The Engine’s Child
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The rasnan, that is both island and world, has been lost for centuries in the vast, uncharted sea. It is a world of dangerous divisions and failing compromises between the priests and the peasants, the rich and the poor. Trapped in stubborn isolation, few recognize the disastrous truth: they are too many, and the island is too small. Starvation and revolt draw near, yet only a handful have the vision to see it, and the courage to oppose the deadly conservatism of ruler and priest. Moth, a priest-in-training, is recruited by Lady
Vashmarna to wield the heretical power of the mundab,
the unknown world, to forge a way off the crowded isle.
But Moth has never forgotten her slum origins, and every And that is before the mundab, the ocean world
itself, raises a storm of power that might drown them all. “[a] richly imaginative novel” —The Washington Post “This richly complex tale ... deftly encapsulates an entire culture’s frictions and fractures in the loyalties of one young woman ... [Phillips’s] lush prose and dark fantasy cityscape will appeal to fans of China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station and Sarah Monnette’s Melusine, but her manipulative, scarred, sexual, unapologetic anti-heroine recalls Elizabeth Bear or Melissa Scott.” —Library Journal “Poetic… some lovely passages that almost work as prose poems on their own. Phillips touches on contemporary issues including the divide between the rich and the poor, religious intolerance and the dangers of overpopulation, but the book is not an allegory; it’s a rush of images and emotions. A well-realized fantasy world … delightful prose.” —Kirkus “Phillips writes with a purity of conviction that replaces the reader’s world with her creation. And she tells one hell of a good story in the process. It’s not all shadings and subtlety. Blood is spilled as the best-laid plans crash up against the novel’s carefully crafted reality.” —The Agony Column “Phillips’s style is never less than spellbinding…[she] is a writer of vision and grace.” —Strange Horizons “The Engine’s Child is an absolute page-turner featuring a wonderful writing style, imaginative setting and strong characters. Just don’t expect a by-the-numbers epic fantasy. Highly, highly recommended, The Engine’s Child has made me a new fan of Holly Phillips.” —fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com “Holly Phillips shows her poetic roots in what is a fine, intriguing tale that makes a statement on morality.” —SFRevu 
Genre/Category: Fantasy Length: 400 pp 
North American rights, Del Rey For all other rights contact The Cooke Agency.
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