A Red Sun Also Rises

October 8, 2012
Hodder has crafted a loving homage to the 19th-century novel with the barest tweaks for a 21st-century sensibility, perfectly capturing the device of the narrator’s diary (with hand-off to present-day editor), natural-philosophy preoccupations, and the struggle between divine and scientific views of creation. Hunchback Clarissa Stark and tormented minister Aiden Fleischer escape scandal by becoming missionaries, only to be assigned to an island of suspected cannibals. Aiden learns the real reason for inhabitants’ disappearance when he’s offered as a sacrifice and the ritual transports him to another planet, with Clarissa in tow. This fascinating adventure takes a turn for the terrifying when the long-awaited setting of the planet’s twin suns brings events that threaten the whole of Earth. The pacing is as vintage as the vividly imagined grotesqueries of alien life, but the rewards for acclimating to the style are well worth the effort. Agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary Agency.

November 15, 2012

Reclusive Anglican priest Aiden Fleisher and brilliant hunchback Clarissa Stark travel as missionaries to the distant South Pacific island of Koluwai, where they encounter hostile natives--and a gateway to another world lit by two suns. Fleisher and Stark meet the native Yatsill, consummate mimics who construct an elaborate society based on Victorian London, using details mined from the thoughts of their new visitors. As Aiden and Clarissa strive to make sense of this strange new world, they become aware of an approaching menace: the arrival of a third sun that will bring the Blood Gods to ravage the world. VERDICT The author of the Philip K. Dick Award-winning Burton & Swinburne series (The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack; The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man; Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon) launches a new series that features a pair of uncommon--and uncommonly appealing--protagonists and blends the fantastic with elements of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and H.P. Lovecraft. Hodder once again excels in his ability to blend Victorian steampunk, psychological thriller, and "sword and planet" fantasy into an intriguing and entertaining adventure. [Previewed in LJ 8/15 Genre Spotlight feature, "Hungry for SF," by Kristi Chadwick--Ed.]

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