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Jean-Christophe Valtat

Aurorarama Hardcover – August 31, 2010

by Jean-Christophe Valtat (Author)

41 ratings

Book 1 of 2: The Mysteries of New Venice

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A startling, seductive literary novel that entwines suspense, science fiction, adventure, romance and history into an intoxicating new genre.

1908: New Venice--"the pearl of the Arctic"--a place of ice palaces and pneumatic tubes, of beautifully ornate carriage-sleds and elegant victorian garb, of long nights and vistas of ice.

But as the city prepares for spring, it feels more like qaartsiluni, "the time when something is about to explode in the dark." Local "poletics" are wracked by tensions with the Eskimos circling the city, with suffragette riots led by an underground music star, with drug round-ups by the secret police force known as the Gentlemen of the Night. An ominous black airship hovers over the city, and the Gentlemen are hunting for the author of a radical pamphlet calling for revolt.

Their lead suspect is Brentford Orsini, one of the city's most prominent figures. But as the Gentlemen of the Night tighten the net around him, Orsini receives a mysterious message from a long-lost love that compels him to act.

What transpires is a literary adventure novel unlike anything you've ever read before. Brilliant in its conception, masterful in its prose, thrilling in its plot twists, and laced with humor, suspense, and intelligence, it marks the beginning of a great new series of books set in New Venice-and the launch of an astonishing new writer.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Melville House
Publication date

August 31, 2010
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.49 x 9.29 inches
ISBN-10

1935554131
ISBN-13

978-1935554134
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Jean-Christophe Valtat
4
Hardcover
11 offers from $3.49
Jean-Christophe Valtat
7
Paperback
50 offers from $1.36

Jean-Christophe Valtat
4
Hardcover
11 offers from $3.49

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Illustrations from Aurorarama
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Title page A Panorama of New Venice "He drew a curtain aside...""...the disused Pneumatic subway line"

From Bookmarks Magazine

Described as “gloriously retro literary steampunk” (Guardian), something like “what Jules Verne would write if woken from the dead and offered a dose of mushrooms” (National), Aurorarama captivated the critics from start to end. As it slowly unravels its secrets through Orsini’s and d’Allier’s alternating perspectives, the narrative “glides on silver skates from the surreal to the absurd to the languorously decadent” (Salon.com), balancing a stylish, suspenseful thriller with eccentric characters, sly humor, and a vivid and alluring setting. Salon.com bemoaned Valtat’s flat female characters and the National cited some of the pitfalls of world building, but these complaints didn’t diminish the charms of New Venice. A sophisticated and literate page-turner, Aurorarama should have a wide appeal among many readers.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Melville House; First Edition (August 31, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1935554131
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1935554134
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.51 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.49 x 9.29 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,465,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,130 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books)
- #147,105 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #151,516 in Action & Adventure Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
41 ratings

About the author

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Jean-Christophe Valtat

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Jean-Christophe Valtat (1968-?) is a pure product of the Summer of Love and the French republican school system. He lives in Montpellier, France, and writes novels whenever he feels like it, either in French or in English.

He has just finished a "dream-punk" trilogy, "The Mysteries of New Venice", including "Aurorarama" (2010), "Luminous Chaos" (2013) and "Suspended Citadels" (2016).

More information at http://johnblank9.wixsite.com/blankpages

Customer reviews

5 star		43%
4 star		10%
3 star		21%
2 star		25%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Lou

Great Read, especially if you like Steam Punk

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014

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I really enjoyed this book. It had an unusual plot, many, many great moments of Steam Punk concepts, and interesting, complex characters. The story and word choice are at times layered in a way that makes the read curious and contemplative; there are some excellent turns of phrase and I very much enjoyed the structure of the book with whimsical quotes and a long historical backstory. I'm not personally really into frozen landscapes, but I very much enjoyed the descriptions and the story gave me a new interest an larger respect for people who live in a cold, snowy world.

I have bought the sequel and am really looking forward to reading it.

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LowbrowLitLover

I wanted to like this book--it has a great premise and a lot ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2015

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I wanted to like this book--it has a great premise and a lot of potentially good world-building in it. But for me it never gelled. The book was marketed as steam-punk, but it is really only steampunk in the more technological and location sense--it's 1908 and this Arctic metropolis exists and there are all these problems and mysteries and pneumatic tubes and sleds. But for the most part Valtat doesn't build a convincing or compelling picture of this world: his New Venice of 1908 normally looks more like some Euro-cosmopolis in 2008: rave scenesters doing psychedelics to frozen trance music; some vague sense of millenial anarchism; Eskimos being inscrutable; etc. Lots of boring ingestion of drugs, mediocre dialogue; characters I found flat and boring, with 2 largely undifferentiated protagonists. I don't normally worry about books being "relatable," which is a useless criterion, but I often found myself asking "who does Valtat think his audience is?" Why should we care? I'm not inclined to read the next installment of this series.

2 people found this helpful

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hélène k.

a multilevel novel

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2010

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Aurorarama has so many reading levels that it has fulfilled all the desires of the multiple reader in me.

On the political side, Aurorarama belongs to the fruitful genre of utopias---fruitful, in the sense that the exoticism of the scenery helps you reflecting about your own experience. To be more precise, even though the story takes place in 1908, many of the lessons of the twentieth century are on the operating table. As in a laboratory, we lean over guinea-pig characters and follow their efforts to tackle issues such as polar post-colonialism (with tragicomic, vivid eskimo scenes), sustainable development (by 80° north), pervasive police (all the more chilling that they are exquisitely polite), or "hedonistic fascism" (with hype music bands and hyper-protective surgeons working for the ruling power)...

Aurorarama has also delighted the fiction-lover in me, by intertwinning an otherwise straightforward tale with shamanic trances, spiritual journeys to the pole, uncanny hallucinatory descriptions or dream restranscriptions. Without being ever tedious in his psychological forays, the author manages to usher the reader into the most secret recess of the characters. By the end of the book, the main characters have become old acquaintances whom you leave regretfully.

Eventually, the novel brims with wit. The numerous dialogues are swift, even during dramatic showdowns. They give to the whole novel an effervescent pace, page after page.

Enchanted scenery, instructive background, enthralling story, wealthy language and witty dialogues: five well-deserved stars.

3 people found this helpful

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M.

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2014

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A beautifully written book, in a gorgeous world, but the characterization did not appeal.

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the4and5

What just happened? Did anyone edit this book?

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2012

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I really wanted to like this book. There is so much potential here!! However, I couldn't get past the feeling that I was reading a second or third book in a series where you're supposed to already know a good bit about what is happening and who particular characters are. There are many moments when reading this where you will be moving right along and then something happens and you are rendered completely confused. You'll go back a few chapters thinking you've missed something important, but, no, you didn't miss anything at all. That, and the editing job on this book is HORRIBLE! There are far too many sentences in this book where words have either been clearly left out or words have clearly been added.

All that being said, I honestly think that if you give this book a try you'll somehow manage to actually enjoy it despite frequent moments of utter confusion.

2 people found this helpful

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V

Quirky

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2013

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What a mad journey. Morals, mad characters, la belle epoque set in a fictions world, magic, rebels, indigenous people, set in a cold, cold world of snow and ice!

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jim,harrison

airora , what was it? Did I finish it?

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2013

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Perhaps it is not my type of book,I find it hard to rate it at all. The three stars are for the author who has done a great work in producing it. wanders on from amazing ediface to futuristic buildings in great quantities, I liked the crystal city, did not get close to any of the people, did not hear much about the Aurora and what causes it and its colours.If you have the time , it has a strange purpose of its own, didnt lead me anywhere. I had the time so finished it, wouldnt be able to repeat it as a good read. Jim Harrison

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2013

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Absorbing the words contained in this book was a way I chose to pass some time. Before giving up, realizing I could go no further. Seriously, what made me buy this?

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