Veniss Underground

Description

Dreams and nightmares entwine as three fellow travellers strive to achieve their deepest desires. Nicholas seeks to escape his demons in the dark city of Veniss' shadowy underground. But in doing so, makes a deal with the devil himself. Then in her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. Finally, haunted by Nicola's sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola's lover, embarks on a mythic journey. He must steel himself to visit the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city, to bring his love back to light. For these depths hold perils that are both complex and chilling. There, he will find wonders beyond imagining . . . and horrors greater than the heart can bear. Literary alchemist Jeff VanderMeer has produced a triumph of the imagination, revealing the mysterious city of Veniss through three intertwined voices. Veniss Underground is an unforgettable journey exploring the limits of love, memory and obsession. This edition includes the novella Balzac's War.

Jeff VanderMeer is an award-winning novelist and editor. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in the Library of America's American Fantastic Tales and multiple year's best anthologies. He writes non-fiction for the Washington Post, the New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, and the Guardian, among others. His novels include the Ambergris series, and Annihilation. He grew up in the Fiji Islands and now lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife.

A Dantesque journey . . . a nightmare vision that shows off VanderMeer's many virtues * Guardian * An outstanding first novel brimming with startling ideas * The Scotsman * Masterful . . . Not for the faint of heart, the story packs a strong emotional wallop * Publishers Weekly * The denouement is as powerful as any I have read * Guardian * A Dantesque journey . . . a nightmare vision that shows off VanderMeer's many virtues * Guardian * An outstanding first novel brimming with startling ideas * The Scotsman * Masterful . . . Not for the faint of heart, the story packs a strong emotional wallop * Publishers Weekly * The denouement is as powerful as any I have read * Guardian *