Unwrapped Sky (Caeli-Amur, 1) - Hardcover

Davidson, Rjurik

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1447252365 ISBN 13: 9781447252368

Publisher: Tor, 2014

Synopsis

Caeli-Amur: an ancient city harbouring hidden mysteries, ruled by three warring Houses. Once, the gods used magic ­- or thaumaturgy - to create reality. Now, under the oppression of the controlling classes, that magic seems like a dream.
But things are changing in Caeli-Amur. Ancient minotaurs arrive for the traditional Festival of the Sun and New-Men bring wondrous technology from their homeland. Hideously disfigured Wastelanders stream into the city and strikes break out in the factory district.
Three very different people may hold the key to the city's survival but only if they can put aside their own personal vendettas.
The philosopher-assassin Kata has debts that need settling and will do anything to ensure they're met - but can she put a price on the ultimate betrayal? Meanwhile the ambitious bureaucrat Boris Autec rises through the ranks, turning his back on everything he once believed, and soon his private life turns to ashes. Elsewhere, the idealistic seditionist Maximilian resolves to overturn the tyranny dominating the city, and hatches a mad plot to unlock the secrets of the Great Library of Caeli Enas, drowned in the fabled city at the bottom of the sea.
In a novel of startling originality and riveting suspense, these three individuals risk everything for a future they can only create by throwing off the shackles of tradition and superstition. As their destinies collide, the destruction will either transform the ancient city . . . or ruin it.

About this title

About the Author

Rjurik Davidson is a winner of the Ditmar Award as Best New Talent and the Aurealis Award for his short fiction. His first book was a collection, The Library of Forgotten Books. A columnist, and a literary and film critic, he lives in Melbourne, Australia. The Stars Askew is his second novel, following Unwrapped Sky.

From the Inside Flap

Kata peered over the edge of the boat and put her hand to her chest in astonishment.

'You can see it, you can really see it.'

Beneath them Caeli-Enas shimmered silvery white. Buildings and boulevards came suddenly into focus and then blurred again as the water moved quietly beneath them. Perched on its sunken hill, the great white dome and marble pillars of a statuesque building emerged briefly into view. Over four hundred years that city had slept beneath the ocean and with it, the last secrets of the ancients.

A sense of wonder awakened in Kata. For the first time in years, she felt that the world was a large place filled with possibility.

'Rjurik has a brilliant, fecund imagination, and I absolutely love the setting and the sense of place in the book. Caeli-Amur is one of the more memorable cities in recent fantasy'
Hannu Rajaniemi

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Kata peered over the edge of the boat and put her hand to her chest in astonishment.
'You can see it, you can really see it.'
Beneath them Caeli-Enas shimmered silvery white. Buildings and boulevards came suddenly into focus and then blurred again as the water moved quietly beneath them. Perched on its sunken hill, the great white dome and marble pillars of a statuesque building emerged briefly into view. Over four hundred years that city had slept beneath the ocean and with it, the last secrets of the ancients.
A sense of wonder awakened in Kata. For the first time in years, she felt that the world was a large place filled with possibility.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1447252365
• ISBN 13: 9781447252368
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432