Solitaire - Hardcover

Eskridge, Kelley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060088575 ISBN 13: 9780060088576

Publisher: Eos, 2002

Synopsis

Convicted of a crime she did not commit, former Hope child Jackal serves a terrible solitary imprisonment sentence and is eventually abandoned in a strange country where other people like herself help her learn the truth about her imprisonment. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"An ageless story."
--Ursula K. Le Guin ("A Wizard of Earthsea")

"A knock-out . . . wonderful!"
--Karen Joy Fowler ("The Jane Austen Book Club")

"Solitaire is a novel of our time: a story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She is a worthy role model for any reader."
--"BookPage"

"Vivid and provocative."
--"The Baltimore Sun"

"As with Eskridge's short fiction, the vividness of the characters is what makes this book so memorable."
--"Locus"

"Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice Hoffman."
--"The Seattle Times"

"Solitaire" brilliantly explores...the dubious boundary between 'virtual reality' and the act of imagination -- all in the ageless story of a bright, risky kid trying to find out who she is and where her freedom lies.
Ursula K. Le Guin ("A Wizard of Earthsea")
Kelley Eskridge uses all the best stuff -- passion and deception, devotion and betrayal -- to deliver a knock-out first novel.
Karen Joy Fowler ("We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves")
Teen readers who are fond of the genre will embrace Solitaire with ease while fans of YA dystopian titles will find a character who possesses all the cool and quiet power of the best girl hero in a story that is light years beyond the standard fare. Jackal is no wimp or whiner, nor is she a born chosen one. In every way that matters she is the product of the corporate culture (both personally and professionally) that embraced her from birth; she is certainly a twenty-first century construct we can all recognize. The struggles she goes through are always tempered with very personal loss, both as a result of the accident that finds her imprisoned and the distance from the love of her life who remains back on Ko. What rocks so much about Solitaire is that Eskridge has put as much time and attention into her character building as the plot and that means that while we marvel at the world she created, we also respond on a fundamental level with Jackal and the girl she loves who never stops loving her back. This book is a treasure; a true jewel for readers longing for big ideas and intimate story.
Colleen Mondor, "Bookslut"
Solitaire is a novel of our time: a story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She is a worthy role model for any reader.
"BookPage"
Vivid and provocative.
"The Baltimore Sun"
As with Eskridge s short fiction, the vividness of the characters is what makes this book so memorable.
"Locus"
Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice Hoffman.
"The Seattle Times"
..".a coming of age story done as psychological thriller: a compelling portrait of a young woman battling both the system and her self after her world collapses, to emerge older, wiser and sadder from an extremely long dark night of the soul."
"Eve's Alexandria"
"[a] beautifully detailed, sometimes harrowing account of courage, cruelty, and survival . . . a remarkable, moving novel that is difficult to set aside, and equally difficult
to forget."
Barnes & Noble.com
"Takes the reader down to the bone . . . Eskridge's skillful use of detail, her strong characters and evocative settings, and her ability to take her readers on a spiral path to the innermost depths of an individual mind, and then back out again, make this a fascinating read."
"Strange Horizons"
"

"Solitaire brilliantly explores...the dubious boundary between 'virtual reality' and the act of imagination -- all in the ageless story of a bright, risky kid trying to find out who she is and where her freedom lies."
--Ursula K. Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea)

"Kelley Eskridge uses all the best stuff -- passion and deception, devotion and betrayal -- to deliver a knock-out first novel."
--Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves)

"Teen readers who are fond of the genre will embrace Solitaire with ease while fans of YA dystopian titles will find a character who possesses all the cool and quiet power of the best girl hero in a story that is light years beyond the standard fare. Jackal is no wimp or whiner, nor is she a born "chosen one." In every way that matters she is the product of the corporate culture (both personally and professionally) that embraced her from birth; she is certainly a twenty-first century construct we can all recognize. The struggles she goes through are always tempered with very personal loss, both as a result of the accident that finds her imprisoned and the distance from the love of her life who remains back on Ko. What rocks so much about Solitaire is that Eskridge has put as much time and attention into her character building as the plot and that means that while we marvel at the world she created, we also respond on a fundamental level with Jackal and the girl she loves who never stops loving her back. This book is a treasure; a true jewel for readers longing for big ideas and intimate story."
--Colleen Mondor, Bookslut

"Solitaire is a novel of our time: a story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She is a worthy role model for any reader."
--BookPage

"Vivid and provocative."
--The Baltimore Sun

"As with Eskridge's short fiction, the vividness of the characters is what makes this book so memorable."
--Locus

"Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice Hoffman."
--The Seattle Times

..".a coming of age story done as psychological thriller: a compelling portrait of a young woman battling both the system and her self after her world collapses, to emerge older, wiser and sadder from an extremely long dark night of the soul."
--Eve's Alexandria

"[a] beautifully detailed, sometimes harrowing account of courage, cruelty, and survival . . . a remarkable, moving novel that is difficult to set aside, and equally difficult
to forget."
--Barnes & Noble.com

"Takes the reader down to the bone . . . Eskridge's skillful use of detail, her strong characters and evocative settings, and her ability to take her readers on a spiral path to the innermost depths of an individual mind, and then back out again, make this a fascinating read."
--Strange Horizons
"Solitaire brilliantly explores...the dubious boundary between 'virtual reality' and the act of imagination -- all in the ageless story of a bright, risky kid trying to find out who she is and where her freedom lies."
--Ursula K. Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea)

"Kelley Eskridge uses all the best stuff -- passion and deception, devotion and betrayal -- to deliver a knock-out first novel."
--Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves)

"Teen readers who are fond of the genre will embrace Solitaire with ease while fans of YA dystopian titles will find a character who possesses all the cool and quiet power of the best girl hero in a story that is light years beyond the standard fare. Jackal is no wimp or whiner, nor is she a born "chosen one." In every way that matters she is the product of the corporate culture (both personally and professionally) that embraced her from birth; she is certainly a twenty-first century construct we can all recognize. The struggles she goes through are always tempered with very personal loss, both as a result of the accident that finds her imprisoned and the distance from the love of her life who remains back on Ko. What rocks so much about Solitaire is that Eskridge has put as much time and attention into her character building as the plot and that means that while we marvel at the world she created, we also respond on a fundamental level with Jackal and the girl she loves who never stops loving her back. This book is a treasure; a true jewel for readers longing for big ideas and intimate story."
--Colleen Mondor, Bookslut

"Solitaire is a novel of our time: a story of dashed expectations and corporate manipulations. Eskridge explores what it means to really see ourselves, and what we are ultimately capable of. Jackal, a slight adolescent, matures into an adult capable of living well, no matter what her circumstances. She is a worthy role model for any reader."
--BookPage

"Vivid and provocative."
--The Baltimore Sun

"As with Eskridge's short fiction, the vividness of the characters is what makes this book so memorable."
--Locus

"Psychological insights that would warm the heart of Alice Hoffman."
--The Seattle Times

..".a coming of age story done as psychological thriller: a compelling portrait of a young woman battling both the system and her self after her world collapses, to emerge older, wiser and sadder from an extremely long dark night of the soul."
--Eve's Alexandria

"[a] beautifully detailed, sometimes harrowing account of courage, cruelty, and survival . . . a remarkable, moving novel that is difficult to set aside, and equally difficult
to forget."
--Barnes & Noble.com

"Takes the reader down to the bone . . . Eskridge's skillful use of detail, her strong characters and evocative settings, and her ability to take her readers on a spiral path to the innermost depths of an individual mind, and then back out again, make this a fascinating read."
--Strange Horizons

"The people of our time are recognizable in the people of Jackal's, and though their technology is fiction to us, inner human strength triumphs over hardship, and good comes out of even the depths of madness. Jackal's story resounds with more faith in character than is usual in future-noir." -- Booklist

"Eskridge's first novel offers a dystopic vision of a near future in which virtual technology becomes a tool for societal control. Featuring a resourceful and engaging protagonist, this novel belongs in most sf collections and should appeal to readers of high-tech sf intrigue." -- Library Journal

About the Author

Kelley Eskridge: Kelley Eskridge's novel Solitaire was a New York Times Notable Book and a Borders Books Original Voices selection, and a finalist for the Nebula, Spectrum, and Endeavour awards. Her stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies in the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan, won the Astraea Award and been finalists for the Nebula and James Tiptree awards. Her collection Dangerous Space was published by Aqueduct Press. Her story "Alien Jane" was adapted for television and a film adaptation of Solitaire titled OtherLife was produced by Cherry Road Films. She lives in Seattle, WA.

About this edition

• Publisher: Eos
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060088575
• ISBN 13: 9780060088576
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384