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The Dragons of Babel

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A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner!

A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant.

Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.

Evacuated to the Tower of Babel -- infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City -- Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a politician, and meets his one true love–a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to.

You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.

Reviews

“Huck Finn, the Lost Dauphin, and all the hosts of Faerie pursuing Destiny through Gormenghast with neon! Fascinating, lucid, logical and enchanting.” —Kage Baker on Dragons of Babel

“(A) marvelous new work . . . a drama of high consequence.” —The New York Times on The Iron Dragon’s Daughter

“Swanwick shatters fantasy cliches in this highly-charged saga set in a post-Industrial Revolution dreamland. . . . A metaphysical shocker, full of black magic and black humor.” —David Langford on The Iron Dragon’s Daughter

“A standout piece of storytelling.” —Library Journal on The Iron Dragon’s Daughter

“In The Iron Dragon’s Daughter Michael Swanwick created what was virtually a new genre of imaginative fiction.

Dragons of Babel is a brilliant sequel to that book.

Well-written, beautifully conceived, it is one of the very few fantasy novels I can unreservedly recommend.

I love everything about the book.” —Michael Moorcock

“Michael Swanwick is one of the most intellectually astute SF writers of his generation.” —The Washington Post Book World on Michael Swanwick

About the Author

MICHAEL SWANWICK has received the Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, World Fantasy and Hugo Awards, and has the pleasant distinction of having been nominated for and lost more of these same awards than any other writer. His novels include Stations of the Tide, Bones of the Earth, two Darger and Surplus novels, and The Iron Dragon's Mother. He has also written over a hundred and fifty short stories - including the Mongolian Wizard series on Tor.com - and countless works of flash fiction. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marianne Porter.

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Book Details

  • Imprint: Tor Books
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • ISBN: 9781429924993
  • Page Count: 320
  • On Sale:

    January 8, 2008

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