The Dragons of Babel - by Michael Swanwick (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner!

A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.

Evacuated to the Tower of Babel--infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City--Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a haint politician, meets his one true love-a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to.

You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form.

Review Quotes

"The Dragons of Babel is an unqualified masterpiece representing the pinnacle of modern fantasy. Simply put, it is great fantasy as great literature." --SF Site.com

"A smart, stark steampunk fantasy. It's gritty and magical and, in sensibility, is similar to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and MirrorMask. Original and dashing, The Dragons of Babel is a breath of fresh air." --Starlog

"If you haven't read Michael Swanwick yet, you've been missing some wonderful prose.... Con men and ward heelers, cluricauns and hobgoblins, and a stunningly beautiful elf-woman who rides a hippogriff all entice and enrapture Will, and the reader as well." --The San Diego Union-Tribune

About the Author

MICHAEL SWANWICK lives in Philadelphia, PA. He has won five Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award (for Best Novel).