The Year of Our War (GollanczF.) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I knew my own words, however badly reported, so I flicked to page five, where there was a cartoon with a surprising likeness of Lightning..." (more)
Key Phrases: shield wall, Grass Isle, Stormy Petrel, Dunlin Rachiswater (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In British author Swainston's first novel, a well-written, if occasionally uneven, fantasy, three humanoid species coexist successfully in a medieval world under the rule of a benevolent, immortal emperor, supported by a circle of 50 immortal warriors. For many centuries, however, this civilization has been under attack by Insects, monstrous creatures who convert everything they conquer into the Paperlands, endless wastelands of bizarre white walls and tunnels. Now one of the immortals, Jant the Messenger, addicted to the hallucinatory drug called cat, which allows him access to an alternate universe, has discovered the Insects' secret. Despite his debilitating addiction, Jant must find a way to preserve his world against the monsters' increasing onslaught. Numerous bloody battles keep the action moving, and Swainston has a powerful sense of the surreal, but her domestic scenes tend to drag and verge on soap opera. Jant is an engaging antihero, though most of the other characters are fairly flat. This off-beat fantasy should appeal to fans of China Miéville's fiction as well as to those who remember Roger Zelazny's Amber series with fondness.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

'An enjoyable piece of 'weird' fiction' -- Andrew Osmond DREAMWATCH 'A joy to read, it is bursting at the seams with ideas. The Year of Our War is the first book that makes you believe New Weird actually is a movement, rather than a bunch of books China Mieville likes. A Mieville quote appears prominently on the cover where he describes the book as "thoughtful, exuberant, incredibly inventive, funny but never whimsical or mannered." This is true and it doubles as a kind of manifesto pledge for New Weird' SF Site 'A stunning fantasy, and the most incredible thing about it is that it is a first novel... The setting is impeccably realised, with a deftness of touch and a genius for description which would be impressive in an author of considerably greater experience - of the current crop of British fantasy writers, only China Mieville can touch this level of brilliance. In fifty years time, people are still going to be reading this book and talking about it the way we talk about Gormengast' -- George Walkley INK MAGAZINE 'The density of Swainston's creation is breathtaking. But Swainston's also a knockout writer for scenes of triumphant action. Having created a world that's almost too complex to comprehend, she's able to unravel scenes of spectacular conflict. From the jaw-dropping opening chapter to the tense and bloody finish, Swainston puts the reader in the picture with a clarity that challenges cinema.' -- Rick Kleffel TRASHOTRON Her descriptive passages are rich and vivid and her characterisation is actually even better; frankly it's superb... Even her dialogue is free-flowing, original, yet natural-sounding; how often do you get that from a debut novelist? As for the protagonist himself: in Jant Shira, Swainston has come upwith one of the most irrepressibly loveable rogues in fantasy fiction, bar none. So, The Year of War has everything, yes? It's about as close to a perfect debut as you can get.' THE ALIEN ONLINE Every so often in publishing a buzz develops about a book. The current buzz is most definitely the property of Steph Swainston and her stunning debut novel, The Year of our War. If it has antecedents then they are Angela Carter, Roger Zelazny, M. John Harrison and China Mieville. But while drawing on such illustrious forebears, it is by no means derivative. It is very much its own thing. It has a rare combination of the grim, the bizarre and the hilarious. And somehow it all works. EMERALD CITY

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; First Edition, First Printing edition (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575070056
• ISBN-13: 978-0575070059
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,470,551 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Castle Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lots of potential for a great story but....., November 21, 2004

By	A. White "adynomoose" (New Orleans, La United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Year of Our War (Paperback)

This book tries to take too many directions. The characters and situations are compelling but, just when it's about to hook you, The Year of Our War goes off on another sub-plot.
I would really like to see a more focused look at the world that Steph Swainston has created here. The Year of Our War only gives a teaser of this world.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new type of fantasy, December 23, 2006

By	Larry Ketchersid "author of Dusk Before the Dawn" (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Year of Our War (Paperback)

After a while, one grows tired of elves and orcs and barbarians and the typical fantasy stories. Steph Swainston has invented a new and unique world with none of the normal suspects in it, with great imagination that still leaves a lot to the readers to ponder.

She creates a world with mortals and immortals, where the immortals must earn their place by being the best at what they can do: the best swordsman, the best sailor, the best archer. Immortality is betowed upon them by the Emperor San...where he got the ability to do this is one of the mysteries of the series.

Jant Comet is one of the immortals, called the Messenger because of his unique ability to fly. Because he is the Emperor's Messenger, we get to see the politics of the realm, and even see Jant change a few things.

The Emperor's realm is at war with the Insects, who look like bugs many times the size of humans and who build paper nests out of counqueorer lands. Where the Insects have come from is yet another of the mysteries in the book and series.

Jant is an addict to a substance called Cat. Ms. Swainston's portrayl of Jant's addiction, in this book and the next, is dead on...she must have known or studied addicts quite closely.

Jant's addiction gives him entrance into a parallel world, a world he and we the readers are not sure is real until we explore it further. Then it becomes tied in with the Emperor's world and the Insects.

Ms. Swainston mixes political intrigue (immortals battling each other for position; non-immortals vs. the Emperor; mortals vying to become immortals), war (vividly imagines human vs. insect fighting scenes, shades of Stormship Troopers!), addiction and Jant's journey of self-discovery into an excellent fantasy novel. As an author, what I most admire about the writing is her ability to not tell the reader what is going on (at least for the big stuff) but to let us figure it out. The novel held me in suspense till the end, made we eager for the next (which is equally good).

Highly recommended.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mieville wannabee, July 22, 2005

By	Rich Gubitosi (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year of Our War (Paperback)

Swainston is probably the first (or at least the first whom I've read) China Mieville copycat. She populates The Year of Our War with original, absurb creatures, but unlike Mieville, she doesn't make them interesting, believable, or logical. They are scenery; they make cameos, but they never add substance to the story. That's the flaw in this novel: Too much style, not enough substance. Once the weirdness factor becomes familiar, the novel's allure wears off. All of the supporting characters are flat, and the protagonist is barely likable. There is not enough backstory and exposition: For example, some of the characters are immortal yet they die in battle. What's the point of immortality of some thug can stick a knife in your back? The climax and denouement are rushed and unsatisfying. Swainston writes with flair and panache, and I hope that her next work is able to wed her gift for style with a substantial story.