Sandman Slim系列暢銷作家Richard Kadrey，建立出一個蒼翠繁茂、黑暗卻又獨立的幻想世界。
在一個極度淒涼和美麗的世界，有個文明和混亂交織的城市名為Proszawa。在戰爭結束之後，此城市以頹廢和無憂無慮的精神慶祝和平，但這種享樂主義中，充斥著毒品、性愛和無盡的派對，麻木了居民對日常生活中存在的詭譎現實：所有的智能自動化工作、開發基因工程生物作為寵物和戰爭的怪獸、一個每天發生兩次謀殺案的劇院，而這樣對週遭狀況的麻木如同一種新的瘟疫。
一個有野心的癮君子Largo，是個在貧民窟長大的自行車信使，且對這座城市的街道和秘密暸若指掌。他有一個改變人生的機會：和社會精英之間的接觸有可能讓他走上正軌，讓自己走出街頭。但在這個享樂主義影響下，人人的情緒內心都變得黑暗的城市，夢想可能是一件極其危險的事情，而他人當然會使用任何方法來確保控制權，因此在這一切的背後，新戰爭的威脅總是無時無刻存在著……。(文/博客來編譯)
“A stand-alone heavy hitter that’s more in line with recent deviants like Chuck Wendig’s upcoming Wanderers (2019) and Daniel H. Wilson’s The Clockwork Dynasty (2017). Tonally, this lush novel is closer to Scott Lynch’s pirate fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006), but technologically it resembles the near-future dystopias of Cory Doctorow or China Miéville […] Wildly ambitious and inventive fantasy from an author who’s punching above his weight in terms of worldbuilding—and winning.” -- Kirkus (starred review)
***
From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.
The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.
Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.
But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.
Review
“Kadrey has written for us a beautiful nightmare — one that’s often eerily familiar — showing a theatrical world set on the edge of war, and losing itself in the shadows of brutality and oppression.” (Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers)
“The Grand Dark is a miracle of the old and the new: a tale of weimar decadence that is also a parable for our New Gilded Age [...] It’s a fun and terrifying ride, gritty and relentless, burning with true love and revolutionary fervor.” (Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Walkaway)
“Wildly ambitious and inventive fantasy from an author who’s punching above his weight in terms of worldbuilding—and winning.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))
“Stunning. The hard, spare, considered voice that’s driven Kadrey’s gonzo supernatural noir has been honed to a deft Kafka-esque edge. Unsettling and dreamlike, seductive and bleak, the jaws of The Grand Dark gape to devour you.” (Max Gladstone, author of Empress of Forever)
“Artisanal gene mod and robots and coal dust and a big middle finger to the oligarchs, plus bicycles!” (New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne)
“[For] readers who like morally complex characters and enjoy their fantasy on the dark side.” (Booklist)
在一個極度淒涼和美麗的世界，有個文明和混亂交織的城市名為Proszawa。在戰爭結束之後，此城市以頹廢和無憂無慮的精神慶祝和平，但這種享樂主義中，充斥著毒品、性愛和無盡的派對，麻木了居民對日常生活中存在的詭譎現實：所有的智能自動化工作、開發基因工程生物作為寵物和戰爭的怪獸、一個每天發生兩次謀殺案的劇院，而這樣對週遭狀況的麻木如同一種新的瘟疫。
一個有野心的癮君子Largo，是個在貧民窟長大的自行車信使，且對這座城市的街道和秘密暸若指掌。他有一個改變人生的機會：和社會精英之間的接觸有可能讓他走上正軌，讓自己走出街頭。但在這個享樂主義影響下，人人的情緒內心都變得黑暗的城市，夢想可能是一件極其危險的事情，而他人當然會使用任何方法來確保控制權，因此在這一切的背後，新戰爭的威脅總是無時無刻存在著……。(文/博客來編譯)
“A stand-alone heavy hitter that’s more in line with recent deviants like Chuck Wendig’s upcoming Wanderers (2019) and Daniel H. Wilson’s The Clockwork Dynasty (2017). Tonally, this lush novel is closer to Scott Lynch’s pirate fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006), but technologically it resembles the near-future dystopias of Cory Doctorow or China Miéville […] Wildly ambitious and inventive fantasy from an author who’s punching above his weight in terms of worldbuilding—and winning.” -- Kirkus (starred review)
***
From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.
The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.
Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.
But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.
Review
“Kadrey has written for us a beautiful nightmare — one that’s often eerily familiar — showing a theatrical world set on the edge of war, and losing itself in the shadows of brutality and oppression.” (Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers)
“The Grand Dark is a miracle of the old and the new: a tale of weimar decadence that is also a parable for our New Gilded Age [...] It’s a fun and terrifying ride, gritty and relentless, burning with true love and revolutionary fervor.” (Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Walkaway)
“Wildly ambitious and inventive fantasy from an author who’s punching above his weight in terms of worldbuilding—and winning.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))
“Stunning. The hard, spare, considered voice that’s driven Kadrey’s gonzo supernatural noir has been honed to a deft Kafka-esque edge. Unsettling and dreamlike, seductive and bleak, the jaws of The Grand Dark gape to devour you.” (Max Gladstone, author of Empress of Forever)
“Artisanal gene mod and robots and coal dust and a big middle finger to the oligarchs, plus bicycles!” (New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne)
“[For] readers who like morally complex characters and enjoy their fantasy on the dark side.” (Booklist)