Review:
The dark and intensely involving story of a young woman's struggle for survival and independence on the gritty underside of a near-future Europe, by the author of Ammonite, which won the Tiptree and Lambda Awards.
From the Publisher:
This is one of my favorite books I've ever edited--because it's extremely well written, deals with the near future in a realistic way, and has great characters, plus a narrative structure that's complex and interesting (unlike many SF novels). The science-fictional developments it tackles, primarily bioremediation, are on the cusp of happening today. The story really sucks you in. Other people seem to agree--here are some other fans and what they have to say:
"This is an astonishing piece of work that transcends its official genre--a sexually frank, emotionally
revealing character study.... My profound congratulations on a terrific second novel." - Dorothy Allison, Author of Bastard Out of Carolina
"No second-novel slump for English-born Nicola Griffith, whose first novel, Ammonite, won both
a Lammy and science fiction's Tiptree Award....In both theme and imagery, Slow River invites
comparison to such death-and-rebirth epics as the Sumerian descent of Inanna or the attempt of
Orpheus to bring Eurydice back from Hades...Rarely has this reviewer wished so fervently for a
sequel!"
--The Lambda Book Report
"With its persuasive characters trying to form identities in an unstable society, its midnight streets and shabby apartments, and its vast industrial engines, Slow River is a powerful prose poem on issues
that are already with us...."
--Locus (The Newsmagazine of SF and Fantasy)
When we at Del Rey began to think about the cover for this book, we knew we wanted something different--something that would match the uniqueness of the inside of the book on the outside. Our Del Rey cover designer put together various photo elements, rather than commissioning a painting: the face, the bubbly water, the microscopic creatures behind the "SLOW RIVER" type, the two halves of the face out of alignment with one another. Every element is connected with the setting and themes of the book, and EVERYONE loved the cover, from the author and myself to the art department, the sales reps, and the bookstore employees! (A rare agreement of opinion.)
SLOW RIVER went on to win the Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year and the Lambda Award. Pretty good for what the author once self-deprecatingly described as "a book about sewage"!
--Ellen Key Harris, Editor, Del Rey Books
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