Shadows of the Short Days

by Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson

Overview

For fans of China Mieville. A tale of revolution in a Reykjavik fuelled by industrialised magic, populated by humans, dimensional exiles, otherworldly creatures, psychoactive graffiti and demonic familiars.

A tale of revolution in a Reykjavik fuelled by industrialised magic, populated by humans, dimensional exiles, otherworldly creatures, psychoactive graffiti and demonic familiars.

HERE LIES A CITY...

FUELLED BY INDUSTRIALISED MAGIC.
RULED BY A DESPOTIC CROWN.
DEMANDING REVOLUTION.

WELCOME TO REYKJAVIK

Rebels and revolutionaries disappear into the infamous prison, the Nine, never to be heard from again. Masked police roam the streets, dark magic lurks in the shadows, and the implacable flying fortress casts its baleful eye over all below.

Sæmundur, addict and sorcerer, has been cast out from university, and forbidden to study magic. Dissident artist, Garún, is desperate for a just society and will do anything to achieve it.
Both seek revolution in their own ways. Both seek power.

Together, they will change Reykjavik forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789094497
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	1,002,296
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson is an Icelandic author who lives in Reykjavík. Shadows of the Short Days is his first novel. He writes in both Icelandic and English and is the founder and editor of Iceland's first SFF magazine, Furðusögur (Weird Stories). Alexander is also the vocalist and lyricist for Icelandic black metal band Carpe Noctem.

Editorial Reviews

"Set in a magical Reykjavik, with echoes of China Mieville and the New Weird" The Washington Post


“A unique setting and a fantasy world reminiscent of China Mieville” Den of Geek


‘Teeming with magic, dense with detail and with characters that not only leap off the page, but poke you in the eye as they do. Highly recommended’ JOANNE HARRIS


‘A masterfully crafted dark tale...one of the most ambitious, intense, original and thrilling debuts I've read in a long time’ Grimdark Magazine


‘Shadows of the Short Days is fresh and exciting: full of dark, demonic, revolutionary shenanigans’ PETER NEWMAN


‘A heady mix of revolution, monsters and magic, this is a novel of alternative Reykjavik in which myth and religion are alive - and hungry’ ANNA STEPHENS


‘Norse mythology like you've never seen it before, set in a Reykjavik that you never knew existed - Shadows of the Short Days is a new breed of fantasy’ EDWARD COX, author of The Relic Guild


‘Shadows of the Short Days is revolutionary fantasy fresher than a dip in a glacial stream.’ GAVIN SMITH, author of The Bastard Legion


"Readers who enjoy urban fantasy writers like China Miéville should enjoy this dark saga" Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

DEBUT Before the apocalyptic tragedy happened to the Huldufolk, their world was perfect. But now the Crown has taken over Hrimland (Iceland) and the Huldefolk have dispersed, only a few remaining. Garun is a "Blendingur" owing to her mix of human and Huldufolk ancestry. Not really fitting in anywhere, she runs away to Reykjavik. She persuades a farmer going to market to smuggle her into the walled city since she lacks the necessary papers. Anxious to win rights for her kind and the Huldufolk, she meets young Saemundur, who is studying Galdur, spoken magic, at the university. He is eventually expelled for his deviations from the norm, which the faculty fear will let loose demons. After a demonstration that led to many deaths, Garun retreats to the Lost Downtown as the crown and local police go after more and more nonhumans. Estranged from Garun, Saemundur attempts to bring forth demons. VERDICT In this first of a new series, Vihjálmsson's well-developed future world will interest fantasy fans with a taste for dystopia, especially if they're up for learning new vocabulary.—Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

Library Journal