Swiftly (GollanczF.) [Hardcover]

Adam Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Series: GollanczF. | Publication Date: March 20, 2008

A Wellsian sequel to Gulliver's Travels and a unique piece of SF literature all of its own. It is 1848 and the British Empire has grown rich exploiting Lilliputian slaves—the finesse of their working allowing unheard of feats of minature engineering; even Babbage's computing device has been made to work. But now the French have formed a regiment of previously peaceful Brobdingnagian giants and invasion looms. In a world where humanity is both smaller and larger than it once was, love and hate loom large. Mankind discovers itself at the center of scale. Lilliptians are 12 times smaller than us but there are those 12 times smaller than them, and 12 times smaller again and so on. And the scale of being goes up from Swift's giants also. Adam Roberts has written both a rip roaring 19th century adventure, a love story, and a thought-provoking pre-atomic SF novel about our place in the universe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The king of high concept."  —The Guardian

"A brilliant burlesque conceit, and Roberts exploits it in bravura fashion." — Locus

"A worthy science fictional successor to Swift's indispensable masterwork . . . equal parts adventure story and social commentary. Its philosophy is Swift's, but its success is all Roberts's own."  —Strange Horizons

"An endlessly inventive writer . . . one of our most intelligent and versatile authors."  —SFRevu

"Darkly satirical . . . a dystopian vision in the tradition of Swift, Orwell, and Atwood."  —The Times

About the Author

Adam Roberts is the author of Gradisil and Salt, both of which were shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (March 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575075899
• ISBN-13: 978-0575075894
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,196,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not So Swift, December 21, 2011

By 

Crusty Critic "Crusty" (Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swiftly (GollanczF.) (Paperback)

A fascinating idea: Suppose Gulliver's Lilliputians and Brobdignagians were real and pulled into European history, causing many changes by the 19th century? Alas, Roberts, who writes very well, has created a dull, plodding novel filled with characters who are impossible to like or be interested in, full of philosophical, religious, and scientific allusions which reveal his widely read erudition, but just make you groan. I suppose there must be a point, but I really don't care. I hope that Roberts will apply his considerable writing talents to another interesting idea, but this time with characters who have some kind of appeal and events that can draw you in.