The Year of Our War
Encyclopedia
The fantasy
novel The Year of Our War (2004) is the first book by British author Steph Swainston
. It is often given as an example of the New Weird
literary genre.
Swainston spins an intricate story which covers, among other things, the intrigues among mortals and immortals from the various humanoid races of the Fourlands, a full-scale assault by the Insects (previously held at bay behind an Insect wall), and Jant's exploits in the "Shift", an alternate world which he enters as a side effect of his addiction to a lethal drug.
So far, two sequels, No Present Like Time
(2005) and The Modern World (2007) have been published. A fourth book, Above the Snowline, was published in 2010.
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...
novel The Year of Our War (2004) is the first book by British author Steph Swainston
Steph Swainston
Steph Swainston is a British literary fantasy/science fiction author, receiving critical acclaim for her first novel The Year of Our War . The book won the 2005 Crawford Award and a nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The sequel No Present Like Time was published in 2005...
. It is often given as an example of the New Weird
New Weird
The New Weird is a literary genre that began in the 1990s and developed in a series of novels and stories published from 2001 to 2005. The writers involved are mostly novelists who are considered to be parts of the horror and/or speculative fiction genres but who often cross genre boundaries...
literary genre.
Plot summary
The novel is set in the Fourlands, a country in danger of being overrun by large hostile Insects, and follows the exploits of Jant, also called "the Messenger" or "Comet". As a half-breed of two humanoid species Jant is the only person who can fly, which makes him an indispensable part of the Emperor's Circle of about 50 immortals, an elite group of (mostly) warriors who do not age (but, despite the name, are capable of being killed).Swainston spins an intricate story which covers, among other things, the intrigues among mortals and immortals from the various humanoid races of the Fourlands, a full-scale assault by the Insects (previously held at bay behind an Insect wall), and Jant's exploits in the "Shift", an alternate world which he enters as a side effect of his addiction to a lethal drug.
So far, two sequels, No Present Like Time
No Present Like Time
The Fantasy/Science Fiction novel No Present Like Time by Steph Swainston is the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Year of Our War .Again the Emperor’s winged messenger Jant is the protagonist of the story...
(2005) and The Modern World (2007) have been published. A fourth book, Above the Snowline, was published in 2010.