The Light Ages

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Synopsis
From the book jacket: In a bleak and gritty England, in a fantastical Age of Industry, the wealth that comes from magic is both revered and reviled. Here, an ambitious young man is haunted by his childhood love-a woman determined to be a part of the world he despises... The northern town of Bracebridge is dominated by the never-ending sound of its aether mines. Toiling men work the earth, extracting the magical and dangerous substance-the source of all power-from the ground. Even at eight, Robert Borrows knows that this is what his future holds... Meanwhile, in an isolated and dilapidated manor known as Redhouse, the precocious Annalise grows up under the care of her guardian. Brought to Redhouse on a mysterious trip by his distraught mother, Robert becomes fascinated with Annalise, for unlike him, she is rich in magic that she keeps carefully hidden, and not quite of this world. But after that same magic ciaims his mother, Robert flees to London. It is there that he feels most keenly the difference between those hired by the guilds to extract the aether and those who profit from their labors. It is also in London that he runs into Annalise again. Now a revolutionary, Robert wishes to destroy the upper class world that Annalise has come to call her own. But together they learn that their fates were entwined long before they were even bom-on an infamous day in Bracebridge when the engines stopped working. And what they discover about that day just might end this age of misery once and for all...
Copyright:
2003

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
456 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780441010554
Publisher:
N/A
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Ian R. MacLeod
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Literature and Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Submitted By:
Roger Drewicke
Proofread By:
Carrie Karnos
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

2 out of 5

By on

Victorian Britain as Dickens might have described it had it included trolls and changelings. McLeod has the flavor precisely, and he has the style to match. His England is gritty, his style slow and ponderous and as descriptive as Dickens ever was. Dickens is too slow for me to read nowadays. Similarly, though I approve McCleod's writing flair, nothing and nobody in this book reached out and drew me in. He creates his world thoroughly and at great length. Perhaps his characters seem well crafted to some. Perhaps somebody will care about what happens to each of them enough to read through the whole book. Dickens created memorable characters in the end and was, after all, being paid by the word in some cases.