The History of the World Begins in Ice
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- USD 6.99
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- USD 6.99
Publisher Description
Enter the Post-Roman Afro-Celtic icepunk regency fantasy world of the Spiritwalker Trilogy (Cold Magic, Cold Fire, Cold Steel)—starring Phoenician spies, well-dressed men, revolutionary women, and lawyer dinosaurs—with eleven vivid stories gathered in one place by RT Reviewers' Choice winner and Nebula, World Fantasy, Norton, and Locus Awards finalist Kate Elliott.
When the emperor of Rome needs a rare book stolen from a well-guarded woman, he hires a rogue with his own dangerous secrets . . .
An elderly man retires at last, seeking peace to write his final masterwork on architecture . . . until that peace is disturbed by an outbreak of magic.
Everyone knows the story of Dido and Aeneas. But only Beatrice knows the correct version.
A shapeshifting sabertooth cat falls into the arms of two beautiful palace attendants . . . all too eager to pet him.
A powerful mage and his wife travel into enemy territory on an urgent mission . . . Surely the expedition will go exactly as planned. . . right?
These standalone stories and six others are accompanied by wonderful illustrations from fourteen featured artists. Eleven short essays that delve into the whys and wherefores of the setting and characters round out the volume.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this fascinating collection of 11 stories and 11 essays, Elliott returns to the world of her Spiritwalker trilogy, an alternate Earth where magic is real and the Roman Empire is still going strong in the 19th century. The stories all stand alone and prove remarkably accessible even to new readers. "The River-Born Child" effectively introduces Elliott's worldbuilding in the context of a deeply moving tale about a 12-year-old who is rescued from a river, eventually learns that he is considered some kind of monster, and that he has drawn the interest of the Emperor of the Avar. Elliott shifts tones in the fairy tale–like "A Lesson to You Young Ones," in which an elderly troll shares the history of his kind. In the caper yarn " ‘I Am a Handsome Man,' said Apollo Crow," the Roman emperor hires a boastful adventurer to steal a sketchbook. The essays, meanwhile, include character studies, thematic analysis, and Elliott's explanation of why she created a world centered on cold magic, all of which will be catnip for long-standing series fans. It adds up to an impressive combination of narrative and commentary.
