The Last Hot Time

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John M. Ford's The Last Hot Time is the final novel from the brilliant author of The Dragon Waiting and Growing Up Weightless, a provocative noir fantasy of astounding subtlety.

When Danny Holman leaves the cornfields of Iowa for the bright lights of Chicago, he expects his life to change. He just can't guess how much and how fast. A violent incident on the road brings Danny the favor of a man known only as Mr. Patrise, who gives Danny a job, a home, and a new identity.

The City is a different world from the one Danny--now called Doc--knew, and literally so. Long-vanished powers have returned, and more is going on in the streets than nightlife and street warfare. Power is gathering: a power rooted in terror, madness, and death. To fight it will require Doc to face what he fears most. To defeat it will take something more than courage.

Now with a new introduction by Roz Kaveney, written especially for this edition.

Reviews

“Brilliant is as brilliant does… this improvisatory jazzlike riff of good and evil in the context of a most unusual growing-up story is bittersweet as first love and loss, a minor-key elegy for the death of youth and innocence.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“John M. Ford is the best writer in America, bar none.” –Robert Jordan

“Ford’s evocation of this transformed Chicago has a magic all its own… Beyond the life-or-death tests and the mind-bending puzzles, this is fundamentally a love story, with a deeply satisfying climax.” —The New York Times

“Rasping, succinct, tantalizing, and psychologically complex, as well as powerfully visual… Superb.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Simply one of the finest writers the field has ever produced.” –Orson Scott Card

“A thunderclap of a book, a thing of blood and magic.” –Roger Zelazny on The Dragon Waiting

“Savvy and scientifically swift.” –Gregory Benford on Growing Up Weightless

“The best mingling of history with historical magic that I have ever seen.” –Gene Wolfe on The Dragon Waiting

About the Author

John M. Ford was, in his lifetime, a favorite author of many writers better known than he was, including Neil Gaiman and Robert Jordan. He won World Fantasy Awards for both his novel The Dragon Waiting and his poem "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station," and he won the Philip K. Dick Award for his novel, Growing Up Weightless. His Star Trek™ novel, The Final Reflection, essentially created the nuanced Klingon culture seen later in the feature films, and his other novel in that universe, How Much For The Planet?, was a Star Trek™ tale told as a Gilbert & Sullivan musical, complete with songs. He was a genius. He died in 2006.

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Book Details

Imprint: Tor Books

Genre: Fantasy

ISBN: 9781250388827

Page Count: 208

On Sale:

November 25, 2025