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Rotherweird
- Narrator
- Kris Dyer
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Publish Date
- 22 June 2017
- Run Time
- 16 hours 11 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
'Baroque, Byzantine and beautiful - not to mention bold' M.R. Carey
Rotherweird is twisted, arcane murder-mystery with shades of Deborah Harkness, Hope Mirrlees and Ben Aaronovitch, Mervyn Peake and Edward Gorey at their disturbing best.
The town of Rotherweird stands alone - there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird's independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history.
For beneath the enchanting surface lurks a secret so dark that it must never be rediscovered, still less reused.
But secrets have a way of leaking out.
Two inquisitive outsiders have arrived: Jonah Oblong, to teach modern history at Rotherweird School (nothing local and nothing before 1800), and the sinister billionaire Sir Veronal Slickstone, who has somehow got permission to renovate the town's long-derelict Manor House.
Slickstone and Oblong, though driven by conflicting motives, both strive to connect past and present, until they and their allies are drawn into a race against time - and each other. The consequences will be lethal and apocalyptic.
Welcome to Rotherweird!
(P)2017 WF Howes Ltd
Critics Review
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A history-tragic-comedy all rolled into one, Rotherweird is intricate and crisp, witty and solemn: a book not unlike other books, but with special and dangerous properties. Line by line, silent and adroit, it opens a series of trap-doors in the reader's imagination
Hilary Mantel, two-time Man Booker prize winner
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An imaginative tour de force
The Times
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Baroque, Byzantine and beautiful - not to mention bold. An enthralling puzzle picture of a book
M R Carey, author of the bestselling The Girl With All The Gifts
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Compelling . . . the love child of Gormenghast and Hogwarts
Guardian
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Sublime . . . Call me greedy, but I'm already itching to return to Caldecott's universe
The Irish Times
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One of this year's most anticipated debut novels
SFX
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This novel is a remarkable achievement. It's also extremely funny, in a typically British sort of way . . . a delightful Harry Potter for grown ups
Sunday Independent
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Truly, sinisterly magical. 10/10
Starburst
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A great introduction to its strange and mesmerising world, and a feat of imagination, packed with ideas and extraordinary people. It's well worth the visit
SciFiNow
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This is a twisty, hilarious, magical story crammed full of intricate characters and nefarious plots
The Little Squid
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I LOVED this book. It just did something to me. I was utterly immersed from page one . . . This is a novel of magnificence and detail, of science and nature
Fantastical Library
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Assured and ambitious . . . deeply impressive debut
Nick Curtis, Evening Standard on Higher than Babel
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Hugely entertaining . . . this novel is a remarkable achievement. It's also extremely funny, in a typically British sort of way
Independent.ie
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Vivid and absorbing and grapples with big ideas without being dry, difficult or patronising
Sarah Hemming, Financial Times on Higher than Babel
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What an enjoyable read! So vividly written, I could visualise every winding street and twisting chimney of Rotherweird . . . If you like Ben Aaronovitch, Neil Gaiman or Susanna Clarke, this book is for you!
Book Geek Girl
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If J. K. Rowling had given Jasper Fforde permission to document a decade of derring-do in Diagon Alley, the result would read rather like Rotherweird
Tor.com
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A quirky portal fantasy peppered with singular names . . . Top marks for inventiveness
Speculative Herald
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This is an immensely enjoyable, Gothic(ish) / steampunk/ Gormanghast-esque romp with Dickensian overtones. Rotherweird itself is a great imaginative creation . . . A fun, often funny, exciting and highly readable story. Get it now
Blue Balloon
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Highly recommended, I think this novel will eventually be viewed as a modern classic
The Eloquent Page
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One of the most appealing and fascinating books I've read in some time now. There is darkness and humour here together with invention and originality. For me there are echoes of the work of both Mervyn Peake and Neil Gaiman here
Books and More Books
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This is quite possibly the best fantasy novel I have read this year
Silvia Kay on YouTube
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The writing is a true pleasure . . . an airy, yet incisive quality; a purposeful dreaminess; images that stick with me, yet prose that does not labor to describe
Strange Horizons
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A highly unusual book, a kind of portal fantasy/historical fantasy/contemporary urban fantasy blend. It reminds me most of Robert Holdstock or Charles de Lint, though less ominous in tone than either
The Review Curmudgeon
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Unusual, mannered, quirky
Library Thing
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A fun blend of absurdist humour, creepy peril and fecund magic to be found here
Press Reader
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History, fantasy, tragedy and comedy collide in new and unusual ways, to create a novel that is full of intrigue and mystery
The Book Muse
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Rotherweird definitely delivered. The flippant way to describe it would be as a Midsomer Murders episode as told by Jeff VanderMeer with a touch of Agatha Christie. That doesn't do it justice though because joking aside it's a very good book
Stefen’s Books
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I loved the blend of past, present and other worlds. I loved the characters, the intricate plotting and the playfulness with words, English and Latin
Boffins Books
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A mystical tale of suspense and adventure, mixed in with the macabre and Tudor England. Andrew Caldecott's ability to create and shape worlds and the characters in them, draws the reader into an intense narrative of plot and subtext that keeps you guessing. Enchanting and beautifully written
lifehasafunnywayofsneakinguponyou.wordpress.com
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Intricate . . . while the focus might be on the oddball inhabitants, Rotherweird is the true heart and soul of the narrative, a character in its own right
Publishers Weekly
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A strange, twisting tale of dark magic and horrible experimentation . . . Caldecott uses parallel storylines and mysterious, absurd twists and turns to entertain, painting a tale of strange stones, a patch of starless sky, tiles that transport to other worlds, and plants with unexpected properties. The characters are vivid and complex and make up the larger character of a town that is coping with a growing menace
Booklist
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If you like strange, mysterious fantasy, this is the book for you
Lost in a Good Book
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The Rotherweird trilogy is a sprawling absorbing saga that is breathtaking in conceit and accomplishment. Fans of deeply immersive fiction, such as that created by Neal Stephenson, will love losing themselves in this nightmarish vision of a parochial English town
GeekDad
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Rotherweird is a great read when you want to break out of the mold and take a step out of time . . . Returning to the citizens of Rotherweird will surely be as wild a ride as the start
Novel Lives
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Merrily weird fun
Locus
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Andrew Caldecott, illustrated by Sasha Laika
- Narrator
- Kris Dyer
- Duration
- 16 hours 11 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 June 2017
- ISBN
- 9781786489906
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Fantasy, Historical fiction
Synopsis
'Intricate and crisp, witty and solemn: a book with special and dangerous properties,' Hilary Mantel'Baroque, Byzantine and beautiful - not to mention bold' M.R. CareyRotherweird is twisted, arcane murder-mystery with shades of Deborah Harkness, Hope Mirrlees and Ben Aaronovitch, Mervyn Peake and Edward Gorey at their disturbing best.The town of Rotherweird stands alone - there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird's independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history.For beneath the enchanting surface lurks a secret so dark that it must never be rediscovered, still less reused.But secrets have a way of leaking out.Two inquisitive outsiders have arrived: Jonah Oblong, to teach modern history at Rotherweird School (nothing local and nothing before 1800), and the sinister billionaire Sir Veronal Slickstone, who has somehow got permission to renovate the town's long-derelict Manor House.Slickstone and Oblong, though driven by conflicting motives, both strive to connect past and present, until they and their allies are drawn into a race against time - and each other. The consequences will be lethal and apocalyptic.Welcome to Rotherweird!(P)2017 WF Howes Ltd
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