The Bloodless Queen

From Joshua Phillip Johnson, an odd, melancholic near-future sci-fi standalone about two parents determined to save their daughter, turned strange and fae after her death, by seeking answers deep within mysterious nature preserves On the autumnal equinox of 1987, the countries of the world closed the gates on vast fenced-in nature preserves called Harbors, created to combat the escalating effects of climate change. 132,329 people died that day, but instead of going cold, they endured, becoming odd and fae before disappearing beyond the fences, never to be seen again. Each autumnal equinox thereafter, the same happens again. In the present day, Evangeline and Calidore are working as fencers: government-employed protectors of the Harbors with magical powers. Returning home after an equinox spent patrolling, they find their daughter Winnifred, not yet six, has died and grown fae, killing her babysitters and leaving strange symbols etched into the walls.; Unwilling to surrender their child, Evangeline and Calidore chain her in iron and carry her into the lands beyond the fence, crossing over into enemy territory with a desperate plan: use Winnifred to find the Faerie Queen, kill Her, and steal whatever power She holds over death to bring Winnifred back. An imaginative and melancholic sci-fi standalone, <The Nothing and the Dread< is an atmospheric odyssey set against a tense chase as parents race to reclaim the life of their lost child.

Auteur

Joshua Phillip Johnson

Texte du rabat

Part ecological Orpheus and Eurydice myth and part gothic thriller, discover this atmospheric near-future sci-fi novel about fae mysteries deep within strange nature preserves

Perfect for readers of Jeff VanderMeer, Chuck Wendig, and Sunyi Dean •&#160;“Richly imagined and beautifully written, with a highly original and very creepy magic system.” —R. F. Kuang (on Johnson's The Forever Sea)

On the autumnal equinox of 1987, after fencing off half of the Earth’s land for huge nature reserves called Harbors, the leaders of the world called on their peoples to celebrate. Then began the horror and the magic.

Everyone who died that day—all 132,329 of them—instead of going cold and still, turned odd and fae. They became mischievous and murderous, before disappearing into their nearest Harbor, never seen again. And each year after that on the autumnal equinox, the same terrible transformations would occur: the wretched dead not dying, but instead riddling and whispering of a faerie queen—bloodless and powerful—while fleeing into the wild confines of the Harbors.&#160;

In the present day, Evangeline and Calidore are working as fencers, government-employed protectors whose magical powers come from mysterious tattoos of prime numbers. When they aren’t fixing the fences of the Midwest Harbor that separates the human world from Faerie or patrolling on the equinox, they are parents of an almost-seven-year-old daughter named Winnie.&#160;

But as the new year’s autumnal equinox approaches, Evangeline and Calidore find themselves thrust into a vast conspiracy that stretches across governments, religions, and fencers worldwide.&#160; As they race to untangle this web of power and intrigue, they will need to confront the questions that have haunted the world since the fences were built:&#160;

What lies at the heart of the Harbors? Who waits there?