City of Saints and Madmen
Encyclopedia
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
short stories by American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
writer Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer
Jeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher.He is best known for his contributions to the New Weird and his stories about the city of Ambergris, in books like City of Saints and Madmen.-Biography:...
, set in the fictional metropolis of Ambergris. The setting was further explored in the novels Shriek: An Afterword
Shriek: An Afterword
Shriek: An Afterword is a 2006 novel by Jeff VanderMeer. Shriek is set in the fictional city of Ambergris, a recurring setting in VanderMeer's work...
(2006) and Finch
Finch (novel)
Finch is Jeff VanderMeer's third novel set in the Ambergris universe. Written in the noir style of detective novels, it stands alone, while referencing characters and events from the earlier City of Saints and Madmen and Shriek: An Afterword....
(2009).
Setting
The stories of City of Saints and Madmen are set in Ambergris, an urban sprawl named for "the most secret and valued part of the whaleAmbergris
Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated or secreted by sperm whales....
" and populated by humans after its original inhabitants—a race of mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
-like humanoids known as "gray caps"—were violently driven underground. These creatures, though removed from the eccentricities of daily life in Ambergris, continue to cast a shadow over the city with their unexplained nocturnal activities.
History
Ambergris began in 1992 with "Learning to Leave the Flesh", a short story conceived for the Clarion writers' workshopClarion Workshop
Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in...
at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. Although it doesn't reference the city directly, it mentions locations that would reappear in later work, such as Albumuth Boulevard and the River Moth. Considered a "proto-Ambergris story" by the author, "Learning to Leave the Flesh" wouldn't be included in the book until its 2004 edition.
First edition
City of Saints and Madmen: The Book of Ambergris was first published in trade paperback format by Cosmos Books (an imprint of Wildside PressWildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company located in Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1989 by John Gregory and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limited editions, it has broadened out somewhat since then, both...
) in 2001. It contained four novella-length pieces:
- "Dradin, In Love"
- "An Early History of Ambergris"
- "The Transformation of Martin Lake"
- "The Strange Case of X"
Second edition
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
format from Prime Books. All four novellas from the first edition were revised, and new material was added as an appendix
Addendum
An addendum, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its reader subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the Latin verbal phrase addendum est, being the gerundive form of the verb addo, addere, addidi, additum, "to give to, add to", meaning " must be added"...
to the book:
- An untitled vignetteVignette (literature)In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...
, printed on the dust jacketDust jacketThe dust jacket of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book covers...
. The story contains the book's title and author's name, which appear highlighted near the bottom of the front panel. - "A Letter from Dr. V to Dr. Simpkin"
- "X's Notes"
- "The Release of Belacqua"
- "King Squid"
- "The Hoegbotton Family History"
- "The Cage"
- "In the Hours After Death"
- "A Note from Dr. V to Dr. Simpkin"
- "The Man Who Had No Eyes" (encrypted)
- "The Ambergris Glossary"
Third edition
When the collection was published in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
in 2004, two extra stories were offered:
- "The Exchange"
- "Learning to Leave the Flesh"
The remaining material is unchanged, although "The Man Who Had No Eyes" had to be decrypted for the mass market paperback edition since the original cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
was made unusable by the change of format and the publisher decided not to re-encode the story.
Awards
- 2007 Tähtifantasia AwardTähtifantasia AwardTähtifantasia Award is an annual prize by Helsingin science fiction seura ry for the best foreign fantasy book released in Finland.- Recipients :2010Shortlisted books:* Terry Pratchett: Yövartiosto...
for the best foreign fantasy book released in Finland in 2006.