Cormorant Run

by Lilith Saintcrow

Overview

Aliens meets Under the Dome in this new post-apocalyptic novel from New York Times bestseller Lilith Saintcrow.

It could have been aliens, it could have been a trans-dimensional rift, nobody knows for sure. What's known is that there was an Event, the Rifts opened up, and everyone caught inside died.


Since the Event certain people have gone into the drift. . . and come back, bearing priceless technology that's almost magical in its advancement. When Ashe — the best Rifter of her generation — dies, the authorities offer her student, Svinga, a choice: go in and bring out the thing that killed her, or rot in jail.
But Svin, of course, has other plans. . .

How far would you go and what would you risk to win the ultimate prize?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316277969
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Series:	Bannon & Clare
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years old. She currently lives in Vancouver, WA.

Editorial Reviews

04/24/2017
Saintcrow (She-Wolf and Cub) dives into the psychologies of greed and survival in a flawed fantastical postapocalyptic adventure. For reasons still unknown, the Event took place, opening rifts filled with dangerous creatures and deadly phenomena. Governments quickly stepped in to explore, map, and exploit the rifts, despite understanding nothing about them. This gives rise to a small group of specialists called rifters who make their illegal livelihoods going where everyone else fears to tread. Eighty-six years after the Event, Svin is a rifter who was incarcerated with the worst of the worst in Guantánamo Bay. A corrupt government official offers her freedom in exchange for leading a select team of scientists and soldiers to the Cormorant, the holy grail of rifting. Guided by clues left by her now-deceased lover and mentor, Svin must keep these men safe, despite their conflicting loyalties. Saintcrow’s skill at intermingling moments of action, thoughtfulness, and outright horror ensures a thrilling lack of equilibrium. Unfortunately, the book is somewhat ponderous and occasionally dense, and multiple perspectives bring confusion rather than dimension. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"So refreshing and original... With non-stop action, you won't be able to put down Cormorant Run!"—RT Book Reviews

"A down-and-dirty caper set in a dangerous and enigmatic world."—Kirkus

"Thrilling."—Publishers Weekly

"Trailer Park Fae is what you'd get if you mixed a Bourne film, a political thriller, and a weepy Lifetime movie about abusive, drunken trailer park fathers together, and shook vigorously."—Fantasy Blog on Trailer Park Fae

"Lilith Saintcrow spins an incredibly imaginative and delicious tale with vivid language and a story you will not be able to put down. I loved every minute!"—Darynda Jones on Trailer Park Fae

"A true faery story, creepy and heroic by turns. Love and hope and a touch of Midsummer Night's Dream. I could not put it down."—Patricia Briggs on Trailer Park Fae

"Unique, twisted, lovely, and raw. Just fabulous."—Faith Hunter on Trailer Park Fae

"Saintcrow's urban fantasy series launch is expertly crafted with heartbreak and mistrust, far darker and lovelier than the title suggests... Saintcrow's artful, poignant descriptions remain with the reader long after the tale's end, as does the persistent sense of dark, unsettling unease."—Publishers Weekly on Trailer Park Fae

"Saintcrow deftly mixes high-minded fantasy magic with rough, real-world rust using prose that veers between the beautiful and the bloodcurdling. Honestly, I wish I'd written it."—New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig on Trailer Park Fae

"Painfully honest, beautifully strange, and absolutely worth your time. Lilith Saintcrow is at the top of her game. Don't miss this."—Seanan McGuire on Trailer Park Fae

From the Publisher

06/15/2017
No one knows for sure what caused the event that opened rifts across the Earth and killed those caught inside. Despite the devastation, some entered these anomalies and returned, bringing with them strange, valuable technologies. When Ashe, the most famous of the rifters, dies, her student Svinga, who has been in prison for murder, is ordered to enter the Cormorant Rift and discover whatever killed Ashe, and bring it back. If she refuses the job, she rots in jail. Either way could be a death sentence, but Svinga has not survived this long without reasons. VERDICT Reading Saintcrow's ("Gallow and Ragged" series) postapocalyptic adventure is like riding a high-speed train. After a slow start owing to footnoted vernacular, the pace quickens and readers will be caught up in the excitement.—KC

Library Journal

2017-04-04
A down-and-dirty caper set in a dangerous and enigmatic world.Svinga doesn't trust anybody. Years in prison have taught her to guard herself carefully. So when the commander of Site QR-715 has her hauled out of Guantánamo, Svinga has no illusions—Kopelund wants the Cormorant, and he doesn't much care who dies getting it. But Svinga is a rifter. She's got instincts that normal people don't have. Most people can't handle the mysterious, almost carnivorous landscapes created in the cataclysmic, still-unexplained Event. But rifters have a kind of sixth sense for them. And those instincts will help Svinga navigate a tricky situation—a dangerous mission into an unpredictable landscape with a team that's mostly dead weight except for the one who wants her dead. The goal: the legendary Cormorant, a kind of rifter Holy Grail. The obstacles in the way: anything the Rift can throw at them. The makings of a good, gritty adventure are all here, but the story gets bogged down in exposition early on. Saintcrow (The Marked, 2016, etc.) spends a lot of time introducing a cast of characters who remain an almost-indistinguishable blur of grim grittiness. The pace picks up when the team enters the Rift, but given how uniformly unpleasant most of the characters are, the body count lacks the impact it might have had. A slow start and lack of compelling characters hold this back from becoming the gripping adventure it wants to be.

Kirkus Reviews