Viriconium, M. John Harrison
Viriconium, M. John Harrison
List: $27.50 | Sale: $19.25
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Viriconium

Author: M. John Harrison

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 19 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/24/2021


Synopsis

A magnificent city existing on the ringes of the past, and on the brink of destruction, Viriconium

Available to American readers for the first time, this landmark collection gathers four groundbreaking fantasy classics from the acclaimed author of Light. Set in the imagined city of Viriconium, here are the masterworks that revolutionized a genre and enthralled a generation of readers: The Pastel City, A Storm of Wings, In Viriconium, and Viriconium Nights. Back in print after a long absence, these singular tales of a timeless realm and its enigmatic inhabitants are now reborn and compiled to captivate a whole new generation.

Praise for M. John Harrison’s Viriconium

“The world that Harrison depicts is intricate and authentic, peopled with a multitude of strange yet lifelike characters—a combination which serves to make his richly imagined empire of Viriconium feel very real indeed. . . . This omnibus collection from the author of Light is canon-reading for those who wish to know the genre's roots, as well as the heights, to which it can aspire.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Brilliant, beautiful, and absolutely essential reading. The breadth of vision and imagination alone in these books is unparalleled. It is truly one of a kind and will continue to haunt you in the best possible way for years.”—Jonathan Carroll, author of White Apples

“Harrison’s Viriconium sequence is the jewel in the crown of 20th-century fantasy, a work that proves irrefutably that fantastic literature can be Art with a capital A, holding its own alongside the very finest writing of our time, or any other.”—Elizabeth Hand, author of Mortal Love

“M. John Harrison is a true master of English prose. He possesses the eye of a painter, the ear of a bard, and a rigorous and playful intellect. The Viriconium novels and stories are infused with a haunting genius that never falters.”—K.J. Bishop, author of The Etched City

About M. John Harrison

M. John Harrison is an English author and literary critic. He has won the J. Tiptree Jr. Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Goldsmiths Prize. He was also a judge for the Booker Prize in 2022. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories, Climbers, and the Kefahuchi Tract trilogy, which consists of Light, Nova Swing, and Empty Space.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Adam on February 23, 2013

How much you enjoy Viriconium will most likely depend on why you read fantasy. Actually, scratch that: how much you enjoy Viriconium relies on what you expect out of your reading, period. If you see books as comfort food, you are probably going to hate Viriconium because this collection is the stark......more

Goodreads review by Kat on March 22, 2012

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature. Viriconium sits on the ruins of an ancient civilization that nobody remembers. The society that was technologically advanced enough to create crystal airships and lethal energy weapons is dead. These Afternoon Cultures depleted the world’s metal ores, leaving......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on December 02, 2020

These stories are enigmatic and maddening, poignant and magnetic, with beautiful writing and phantasmagoric imagery. They are not easy reading. Plots take a backseat to settings and mood, all of which are frayed and thick with a heavy fog. There are inconsistencies between the stories, characters an......more

Goodreads review by Stuart on May 21, 2017

Viriconium: A baroque, decaying, phantasmagoric dream city Originally posted at Fantasy Literature This is one of those compendiums that really isn’t a traditional sequence at all. Instead, it’s more like four disparate, elusive, and impressionistic paintings that try to capture the essence of an inef......more

Goodreads review by Bryan on April 18, 2018

It's hard to write about Viriconium without being infected by its style. This is a collection of three short novels and some short stories about Harrison's imagined city of Viriconium. The first two novels, Pastel City and Storm of Wings, are recognizable as fantasies. They offer heroes, monsters, q......more


Quotes

“The world that Harrison depicts is intricate and authentic, peopled with a multitude of strange yet lifelike characters—a combination which serves to make his richly imagined empire of Viriconium feel very real indeed. . . . This omnibus collection from the author of Light is canon-reading for those who wish to know the genre's roots, as well as the heights, to which it can aspire.”Kirkus Reviews, starred review