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The City
- Author
- Stella Gemmell
- Narrator
- Simon Shepherd
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 25 April 2013
- Run Time
- 12 hours 14 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones, Joe Abercrombie and Robin Hobb, a stunningly imagined and thrilling epic fantasy from bestselling author Stella Gemmell.
"One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time - and I read a lot...utterly compelling...an awesome example of the genre." -- sf book reviews
"An astonishing book... Easily the best fantasy novel I've read in the last decade." - James Barclay
"Vast, immersive and accomplished." -- INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
"Well-defined, superbly executed...I found myself absolutely hooked." -- Eloquent page
"Grips you from the first page..." -- ***** Reader review
"This ticked all the boxes for me." -- ***** Reader review
"It was such a great read, she has very much her own style of writing and I loved it. " -- ***** Reader review.
************************************
THEIR HOPES REST ON ONE MAN...BELIEVED TO BE DEAD.
The City, ancient and vast, has been waging almost constant war for centuries.
At its heart resides the Emperor. Few have ever seen him. Those who have remember a man in his prime - who yet should be very old. Is he no longer human? Indeed was he truly ever?
A group of rebels have come to a desperate conclusion: the only way to halt the Emperor's thirst for war is to end his unnaturally long life.
From the crumbling catacombs beneath the City where the poor struggle to stay alive to the blood-soaked fields of battle where so few heroes survive, these rebels emerge.
Their hopes rest on one man. A man who was once the Emperor's foremost general - betrayed, imprisoned, tortured and now believed to be dead...
The story continues in The Immortal Throne...
Critics Review
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The most satisfying, intelligent and enthralling epic fantasy I’ve read in many a year.
JULIET McKENNA
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An astonishing book . . . combines extraordinary scope with first class characterization, devastating and visceral battles, a multi-layered plot and a tightly-focused narrative . . . The City is easily the best fantasy novel I’ve read in the last decade.
JAMES BARCLAY
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One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time . . . utterly compelling fiction, an awesome example of the genre . . . brilliant.
SF BOOK REVIEWS
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Vast, immersive and accomplished.
Independent on Sunday
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A brutally visual world . . . vivid, motivated characters each with a heartbreaking history . . . thrilling and devastating . . . a true epic.
SCIFI NOW
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Gemmell's volcanic imagination . . . erupts into pyrotechnics of description and unstoppable lava flows of intrigue, sweeping us along to the white-hot conclusion.
SFX magazine
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A plethora of well-defined, superbly-executed characters . . . I found myself absolutely hooked . . . there is an ever-growing sense of tension. Even before the final, inevitable, showdown you get the feeling that things are going to get bloody and not everyone is going to make it out of this alive . . .this is engrossing stuff that's expertly executed.
ELOQUENT PAGE
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Demands your complete and total attention . . . pulls together at the end in a gripping climax and wonderful multi dimensional characters . . . a new and very powerful voice in the world of fantasy.
Highly Recommended.PARMENION BOOKS
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A sweeping novel of great power.
TOR.COM
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This is an astonishing book and all the more amazing given that it is Stella Gemmell’s debut. It combines extraordinary scope with first class characterization, devastating and visceral battles, a multi-layered plot and a tightly-focused narrative that keeps you reading, eager for the next page. The City is easily the best fantasy novel I’ve read in the last decade.
JAMES BARCLAY, bestselling author of ‘The Legends of the Raven’
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Stella Gemmell
- Narrator
- Simon Shepherd
- Duration
- 12 hours 14 minutes
- Release Date
- 25 April 2013
- ISBN
- 9781448179596
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Epic fantasy / high fantasy, Adventure / action fiction, War, combat and military adventure fiction, Historical fantasy, Science fiction, Political / legal thriller, Historical adventure fiction, Historical fiction, Dystopian and utopian fiction, Narrative theme: politics / economics
Synopsis
Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones, Joe Abercrombie and Robin Hobb, a stunningly imagined and thrilling epic fantasy from bestselling author Stella Gemmell. "One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time - and I read a lot...utterly compelling...an awesome example of the genre." -- sf book reviews"An astonishing book... Easily the best fantasy novel I've read in the last decade." - James Barclay"Vast, immersive and accomplished." -- INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY"Well-defined, superbly executed...I found myself absolutely hooked." -- Eloquent page"Grips you from the first page..." -- ***** Reader review"This ticked all the boxes for me." -- ***** Reader review"It was such a great read, she has very much her own style of writing and I loved it. " -- ***** Reader review.************************************THEIR HOPES REST ON ONE MAN...BELIEVED TO BE DEAD. The City, ancient and vast, has been waging almost constant war for centuries. At its heart resides the Emperor. Few have ever seen him. Those who have remember a man in his prime - who yet should be very old. Is he no longer human? Indeed was he truly ever?A group of rebels have come to a desperate conclusion: the only way to halt the Emperor's thirst for war is to end his unnaturally long life.From the crumbling catacombs beneath the City where the poor struggle to stay alive to the blood-soaked fields of battle where so few heroes survive, these rebels emerge. Their hopes rest on one man. A man who was once the Emperor's foremost general - betrayed, imprisoned, tortured and now believed to be dead...The story continues in The Immortal Throne...
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