watchmen, this is a book that's most definitely worth a read." --USA Today

About this edition

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1451652003
• ISBN 13: 9781451652000
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336
• Illustrator: Fowler Tom