The History of the World Begins in Ice: NOW AVAILABLE
The History of the World Begins in Ice: Stories and Essays From the World of Cold Magic is now available in a trade paperback edition and an ebook edition from Fairwood Press.
Enjoy, yet again, the gorgeous Tom Canty cover:
Enter the Post-Roman Afro-Celtic icepunk regency fantasy world of the Spiritwalker Trilogy (Cold Magic, Cold Fire, Cold Steel)—starring Phoenician spies, well-dressed men, revolutionary women, and lawyer dinosaurs—with 11 vivid stories gathered in one place by RT Reviewers’ Choice winner and Nebula, World Fantasy, Norton, and Locus Awards finalist Kate Elliott.
In addition to the fantastic Tom Canty cover, and maps by Jeffrey L. Ward, each story is illustrated by one of these fantastic artists: Julie Dillon, Jody Lee, Allaine B. Leoncio, Kelsey Liggett, Todd Lockwood, Nilah Magruder, Lee Moyer, John Picacio, Jemma Salume, C.N. Rowen Shiotsuki, Charles Tan, and Wendy Xu. Frankly, I think the collection is worth it just for the phenomenal illustrations.
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD BEGINS IN ICE has been a labor of love from start to finish, my tribute to the readers who have loved the COLD MAGIC and the Spiritwalker Trilogy, to the beauty and power of art when it works in concert with text, and to myself and my stubborn commitment to writing the strange stories that keep bubbling up in my mind.
You don't have to have read the Spiritwalker Trilogy to follow the stories; many were written for venues where I had to assume readers wouldn't have read COLD MAGIC and sequels, and two of the stories are original to the collection. So this can be a great place to start with my work, even if you haven’t read anything else by me, while also being a great return to the Spiritwalker universe for those of you who have read the Cold Magic books.
But don’t take my word for it!
Publishers Weekly:
"The stories all stand alone and prove remarkably accessible even to new readers . . . The essays, meanwhile, include character studies, thematic analysis, and Elliott’s explanation of why she created a world centered on cold magic, all of which will be catnip for long-standing series fans. It adds up to an impressive combination of narrative and commentary."
Dear Author (review site):
"When I opened the book I knew only that The History of the World Begins in Ice is a science fiction/fantasy anthology and it somehow involved magic. Nothing else. What I found was a series of stories that drew me in, explained just what I needed to know without any info-dump and, while each telling a complete tale, left me wanting to know more. So I’m here to tell DA readers that this anthology is just as perfect a place to start the Spiritwalker series as Cold Magic . . . The main draw for me was the short stories but there are essays in the back about how certain things in the series were decided -- the geography, certain languages, as well as character studies which were interesting to read. The amount of thought and research that went into the landscape and the language was well beyond what I had considered. The series is set on an alternative Earth based on the geography of about 20,000 years ago and where European colonialism didn’t occur . . . The History of the World Begins in Ice did that rare and lovely thing of leaving me both satisfied and also wanting more."
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Note WRT the Deluxe Hardcover Limited Edition:
Patrick at Fairwood also commissioned a Deluxe hardcover limited edition. This sold out during the preorder period. He sent the complete files to the press in mid August and received the hard-copy proof last week, so he expects the hardcovers to be printed by mid-November. This edition simply takes longer than a regular trade paperback. I thank you for your patience.
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As always, feel free to spread the word about the collection. If anyone is so inclined, posting reviews and ratings on various online venues is a huge help. This is a deeply personal project for me, with a small press run by a single person (Patrick) who takes a chance on every book he publishes.
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Finn wants to know if you’ve ordered it yet! Not that he is biased. . . .
As always, I could not do this without you.
Thank you!
Kate Elliott