Thunderer

October 29, 2007
Scattershot plotting and puzzling theology notwithstanding, there’s much to like in Gilman’s first novel, fantasy set in the ever-shifting city of Ararat. Once a gifted composer in the distant city of Gad, Arjun has come to Ararat seeking the intangible Voice. Instead, he finds a city filled with other gods, streets that resist being mapped and citizens touched in varying ways by the passing of the mysterious Bird. Gilman’s literary antecedents are intriguingly diverse. Ararat itself fuses elements of Renaissance Venice and Victor Hugo’s Paris. Arjun’s search leads at times into gaslight-era SF à la Jules Verne, at others into distinctly Poe-like horror, while a secondary plot transforms street youth Jack into a hybrid of Peter Pan and Dickens’s Artful Dodger. Impressively, the whole remains essentially coherent, though just how and why Ararat’s gods behave as they do is unclear, and parts of the convoluted climax rely too heavily on underexplained aspects of the city’s nature. Nonetheless, strongly conveyed atmosphere and intriguing characters make this a distinctive debut.

December 15, 2007
As predicted, the godlike being known as the Great Bird soars across the sprawling city of Ararat, changing the land's topography and recarving avian territories. A young boy, Jack, races across the rooftops to catch part of the Bird's powersucceeding in unexpected ways. The Countess of Ararat supervises a ritual to trap the Bird's energy in her floating warship, the "Thunderer", commanded by the idolized Captain Arlandes. From the faraway town of Gad, a failed singer named Arjun comes to find the Voice, a missing deity, and instead awakens another force strong enough to destroy the most powerful city in the world. Gilman's first novel, most likely the beginning of a series, creates powerful images of a city as complex as Dickens's London; citizens' dreams and nightmares blend in complex patterns that hint at secrets buried deep within the city's heart. Most libraries should consider adding this tale of broken gods and damaged heroes to their fantasy collections.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2007
Arjun, a young man with magical leanings, arrives in the land of Ararat, which boasts distinctly nineteenth-century technology and society. As he settles in, a long-prophesied great bird flies overhead, creating confusion, even chaos and panic. But its magic is captured in an airborne ship named Thunderer, in which it is going to be safeguarded by the ruling elite of Ararat for the benefit of all the people. From what he has already seen of the squalor, corruption, and ambition in the cities of Ararat, and with his own magical talents having been enhanced by the bird's coming, Arjun feels there is reason to doubt this promise. So he sets out to find out what is really going on or might in the future, and we are left with his setting out on a journey that clearly demands sequels. Considering that Gilman is far above average for a first novelist, this is not bad news.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)