A Once Crowded Sky: A Novel [Hardcover]

Tom King (Author), Tom Fowler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: July 10, 2012

A tour de force debut novel from a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, A Once Crowded Sky fuses the sensibility of bombastic, comic-book-style storytelling with modern literary fiction to bring to life a universe of super men stripped of their powers, newly mortal men forced to confront danger in a world without heroes.

The superheroes of Arcadia City fight a wonderful war and play a wonderful game, forever saving yet another day. However, after sacrificing both their powers and Ultimate, the greatest hero of them all, to defeat the latest apocalypse, these comic book characters are transformed from the marvelous into the mundane.

After too many battles won and too many friends lost, The Soldier of Freedom was fine letting all that glory go. But when a new threat blasts through his city, Soldier, as ever, accepts his duty and reenlists in this next war. Without his once amazing abilities, he's forced to seek the help of the one man who walked away, the sole hero who refused to make the sacrifice--PenUltimate, the sidekick of Ultimate, who through his own rejection of the game has become the most powerful man in the world, the only one left who might still, once again, save the day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An exciting post-millennial conflict allegory, which echoes the terror of Alan Moore’s writing for Watchmen while sidestepping out of its shadow. ” (The A.V. Club)

“An original, assured debut . . . Impossible to put down.” (Library Journal)

“Everything we love about comics — origin tales, a worthy villain, team-ups…conspiracies, super technology, disgraced heroes, redeemed villains — it’s all here. And it’s a fun read.” (Wired.com)

“Beyond postmodern, complex in conception . . . relevant to the graphic-novel, video-gaming generation.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“A more literary - and literate - novel, making effective use of the present tense to add urgency to the tale, and creates characters that are agreeably complex. ‘A Once Crowded Sky’ also benefits from the black-and-white comic book-style illustrations by Tom Fowler that help readers visualize these unfamiliar heroes.” (Tulsa World)

“King presents us with a story that subtly questions our ideas of humanity and heroism. The tale moves quickly and fluidly… an incredible page-turner.” (The Charleston Post and Courier)

“Ultimately a story of wonder, and of redemption. . . . At its core, this is a story about humanity, told from the perspective of simultaneously the most and the least human of us all.” (Spencer Daily Reporter, IA)

“In a summer swimming in comic book inspired blockbusters, perhaps the most visionary tale in a generation won’t be found in either a multiplex or the local comic book shop but rather nestled in the shelves of your local book retailer." (Fandompost.com)

“King's story revolves around the only superpowered hero left in the world—the one who stayed behind with his wife when all the others sacrificed themselves to save the world. As a strange new violent terrorism begins destroying parts of cities at random, PenUltimate needs to decide whether he wants to be a hero again…an enjoyable postmodern superhero story.” (Washington City Paper)

“Masterfully developed, incorporating versions of the archetypal superhero into a fantastic modern prose story. I loved the author's entertaining writing, the occasional humor, and the connections to myth, history, and literature. I breezed through a lot of the book, not wanting to put down such a well-written, epic fantasy story. By the way, I don't think I've ever read a comic book in my life…” (SusieBookworm)

About the Author

Tom King worked for the counterterrorism unit at the Central Intelligence Agency, following the events of 9/11. Before the CIA, he worked for DC Comics and Marvel. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (July 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451652003
• ISBN-13: 978-1451652000
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The comic book hero that saved the novel July 10, 2012

By Eric

Format:Hardcover

Usually, comic books are not novels, novels are not comic books. King has done something UNusual by mixing the two genres. For the most part, he does so without sacrificing the power of either one, which is impressive. Imaginative and carefully done, the book is both literate in the dense and self-reflexive world of superheroes and complex enough to offer long-form character development. You need to know comic books to really get everything out of the book, but it works on other levels too. King seems well-read in many kinds of literature and has come up with fresh sets of characters and ideas. It's a terrific first novel, and I'm curious to see its effect on literary conventions. But mostly, I think readers will like reading it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The power of good literature is alive and well July 10, 2012

By Amazon LLon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's hard to believe that this is a first novel by this young writer. It has the wit, fluidity, and page-turning intensity that one generally gets only from veteran literary writers. I truly enjoyed every minute of it, and when I had to put it down a few times to take care of some business, its characters haunted me. I couldn't wait to get back to it.

If you are looking for depth and complexity, for literary muscle, King's novel, which turns Dante's Paradiso on its head, has plenty of all of that, but the most thrilling thing about this book is that its depth and complexity and literary muscle don't weigh the book down a bit. For all its abundant intelligence and literary playfulness, the book reads like a summer thriller. It is truly a joy. I also love the little pieces of graphic novel that blend perfectly into the text now and then.

I hope somebody in Hollywood picks up on King's story. It would make a great film. I'd love to experience it as a movie. These are great characters battling a world gone completely wrong, learning how to fight all over again. In this sense, the book is a metaphor for King's own experience. I understand he applied to join the CIA the day after the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11, abandoning plans to go to law school, and then served as an undercover CIA agent in some of the most dangerous places in the world doing what his characters in this book do: learning to fight an unexpected and deadly battle with tools and fortitude they never imagined they would have to use.

It's a wonderful book, deep and meaningful but truly entertaining. I hope this guy keeps writing. He is somebody to pay attention to.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Literate Take on Super Heroes July 10, 2012

By James Joyce Fan

Format:Hardcover

My husband is one of those lucky comic book nerds who found a fellow comic book nerd to marry. Long before I met my hubby, I was turned on to Watchmen a couple years after its release when I was about ten or so. It was easily the smartest piece of literature I touched until high school, by which time I'd read Watchmen twenty times. I've been trying to amass a collection of comics and graphic novels--or any literature for that matter--which sets out to deconstruct the genre, and I've sadly concluded over the years that all of these works generally do little more than expound on Moore's original work, AT BEST. I think that the Incredibles must have done more to introduce comic-deconstruction themes to a mass audience than most comics since Watchmen.

AT LAST, we have another work to look deep into the meaning of comics and the idea of metacomic writing in Mr. King's work. For the first time since my read of Watchmen all those years ago, I find myself reading this title, now for the second time since I got it yesterday and blew through it in one night. I'm happily finding new insight in both the storyline and the greater themes that King must have considered at length before he wrote word one of this novel.

And, not for nothing, it is an exciting read, with well thought out and believable characters, particularly with regards to one of the characters (Soldier). I judge most of what I read in any fiction by my ability to believe in the motives of the main characters, which accounts heavily for my high rating.

Happy reading!