Finch: A thrilling standalone from the Author of 'Annihilation'
By (Author) Jeff VanderMeer
Atlantic Books
Corvus
1st March 2011
Main
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
813.6
Short-listed for WORLD FANTASY AWARD 2010 (UK)
Paperback
352
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 26mm
325g
In a deserted tenement in an occupied city, two dead bodies lie on a dusty floor as if they have fallen out fo the air itself. One corpse is cut in half, the other is utterly unmarked. The city of Ambergris is half ruined, rotten; it's population controlled by narcotics, internment camps and acts of terror. But its new masters want this case closed, urgently. Detective John Finch has just one week to solve it or be sent to the camps. With no ID for the victims, no clues, no leads and precious little hope, Finch's fate hangs in the balance. But there is more to this case than first meets the eye. Enough to put Finch in the cross-hairs of every spy, rebel, informer and traitor in town. Under the shadow of the eldrich tower the occupiers are raising above the city, Finch is about to come face to face with a series of mysteries that will change him and Ambergris forever. Why does one of the victims most resemble a man thought dead for 100 years, what is the murders' connection to an attempted genocide nearly 600 years ago, and just what the secret purpose of the occupiers tower 'I can't remember ever reading a book like Finch, Audacious. extravagant. macabre. I'm impressed.' - Stephen R. Donaldson 'Fungal noir. Steampunk delirium. Paranoid spy thriller. a clear signal, if one were ever needed, that VanderMeer remains one of modern fantasy's most original and fearless pioneers.' - Richard K. Morgan 'Wow, what a cool novel. Heavy with shadows and dark as sin detective fantasy. Hell I loved it. In fact, I'm a little jealous.' - Joe R. Lansdale 'Finch just blew me to hell and gone. I loved the meeting of the grime and the sublime and oh so beautifully crafted. Think Cormac McCarthy. with an amazing nod to Lovecraft and still that doesn't capture the spell this novel casts.' - Ken Bruen
I can't remember ever reading a book like Finch. Audacious... extravagant... macabre. I'm impressed * Stephen R. Donaldson *
Fungal noir. Steampunk delirium. Paranoid spy thriller . . . A clear signal, if one were ever needed, that VanderMeer remains one of modern fantasy's most original and fearless pioneers * Richard K. Morgan *
Wow, what a cool novel. Heavy with shadows and dark as sin detective fantasy... Hell I loved it. In fact, I'm a little jealous * Joe R. Lansdale *
Finch just blew me to hell and gone... Think Cormac McCarthy... with an amazing nod to Lovecraft and still that doesn't capture the spell this novel casts * Ken Bruen *
Fans of the avant garde will appreciate VanderMeer's latest work. VanderMeer skillfully pairs horror motifs with dreamlike imagery * Wall Street Journal *
One of the most eagerly awaited books of the year... If H.P. Lovecraft had collaborated with Raymond Chandler the result might have been something like this... a chilling, thrillingly bizarre original * The Times *
Jeff VanderMeer writes for The Washington Post, The New York Times Book Review, and Publishers Weekly. He has won two World Fantasy Awards and has been shortlisted for the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his editor wife Anne.