The Radix Tetrad — (1981-1988) Publisher: A young man’s odyssey of self discovery in a world eerily alien, yet hauntingly familiar. Set thirteen centuries in the future, A. A. Attanasio meticulously creates a brilliantly realized Earth, rich in detail and filled with beings brought to life with intense energy. In this strange and beautiful world, Sumner Kagan will change from an adolescent outcast to a warrior with god-like powers and in the process take us on an epic and transcendent journey. Nebula Award Nominee.
Arthor— (1994-1999) Publisher: A queen, a pilgrim, a demon — and a king with a world to save. Beneath every beloved legend there is a deeper legend still, etched in ancient stone. The Dragon and the Unicorn begins before the beginning of Time, as light first cools to matter, bearing within it the electron glow of lost Heaven. Attanasio’s epic tale of a quest for immortality spans all history, human and demihuman, from the dung fires on the steppes to the snows of Himalayas, from the mudhut cities on the Euphrates to the glass and steel towers of tomorrow, from the hunt for the Unicorn’s horn to the ceaseless wars of elf and dragon, Celt and Roman. It is a quest that end — and begins — in a legend-heavy place at the edge of the Western Sea, with the first cry of a King new born. A place called Tint gel. A King, the Heir Pendragon, called Eagle of Thor, or… Arthor.
Dominions of Irth — (1996-1998) Written under the pseudonym Adam Lee. Publisher: There are seven Dominion of Irth, rules by the benevolent wizarduke Lord Drev — a once-peaceful world now torn asunder by the vengeful and might Dark Lord. Once the usurper was merely mortal — a scavenger who found a fabled sword and raised it high to lead the wretched in bloody, failed revolt against the ruling Peers. But the Abyss into which he was cast for his abominations has transformed the baseborn Wrat into Hu’dre Vra — a foul being of great, godless power and undiminished fury. He is now the Dark Lord, crossing over from the Dark Shore with is nightmare hordes of winged flesh-devouring cacodemons — determined to devastate the world that rejected him… and remake it in his own vile image. With horror, the people of Irth realize that the Charm that magically protects them has been rendered powerless against the onslaught. The once-majestic floating city of Arwar Odawl lies in smoking ruin. And Lord Drev must find refuge from his terrible foe among the streetfighters, pickpockets and destitute urchins who inhabit it.
Stand-alones:
Beast Marks — (1984)
Wyvern — (1988) Fans of adventure yarns may relish this blend of fantasy and historical fiction if they take to the author’s baroque, tinted prose and lush imagination. Jaki Gefjon, son of a native Borneo woman and a Dutch sea captain, starts life as witch-doctor’s slave and apprentice. Later kidnapped by pirates, he befriends his captor, Trevor Pym, famed for his dreaded man-of-war, the Wyvern. Jaki falls for Lucinda, the headstrong daughter of Pym’s arch-rival, Captain William Quarles. Crammed with intrigue, pirates’ battles, curses and visions, this seafaring saga takes Lucinda and Jaki from the South Seas to India to the New World. Various plot strands interweavethe encroachment of colonialism on the world of spirits, Jaki’s hard-won self-acceptance after abandoning the role of European gentleman, the clash of duty versus romance as Lucinda defies her father. But the cardboard characters defeat the book’s epic and historicl pretensions. Attanasio’s previous novels include Radix , a Nebula Award nominee, and Arc of the Dream.
Hunting the Ghost Dancer — (1991) Publisher: This is the story of the gripping epic of the murderous clash between the last of the Neanderthals and the new, emerging race of Homo Sapiens. The primal force of the narrative drives the reader into a world of terrifying savagery and great tenderness. Attanasio’s imagination and descriptive powers truly know no bounds. Whe a deadly plague devastates the Blue Shell tribe, three young friends band together for the perilous journey to the territory of the Tree People. Duru, the girl, is eagerly accepted for her magical powers. But the two young men must prove themselves worthy by hunting down and destroying the giant Naenderthal — the last of his line — who has been terrorizing the tribe.
Kingdom of the Grail — (1992) Young Adult. Publisher: Ten years after the aged Baroness Ailena Valaise was turned out of her castle by her son, Guy, Ailena returns, restored to her youth by a drink from the Holy Grail, and announces her plans to end Guy’s reign.
The Moon’s Wife: A Hystery — (1993) Publisher: Siggy Lindo, a young bookkeeper living a rather mundane life, suddenly finds herself possessed by the power of the moon, symptoms that lead her to a psychiatric clinic, where she meets Daniel. An astonishing contemporary adventure and spellbinding love story.
Solis — (1994) Publisher: Mr. Charlie is a brain without a body, revived after being frozen for a thousand years. ** Charlie Outis has no idea of what the world might be like in the far future after he decides to have his brain frozen with the slim hope of it being revived one day. ** But even a thousand years from now, brains are a valuable commodity — even brains without heads. But who does the brain belong to? And who controls a mind without a body. ** Solis is a thought provoking and original exploration of what it means to be a sentient being by the author of the highly acclaimed Radix Tetrad, and an author, the Los Angeles Times calls “a truly amazing, original talent.”
Centuries — (1997) Publisher: Another mind-bending science fiction epic from a true visionary, Centuries explores a barely recognizable future where humans control their own evolution. Genetic manipulation and artificial intelligence shape an astounding destiny for our species. *** With these wondrous changes come unexpected new truths of heart and mind that challenge the very definition of human-and that threaten not only our existence but the universe itself as our surprising powers — both miraculous and monstrous — evolve through the centuries.
The Perilous Order: Warriors of the Round Table — (1998) Publisher: Arthor has achieved the impossible — pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone. He is now king of all Britain. But the tribal chieftains are not willing to accept a beardless 15-year-old lad as their ruler. Arthor must take his frail power and win the pledges of loyalty from his subjects.
The Conjure Book — (2007) Young Adult. Publisher: Life is lonely for 13-year-old Jane Riggs in the historical New England village that is her new home – until she discovers a four-hundred-year-old book of spells that really works. Guided by the ghost of the witch who wrote the conjure book, Jane embarks on a terrifying but glorious quest for magical power. Her ambition is to contact her mother, dead these ten years and remembered only in photographs. For such a great prize, Jane is willing to risk much among the weird creatures she conjures out of the spirit world. But she will need more than courage when her magic follows her to school. After an evil spirit fox steals her classmate’s soul, life suddenly gets very complicated. Coming of age among dark, elemental powers while not missing a day of seventh grade is not easy. And the answers Jane needs for growing up don’t seem to be in the conjure book.
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