The Weight of the World
Volume Two of the Amaranthine Spectrum
Published on 31. August 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-59780-898-9 (ISBN)
Description
The sequel to the critically acclaimed and ambitious literary space opera debut The Promise of the Child.
It is the 147th century, the turning of the Amaranthine new year.
In the provinces of the Old World, the giant Elatine's war of liberation has come to an impasse, leaving the wicked monarchy of the First in possession of the throne.
In the Vaulted Lands of the Firmament, acolytes have risen up to execute their immortal masters. The opportunistic races of the Prism, intoxicated with greed, have arrived inside every Solar Satrapy to scavenge what's left.
In the wild Investiture, on a forgotten water moon, a crew of shipwrecked Privateers come face to face with their greatest terror, and with it the most valuable treasure in all the galaxy.
Jatropha, legendary Immortal, must escort his precious charge through the exotic Westerly Provinces, knowing all the world would steal her if they could.
Sotiris, his mind fading fast, must set out to find his dear, drowned sister in a land previously unglimpsed by anyone but the dead.
Lycaste, now far from home, must journey in strange company to the edge of a tempestuous sea, to the lair of someone so dangerous that even the legendary Amaranthine fear his name.
It is the 147th century, the turning of the Amaranthine new year.
In the provinces of the Old World, the giant Elatine's war of liberation has come to an impasse, leaving the wicked monarchy of the First in possession of the throne.
In the Vaulted Lands of the Firmament, acolytes have risen up to execute their immortal masters. The opportunistic races of the Prism, intoxicated with greed, have arrived inside every Solar Satrapy to scavenge what's left.
In the wild Investiture, on a forgotten water moon, a crew of shipwrecked Privateers come face to face with their greatest terror, and with it the most valuable treasure in all the galaxy.
Jatropha, legendary Immortal, must escort his precious charge through the exotic Westerly Provinces, knowing all the world would steal her if they could.
Sotiris, his mind fading fast, must set out to find his dear, drowned sister in a land previously unglimpsed by anyone but the dead.
Lycaste, now far from home, must journey in strange company to the edge of a tempestuous sea, to the lair of someone so dangerous that even the legendary Amaranthine fear his name.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for The Weight of the World:?
"This extensive story of the 147th century is filled with spectacular ideas and adventure across the solar system and beyond. . . . a tour de force of universe building and characterization . . . splendid, outrageous and brilliant speculations . . . affording careful readers a complex tale of a possible far future."?Shelf Awareness, reviewed by Rob LeFebvre
?I was hooked from the very beginning . . . Tom Toner paints his characters and worlds beautifully, even when they?re at their ugliest. This is a clever, ambitious, inventive, wondrous series, brilliantly executed, that leaves me wanting more and soon. It might be only February but this is the science fiction novel to beat this year and it most certainly won?t be easy.??For Winter Nights
Deeply imagined, deliberately paced, and brain-breakingly opaque (in the best way) . . . while much remains a mystery, Toner's confident style?and the forceful impact on the reader when pieces do fall into place?give the sequel a heft and power that goes beyond the plot twists."
?B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, ?B&N Bookseller's Picks: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of January 2017"
i. ?A very complex and multi-layered novel. . . . immense character development and nonstop action. It is definitely not a book that you should read lightly, as the author writes his story in a way that makes you think about and savor every little detail.??Manhattan Book Review, reviewed by Michael Shulman
Praise for Tom Toner and The Promise of the Child
?To call The Promise of the Child one of the most accomplished debuts of 2015 so far is to understate its weight?instead, let me moot that it is among the most significant works of science fiction released in recent years."
?Tor.com
?One of the most ambitious and epic-scale pieces of worldbuilding I've read. Reading The Promise of the Child, you feel you're in the presence of an author at the height of his powers. If this is what Toner is like when he's just getting started, I think we can expect great things from him. Utterly absorbing; a tremendous adventure."
?Karl Schroeder, author of Lockstep and Sun of Suns
?Bold and intense from start to finish, The Promise of the Child is a master-class in innovative, evocative world-building. The entire book buzzes with imagination."
?Michael J. Martinez, author of The Daedalus Incident
?An amazing debut?a colorful space opera in the post-human tradition of Iain M. Banks, combined with the razor-sharp plotting of Alastair Reynolds. It left me feverish with delight."
?Loren Rhoads, author of The Dangerous Type
?Humming with energy, this is space opera like you've never seen it before. Absolutely brilliant."
?Adam Roberts, author of Salt and Jack Glass
?A gorgeously-written, wildly imaginative book. It's like no space opera I've ever read?compelling and addictive."
?Will McIntosh, Hugo-award winning author of Soft Apocalypse and Defenders
?An amazing debut. Intriguing, disorientating. Like Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief or Moorcock's Dancers At The End OF Time, it's told with the heightened vibrancy of a fable, and the melancholic sense of age and decadence so prevalent in Jack Vance's Emphyrio."
?Gareth Powell, BSFA Award-winning author of Ack-Ack Macaque
?A dizzying mash-up of science fiction and fantasy themes that are both mystifying and entertaining. . .will appeal to readers who enjoy the offbeat end of far-future sf. This is the kind of novel that could develop a cult following."
?Booklist Reviews
?Ambitious. . .The several 147th-century cultures on display are fascinating. . .The pace picks up as the tale moves toward its end, but this is the kind of book that will most appeal to cerebral readers who can appreciate its characters' many verbal interactions."
?Publisher's Weekly
?This is the purest example of space opera we've seen in some time. . . .The book is challenging, ambitious, and rewarding, and it's impossible not to admire Toner's wild imagination and carefully constructed world. This thing is bonkers, no question. It's also one helluva debut."
?Barnes & Noble, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
?Marvelous. . .a space opera of surpassing gracefulness, depth, complexity, and well, all-round weirdness."
?Paul Di Filippo, Locus
?First rate ... a clever and interesting world, with something new always coming across the horizon, more wonders as yet unreached. I ate it up with a spoon."
?Paul Weimer, SFSignal
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Newberg
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59780-898-9 (9781597808989)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tom Toner was born in Somerset, England, in 1986. After graduating with a degree in fine art from Loughborough University and the FHSH in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany, he moved to Australia, teaching life drawing and working in an art gallery near Melbourne. The Weight of the World is the sequel to Toner's debut, The Promise of the Child. He currently lives in London.