Stranger in the Citadel

(Paperback)

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Description

From the powerful storyteller Tobias Buckell (Crystal Rain, The Tangled Lands), a complex novel of humanity's passion for the written word. At the revolutionary crossroads of magic, betrayal, and long-forgotten truths, a naive, compassionate royal and a determined, hunted librarian discover a dangerous world of mortal and ancient menaces. The life of the youngest musketress of Ninetha has been one of hard training. But Lilith's days have also contained many pleasures, the royal privileges of her family's guardianship of the Cornucopia, a mystical source of limitless bounty. Lilith has never seen a book, and she never expects to encounter one within the safety of the citadel. When Ishmael, an outcast librarian, shows up outside the Afriq Gate, Lilith saves him from immediate execution by her father's second-in-command, the zealot Kira. As Lilith's curiosity draws her to Ishmael, she lets slip her family's most dangerous secret, sparking a deadly rebellion and an unexpected journey full of stunning revelations.

Reviews

"Buckell's writing always satisfies, and A Stranger in the Citadel brings it: tense, explosive oh-my-god-what-will-they-do-now action; appealing characters you care about, even when you deplore what they do; rich, surprising worldbuilding; a fascinating story of words and the people who guard them. Gotta love hero librarians, especially in times like these. Gotta love clever metatextual references. Gotta love the youth-dem determined to fix the world, naivete be damned."
--Nalo Hopkinson, author of Falling in Love with Hominids

"With A Stranger In The Citadel, Tobias Buckell writes to the moment we live in, with a clarity and urgency that only fable can provide. Read it."
--John Scalzi, author of The Kaiju Preservation Society

Praise for Tobias Buckell

"A writer to shelve there with C.J. Cherryh, Alastair Reynolds, Dan Simmons and those few other writers who have managed to adopt the advantages of mainstream literature without giving up the skilled storytelling and sense of wonder of old-style SF."
--Critical Mass

"If the Hernandez Brothers of Love and Rockets fame could channel Arthur Clarke and Hal Clement, they'd probably write like Tobias Buckell. His multicultural protagonists and point of view, combines with his hard-SF inclinations and expertise, conspire to deliver freshly conceived and spicy-flavored space opera. Having established this unique voice from the get-go allows him to focus on plot and characterization anew with each succeeding volume."
--Sci Fi Weekly

Praise for Hurricane Fever

[STARRED REVIEW] "Buckell has written a smart and well-constructed tale that's filled with excitement and the flavor of the Caribbean isles."
--Kirkus

"The scenes of sailing and spying action move quickly, and the climax, set on a supersized satellite-launching cannon, is one white cat shy of a Bond movie."
--Publishers Weekly

"This is the perfect novel to devour on that otherwise boring plane flight, or to chew up the hours at the beach house."
--SF Signal

"This is a tense and gripping ride, with a great deal to recommend it. An excellent thriller."
--Tor.com

"Hurricane Fever is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller rich in authentic Caribbean detail."
--Cosmos Magazine

"Hurricane Fever pays homage to (and puts interesting twists on) the classic spy novels of Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum, and John le Carr."
--Fantasy Literature

Praise for the Xenowealth novels

"Even non-sci-fi readers will be bowled over by Tobias Buckell's Crystal Rain . . . Violent, poetic and compulsively readable."
--Maclean's

"First-class space adventure, with tip-top characterization, action, and world-building."
--Booklist

Author Bio

Called "violent, poetic and compulsively readable" by Maclean's, science fiction author Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times bestselling writer and World Fantasy Award winner. He is biracial, and was born in the Caribbean, grew up in Grenada, and spent time in the British and US Virgin Islands. His Xenowealth series begins with Crystal Rain. Along with other standalone novels and his almost one hundred stories, Buckell's works have been translated into twenty different languages. He has been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and the Astounding Award for Best New Science Fiction Author.

Buckell currently lives in Bluffton, Ohio with his wife and two daughters, where he teaches Creative Writing at Bluffton University. He's online at http: //www.TobiasBuckell.com and is also an instructor at the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program.