West of January [Paperback]

Dave Duncan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2002

Set on a distant planet, far in the future, West of January tells the story of a world in which time moves very slowly. Because it takes a lifetime for each region of the planet to experience dawn, midday and dusk, the planet's population does not remember the catastrophes that occur as the sun moves across the sky-entire civilizations have been scorched into oblivion. The only people who remember the dangers of the past are the planet's "angels"-a people who have tried to preserve past technologies to save the planet. This action-filled story of a very strange planet showcases Duncan's remarkable ability to create unique worlds.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan has lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds are more satisfying than the real one, he has published more than thirty novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical. He has at times been Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?").

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Red Deer Press; 1 edition (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889952523
• ISBN-13: 978-0889952522
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,183,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Duncan is a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction, best known for his fantasy series, particularly The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word, and The King's Blades. He and his wife Janet, his in-house editor and partner for over fifty years, live in Victoria, British Columbia. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Duncan's two best, September 25, 2004

By 

Norman Siebrasse - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West of January (Paperback)

In my opinion 'West of January' and 'Shadow' are Dave Duncan's two best books. Not only are these undoubtedly the best of his single book novels, in many ways they are better than his series. My other favourite works by Duncan are his earlier series -- in particular 'A Man of His Word', 'The Great Game' and 'The Seventh Swordman'. West of January and Shadow are a distillation of what is best about Duncan; a coherent and intriguing alternative universe, excellent characterization and plotting -- plus a keen moral edge that is sometimes submerged in the storyline of his series. It's as if you took one of best series and squeezed the essence into a single book. Shadow has been re-released, and I hope the same happens to West of Janurary.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good old-fashioned lost-colony SF. 3.7 stars, November 27, 2005

By 

Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West of January (Paperback)

_____________________________________________
I've always liked Duncan's SF, and finally got around to this one, which was recently reissued. This is a classic hardscrabble-colony story, set on a resonance-tidelocked planet, where the habitable zone migrates around the world. In their struggle to survive, the colonists have lost most of their technology. The protag is a neolithic-level herdsman, just coming-of-age. He has an untypically upwardly-mobile career.

There are no real surprises here, but good, clean, workmanlike writing that moves right along to an implausible (but fun) power-fantasy wrapup. Recommended for frivolous relaxation.

Here's an enthusiastic review by John Toon, at Infinity Plus {google}
"This is an astonishing exercise in world-building, rich and bold in design, and a complex and emotional biography of its protagonist..."

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Dave Duncan book -- quite good, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: West of January (Mass Market Paperback)

Like "Shadow," another of Dave Duncan's early books, this is the story of an iconoclastic hero set in the far future, in a world that doesn't work exactly the way ours does. In this world, because of the way the earth revolves and rotates, the sun moves across the sky with agonizing slowness. It takes lifetimes for a region to experience dawn, midday and dusk. From generation to generation, the people of this world forget the catastrophes that occur when the sun moves -- except for the "angels," people who have preserved the ancient knowledge and work to try and save the other people from the destruction that threatens them when the sun moves. The hero of this book, Knobil, was born among the herdsmen, a savage race where the men kill each other and exile their sons so that every man can have as many women and children as possible. Knobil, however, is the son of an angel, and his destiny soon takes him among all the other people of his world -- the beautiful but mindless seafolk, the cruel slavers, the wily traders, the terrible spinsters whose secret he discovers nearly too late.