Shadows of the Short Days
A striking Icelandic debut, set in a world where wild and industrialised magic meet.
WELCOME TO REYKJAVÍK
Here, people do as they are told. They follow the rules. They stay in line. Citizens are watched over by the flying fortress, and dissidents are vanished deep into the dungeons of the Nine.
A CITY OF WONDROUS POWER
Sæmundur is a student of magic, hungry for knowledge. Except his dangerous theories have seen him expelled from university. Garún is an outcast artist, rejected by her city simply because of who she is.
A SAFE PLACE FOR EVERYONE
Both want more from the city they call home. Both will fight against the ruthless police, the masked sorcerers, and the powers that have rejected them. Both will risk everything to change Reykjavík forever.
* * * * * * * * * *
‘A marvellous, quirky, original fantasy’ Joanne Harris, bestselling author of The Strawberry Thief
‘one of the most ambitious, intense, original and thrilling debuts I’ve read in a long time’ Grimdark Magazine
‘Fresh and exciting: full of dark, demonic, revolutionary shenanigans’ Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant
WELCOME TO REYKJAVÍK
Here, people do as they are told. They follow the rules. They stay in line. Citizens are watched over by the flying fortress, and dissidents are vanished deep into the dungeons of the Nine.
A CITY OF WONDROUS POWER
Sæmundur is a student of magic, hungry for knowledge. Except his dangerous theories have seen him expelled from university. Garún is an outcast artist, rejected by her city simply because of who she is.
A SAFE PLACE FOR EVERYONE
Both want more from the city they call home. Both will fight against the ruthless police, the masked sorcerers, and the powers that have rejected them. Both will risk everything to change Reykjavík forever.
* * * * * * * * * *
‘A marvellous, quirky, original fantasy’ Joanne Harris, bestselling author of The Strawberry Thief
‘one of the most ambitious, intense, original and thrilling debuts I’ve read in a long time’ Grimdark Magazine
‘Fresh and exciting: full of dark, demonic, revolutionary shenanigans’ Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant
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Reviews
Norse mythology like you've never seen it before, set in a Reykjavik that you never knew existed - Shadows of the Short Days is a new breed of fantasy
Shadows of the Short Days is revolutionary fantasy fresher than a dip in a glacial stream. Definitely one for fans of Neil Gaiman and China Mieville.
A marvellous, quirky, original fantasy novel set in a magical steampunk version of Reykjavik: teeming with magic, dense with detail and with characters that not only leap off the page, but poke you in the eye as they do. Highly recommended.
A masterfully crafted dark tale . . . one of the most ambitious, intense, original and thrilling debuts I've read in a long time
Shadows of the Short Days is fresh and exciting: full of dark, demonic, revolutionary shenanigans
A heady mix of revolution, monsters and magic, this is a novel of alternative Reykjavik in which myth and religion are alive - and hungry
A pacy, racy read that blends racial and political issues with traditional urban fantasy fare. A recommended purchase, it will bring an icy chill to your summer reading.
Vividly imagined and compelling
A book that every time I picked up I truly wanted to savour every word, event, development, and chapter. It's superbly well written, thrilling, and the pacing is exquisite.
I won't be forgetting about this book any time soon.
The blending together of revolutionary politics and magical fantasy creates a gripping narrative with a surreal air that I found hugely entertaining. If you are looking for thought provoking genre fiction then this could well be the book for you.
Dark and bleak and imaginative