Consorts of Heaven
By (Author) Jaine Fenn
Orion Publishing Co
Gollancz
1st September 2010
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.92
Paperback
352
Width 168mm, Height 199mm, Spine 24mm
242g
When a naked, amnesiac stranger is found outside a remote highland village, he is taken in by Kerin, a widow whose unconventional ways are tolerated because her son Damaru is 'skytouched' - he appears simple, but he is able to affect matter. All skytouched are tested by the Beloved Daughter, the living goddess who rules the world from the City of Light. If he's found worthy, Damaru will become a Consort of the skymothers, the Gods of this world.
Kerin and the stranger, nicknamed Sais, accompany Damaru to the City, in the company of a priest who's helping Sais to get back his missing past - but as Sais recovers his memory, he realises that the world does not work the way he assumed - and everyone believes - it does. Worse still, the hierarchy which has kept society stable for thousands of years is rotten to the core. Then Kerin and Sais uncover the true nature of the world and the unimaginable fate of the Consorts - a fate Kerin will do anything to stop her son sharing.One of the best-imagined worlds I'd read about in a long time. Utterly convincing in its detail and logic, and the language and the people to go with it. And then she has a good story as well--WHITBREAD AWARD-winner Andrew Norris, co-writer of hit TV show THE BRITTAS EMPIRE
The plot speeds along, the dialogue is sharp...mighty promising--BBC FOCUS
Jaine Fenn studied Linguistics and Astronomy at university. PRINCIPLES OF ANGELS is her first novel, and she has also had a number of short stories published. She has an active blog at www.jainefenn.com. She lives with her husband in Hampshire.