Publisher's Synopsis
Print edition of the concluding volume to Henry Gee's incredible Sigil Trilogy! The Universe is still dying from within and the young Drover tasked with stopping the rot is still racing against time. For fifty years, former textile merchant Mr Haraddzjin Khorare has been Chancellor of a Kingdom unequalled in brutality. And it's about to get a whole lot worse. Dogfinger is a boy orphaned when his village is razed by Stoners. One day, he knows, the time will come for revenge. Domingo-scientist, Priest and Pope-is watching, helpless, as the world circles to its doom. What we need, he thinks, is a miracle. Will his prayers be answered? The Plague has forced Jadis Markham and Jack Corstophine to give up their research in favour of survival. But there are always questions left to answer. Their son, Tom, now himself a noted anthropologist, has an encounter that will force him to confront his own nature-and the very nature of the universe, as the stars themselves begin going dark. Rage of Stars is the climactic third volume of The Sigil, Henry Gee's epic tale that explores the nature of humanity, religion and love. Praise for THE SIGIL TRILOGY: "Great stuff. Touches of Douglas Adams, Barrington Bayley, David Britton and Steve Ayelet only emphasise the splendid originality of this book. Henry Gee is thoughtful, funny, original. And pretty thoroughly mind-expanding in the tradition of Wells, David Lindsay, Stapledon and Clarke. In fact everything you yearn to find in a very good contemporary SF novel. Really enjoyed it!" -SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock "Coming to a science fiction novel by Henry Gee I was expecting a work knowledgeable about the world and all its ways, but who would have guessed it would also reveal Henry to be a visionary space voyager of the first order? The Sigil is in the grand tradition of Stapledonian space opera, and provides not only an explanation for why this universe is the way it is, but gives us the many vivid wild adventures on the part of some (very appealing) conscious characters acting to make it that way. Awesome stuff, and a true pleasure to read page by page." -Kim Stanley Robinson, award-winning author of Red Mars "Fast-moving, insanely inventive science fiction in the grand manner-seldom has the fate of the galaxy been handled on such a large scale. Gee draws on archeology, geology, physics, and biology to create a rich tapestry with surprises woven into every thread." -Nancy Kress "Siege is compelling, grandiose, and breathtaking in its spacetime and its characters are intriguing, personal, and complex....This book of Henry's is going to be high on the charts." -scienceblogs.com "Echoes of Olaf Stapledon and Arthur C. Clarke, with more interesting characters than either of them." -John Gribbin "Cosmically deep and sensually rich, here is a very warm, enthusiastic and human book about great issues of our own world and of the whole universe, beautifully written. What can I say but: Gee Whiz! (unless somebody already has...)" -Ian Watson "One of the very best books I've ever read." -Critique.org "Henry Gee serves up a tasty stew of sex, science and space opera. Or should that read romance, rationality and retro-SF? Either way, the book is great entertainment." -Vaughan Stanger "A great very-wide-screen story, with many interesting characters I cared about...the writing-and the palaeontology-are beautifully executed" -Jack Cohen, author of Wheelers and Heaven "wildly imaginative... personalities and relationships drive the story forward as much as its grandiose scale, making "Siege" difficult to put down." -Alex Shvartsman "Henry Gee's crackling prose and fast-paced storytelling pull the reader right in, but it's the vividness of his characters that creates such a sense of intimacy in this large-scale cosmic tale. It's an impressive fiction debut, a page-turner that delivers the goods!" -Mercurio D. Rivera, World Fantasy Award nominee
