Robin Sloan expands the Penumbraverse to new reaches of time and space in a rollicking far-future adventure.
In Moonbound, Robin Sloan has written a novel with the full scope and ambitious imagination of the very books that lit the engines of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: an epic quest as only Sloan could conceive it, mixing science fiction, fantasy, good old-fashioned literary storytelling, and unrivaled enthusiasm for what's next.
It is eleven thousand years from now . . . A lot has happened, and yet a lot is still very familiar. Ariel is a boy in a small town under a wizard's rule. Like many adventurers before him, Ariel is called to explore a world full of unimaginable glories and challenges: unknown enemies, a mission to save the world, a girl. Here, as they say, be dragons. But none of this happens before Ariel comes across an artifact from an earlier civilization, a sentient, record-keeping artificial intelligence that carries with it the perspective of the whole of human history—and becomes both Ariel's greatest ally and the narrator of our story.
Moonbound is an adventure into the richest depths of Story itself. It is a deeply satisfying epic of ancient scale, blasted through the imaginative prism one of our most forward-thinking writers. And this is only the beginning.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 11, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781250350763
- File size: 307674 KB
- Duration: 10:40:59
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 1, 2024
A young boy goes on a quirky quest through a postapocalyptic world in bestseller Sloan’s gentle yet thought-provoking adventure set 11,000 years after humanity lost a war to the genetically engineered “dragons” it had developed for space exploration. Now 12-year-old Ariel de la Sauvage is tasked by the Wizard Malory with pulling Excalibur from its stone. But Ariel angers the wizard when he returns with another sword, bucking his destiny. Fleeing Malory’s wrath, Ariel experiences life beyond his small village for the first time as he travels toward the city Rath Varia, helped along the way by talking beavers and amiable robots. Once there, he learns how wizards can reshape life and concocts a dangerous scheme to defeat Malory by activating humanity’s “Plan Z” in its fight against the dragons, a signal meant to summon a human army held in stasis in space. Unfortunately, the signal brings only Durga, a teen girl trained by humans in propaganda and kept in stasis for centuries. She agrees to help topple Malory if Ariel will help confront the dragons once and for all. Narrated by the fungal chronicler implant that attaches to Ariel, the story is full of wildly inventive and audacious worldbuilding delivered in a cozy tone reminiscent of Becky Chambers. With the flavor of a classic coming-of-age adventure or a complicated video game, this is a world readers will hope to come back to. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Co. -
Gabra Zackman performs this ambitious novel, which attempts to turn the legend of King Arthur on its head. In an alternative future 11 thousand years from now, an orphan boy named Ariel chooses not to pull the sword from the stone. Instead, he finds a different sword, an ancient artifact that carries with it a sentient AI that tells him of times past. From there, Ariel starts on a quest across his world in search of answers about the sword's origins. While the story meanders, often becoming confusing and nonsensical, Zackman's narration helps guide listeners through it. Zackman is the best part of this listening experience as she perfectly delivers Ariel's dialogue, bringing his young, often nave,voice to life. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine -
December 6, 2024
Sloan (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore; Sourdough) returns with a fresh spin on science fiction. The story of 12-year-old protagonist Ariel is largely narrated by a chronicler--a futuristic technology that lives inside of its host, providing advice and recording the world's history. On a quest to save his brother, Ariel and the chronicler are launched on a dizzying journey through the world 12,000 years from now, encountering talking beavers on an ecological warpath, wizards capable of transforming animals and people alike, and a whole host of scholars picking at the threads of reality. Aided by Gabra Zackman's exquisite narration, Sloan crafts a fabulous blend of fantasy and science steeped in worldbuilding that is sure to intrigue readers of all ages. While older readers may at times find the humor to be jarringly anachronistic, they will appreciate how Sloan's loving respect for the great authors of the genre comes through in his work without feeling derivative. VERDICT Sloan's work is sure to be well received by a wide audience of fantasy and science-fiction readers for its delicate balance of rich, original worldbuilding and intentional dalliances with genre tropes.--Collin Stephenson
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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