Notes from the Burning Age
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4.8 • 9 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
'ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE READ IN RECENT YEARS . . . PACKS A HELL OF AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH' Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
From one of the most imaginative writers of her generation comes an extraordinary vision of the future.
Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age - a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded, so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.
But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he's willing to go to save this new world, and how much he is willing to lose.
Notes from the Burning Age is the remarkable and captivating new novel from the award-winning Claire North that puts dystopian fiction in a whole new light.
'Beautiful and riveting' Buzzfeed
'Will keep readers hooked right up until the explosive close' Publishers Weekly
'A gripping, utterly involving, dystopian eco-thriller that balances the intimacies of betrayal against global climate collapse' Daily Mail
'An impassioned, urgent and compelling new work that burns as bright as the fires of our own burning age. This is not to be missed' Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning author
'North's talent shines out' Sunday Times
'An original and even dazzling writer' Kirkus
'North goes from strength to strength' Guardian
'Claire North's writing is terrific, smart and entertaining' Patrick Ness
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
What happens after the worst has happened? In Notes from the Burning Age, Carnegie Medal-nominated Catherine Webb, writing under the pseudonym Claire North, introduces us to a world in which humans’ treatment of the earth and each other has taken an apocalyptic toll and, in the aftermath, a more environmentally conscious way of living has taken root. Still, mankind is notoriously willing to repeat the mistakes of the past and, with this new way of life under threat because of a sinister political group, what unfolds is a spy thriller-cum-fantasy novel. In its closely observed descriptions—by turns scientifically precise and poetically lush—the book itself shows rare care for nature in all its forms. With plenty of plot twists and charismatic characters, it’s a page-turner, but it will also leave you thinking about our place in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
World Fantasy Award winner North (The Sudden Appearance of Hope) spins a riveting tale of subterfuge and deadly self-indulgence in this postapocalyptic thrill ride. Ven Marzouki was once a priest whose duties included translating archaic English texts to sieve useful information from the heretical knowledge of the Burning Age, a time of human excess and climate devastation. Ven's working as a bartender when the Brotherhood, a brash, humanist political group, comes for him. Unable to refuse, Ven must translate and verify stolen texts detailing the most dangerous of heresies, among them mortar schematics and military papers on radioactive substances. North's eloquent prose paints a vivid contrast between the overconsumption that led to the Burning Age and the near-utopian present even as Ven becomes ever more deeply involved with Georg, the brains behind the Brotherhood's steady crawl to power. Ven's internal ideological conflict between the Temple's teachings on honoring nature and the Brotherhood's rhetoric of human might leads to a satisfying revelation. Meanwhile, the shifting enmity and companionship between Georg and Ven creates a tense, fascinating dynamic as the Brotherhood gears up for war. North's convincing view of postapocalyptic society captivates, and the political intrigues will keep readers hooked right up until the explosive close.
