Winter of the World / Queen of Air and Darkness [Paperback]

Poul Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 1982

Thousands of years from now, after a new Ice Age has reduced our world to frozen ruins, new civilizations and cultures arise from the Ice. But as the people of tomorrow slowly uncover the lost technology of the past, they also rediscover war, conquest, diplomacy...and betrayal.

While the might Rahidain-Barammian Empire expands across the globe, Josserek Derrain, uncover agent for the freedom-loving Seafolk, must find a way to save his people from the Empire's grasp. His best hope is an alliance with the Rogaviki, a wild and nomadic race whose women are rumored to cast an unbreakable spell on any man who dares seek them out.

Between barbarians and aristocrats, spied and soldiers, the battle lines are drawn in the ultimate conflict to determine who will rule over...The Winter of the World.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Poul Anderson is science fiction's premier historian, past, present, and alternative."--The Detroit News

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

The bestselling author of such classic novels as Brain Wave and The Boat of a Million Years, Poul Anderson won just about every award the science fiction and fantasy field has to offer. He has won multiple Hugos and Nebulas, the John W. Campbell Award, The Locus Poll Award, the Skylark Award, and the SFWA Grandmaster Award for Lifetime Achievement. His recent books include Harvest of Stars, The Stars are also On Fire, Operation Chaos, Operation Luna, Genesis, Mother of Kings, and Going for Infinity, a collection and retrospective of his life's work. Poul Anderson lived in Orinda, California where he passed away in 2001.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Roc (December 7, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451119401
• ISBN-13: 978-0451119407
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,058,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Anderson's Better Novels, August 4, 2005

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The winter of the world (Hardcover)

This is one of Anderson's better novels. Set on Earth several thousand years in the future during a glacial period, The Winter of the World uses a relatively conventional adventure story to present a clever idea about human evolution. The clever idea is the development of a new hominid species. Anderson suggests a mechanism of geographic isolation of a small population followed by intense selection to produce a new species. This is a straightforward extension of Mayr's allopatric model of speciation, now accepted as the predominant mode of speciation. Much of the book is devoted to describing the nature of these new hominids. The behavior of these alternative hominids is that of a romanticized and modernized noble savage. The plot is clunky; Anderson had some difficulties in melding his adventure story with the revelation that principal characters are a different kind of hominid. The quality of writing, like much of Anderson's work, is competent rather than good. There is a substantial element of wish fulfillment in this book. Anderson was a politically conservative individual with a pronounced libertarian bent. At the same time, he had strong reservations about the nature of capitalism. Many of his books present a longing for an 'organic society' based on strong individualism but with society based on strong personal ties and respect for the natural world. In this book, he achieves his wish by altering human biology.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars future medieval civilization meets Northern strangers, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Winter of the World (Mass Market Paperback)

The Winter of the World portrays a far-future earth in which the Northerners have evolved just enough to have their differences show what is lacking in the future medieval-human civilization. Donya of Hervar meets a human bent on espionage, in an action-packed, wonderfully war tale and love story. The differences in the two ures bring ecstacy but ultimately sadness to the human half of the love affair. Women are depicted as strong, independent, and thoughtful, somewhat unusual in a medieval tale. Highly recommended for all but the most ardent warrior-types.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review of original 1975 hardcover edition., May 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Winter of the World (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is short. It skims over many action sequences and jumps ahead several months at a time between chapters. Winter seems to have been an outline for a much longer series of novels involving the characters in this post-apocalypic primitive world. The number of names and places thrown in are sometimes confusing even for the seasoned reader