An Accident of Stars: Book I in The Manifold Worlds Series

(Paperback, New edition)

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Portal fantasy grows up in this immersive series kickoff featuring "a life-changing adventure, . . . compelling characters and a fascinating world" (Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries) When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena-a magical realm on the brink of civil war. It's there that her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women- Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, and chief among them is the Vex'Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest. Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin-a secretive order of storytellers and mystics-the rebels flee to Veksh, a neighboring matriarchy ruled by the fearsome Council of Queens. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends with ties of blood and magic. Can one girl-and an accidental worldwalker at that-really be the key to saving Kena Or will she die trying

Reviews

This is the portal fantasy Ive spent my whole life waiting for.
Liz Bourkefor Tor.com

So this was basically all the things Id enjoyed about portal fantasies as a younger reader, with the dubious gifts the suck fairy might have bestowed either questioned or removed.
Ann Leckie

I very much enjoyed this. The main character falls out of our world into a life-changing adventure, with compelling characters and a fascinating world. I cant wait to read the next book.
Martha Wells, author of TheBooks of Raksura and The Murderbot Diaries

An Accident of Stars interwoven, beautifully rendered cultures are filledwith rich details, complex family bonds of all kinds, and deeply layered politics.To enter Kena and the surrounding lands is to be irrevocably and powerfully changed.Foz Meadows has created an epic adventure unlike any Ive read before.
Fran Wilde, Nebula- and Norton-nominated author of Updraft and Cloudbound

A portal fantasy for grownups, with grit and realism,and characters I loved from the first page.
Trudi Canavan, author of the Black Magician trilogy

Fantasy readers who appreciate strong characters and excellent worldbuilding will immerse themselves in this tale.
Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Its quite lovely... The main strength of this is its cast, which walks off the page theres characters of all ages, all walks of life and all sexual orientationsand its gut punch ending."
Aliette de Bodard,, Nebula Award-winning author of The House of Shattered Wings

Reminiscent of Ursula K LeGuin, An Accident of Stars will take you to a lush, magical new world.
Laura Lam, bestselling author

An Accident of Stars is anchored in dozens of complex women, driven by the rooted, deep relationships they have with each other. Its a wonderful, rich, feminist book, and I loved it.
B R Sanders, author of Ariah

This fabulousstorybowled me over with a compelling blend of intimacy, danger, twisty politics, believably imperfect characters, and a fascinatingly complex universe.
Kate Elliott, author of Black Wolves and Cold Magic

Richly imaginative world building with delightfully complex and diverse characters; a joy to read!
Ann Lemay, videogame writer

The sophistication, thematic ambition and range of viewpoint characters make this a mature work of fantasy.
BFSA

Author Bio

Foz Meadows is an Australian genderqueer author, blogger, essayist, reviewer, and poet. She has written four novels, including An Accident of Stars, as well as numerous short stories and novellas. She is also a contributing writer forThe Huffington PostandBlack Gate, and a contributing reviewer forStrange HorizonsandTor.com. In 2014, she was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer for her blog,Shattersnipe.