In this breathtaking debut novel by Felix Gilman, one man
embarks on a thrilling and treacherous quest for his
people’s lost god—in an elaborate Dickensian city that is
either blessed …or haunted.
Arjun arrives in Ararat
just as a magnificent winged creature swoops and sails over
the city. For it is the day of the return of that
long-awaited, unpredictable mystical creature: the great
Bird. But does it come for good or ill? And in the service
of what god? Whatever its purpose, for one inhabitant the
Bird sparks a long-dormant idea: to map the mapless city and
liberate its masses with the power of knowledge.
As
the creature soars across the land, shifting topography,
changing the course of the river, and redrawing the
territories of the city’s avian life, crowds cheer and guns
salute in a mix of science and worship. Then comes the time
for the Bird’s power to be trapped—within the hull of a
floating warship called Thunderer, an
astounding and unprecedented weapon. The ship is now a
living temple to the Bird, a gift to be used, allegedly, in
the interests of all of Ararat.
Hurtled into this
convulsing world is Arjun, an innocent who will unwittingly
unleash a dark power beyond his imagining—and become
entangled in a dangerous underground movement that will
forever transform Ararat. As havoc overtakes the streets,
Arjun dares to test the city’s moving boundaries. In this
city of gods, he has come to search among them, not to hide.
A tour de force of the imagination, and a brilliant
tale of rebellion, Thunderer heralds the arrival of a
truly gifted fantasy writer who has created a tale as rich,
wondrous, and captivating as the world in which it is set.
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