Speaking Bones (The Dandelion Dynasty #4)

Ken Liu

$31.49

Publication Date: June 21st, 2022

Publisher:

S&S/Saga Press

ISBN:

9781982148973

Pages:

1072

Description

The battle continues in this silkpunk fantasy as science and destiny collide against the will of the gods in this final installment in the epic Dandelion Dynasty series from Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award–winning author Ken Liu.

The concluding book of The Dandelion Dynasty begins immediately after the events of The Veiled Throne, in the middle of two wars on two lands among three people separated by an ocean yet held together by the invisible strands of love.

Harried by Lyucu pursuers, Princess Théra and Pékyu Takval try to reestablish an ancestral dream even as their hearts grow in doubt. The people of Dara continue to struggle against the genocidal Lyucu as both nations vacillate between starkly contrasting visions for their futures. Even the gods cannot see through the Wall of Storms, for only mortal hearts can decide mortal fates.

Award-winning author Ken Liu fulfills the covenants first laid out a decade ago in a series delving deep into the connection between national myths and national constitutions in this ambitious, “magnificent fantasy epic” (NPR).

About the Author

Ken Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu’s other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, and a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work, including the short story “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in Netflix’s animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. “The Hidden Girl,” “The Message,” and “The Oracle” have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, the history of technology, and the value of storytelling. Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Praise for Speaking Bones (The Dandelion Dynasty #4)

"Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings [is] a magnificent fantasy epic. Liu is building a dynasty." (NPR Books)

"The epic fantasy genre can only be enriched by more novels drawing from non-Western traditions. Liu’s ambitious work expertly blends mythology, history, military tactics, and technological innovation (airships and submarines). " (Kirkus Reviews)

"The Grace of Kings is an ambitious, astonishing, and sublime work, one that both exemplifies and diverges from what one might think of when it comes to epic fantasy. It should rank amongst the genre's best works." (io9)

"Liu’s combination of elements from China, Polynesia and beyond, told in an epic style, is the kind of Silk Road Fantasy that I’ve always wanted to read, and love all the more now that I have." (SF Signal)

"Told in Liu’s graceful, intelligent, and literate prose, the novel is a sumptuous Epic feast." (SFF World)

"The Grace of Kings is a fantasy, with petty meddling gods, odd mechanized inventions, and a sense that mystical powers lurk around the corner. It is nothing if not epic." (Tor.com)

"The Grace of Kings is grand, mythic and epic, but Liu’s “silk-punk” world of trickster gods and giant horned whales is also a delight." (Relentless Reading)

“By turns opulent, gritty, and inventive, The Grace of Kings gives epic fantasy a much-needed breath of fresh air.”—Saladin Ahmed, Hugo Award finalist for Throne of the Crescent Moon

“Ken Liu shows that he is more than a master of the short form. This is the rare novel I feel compelled to immediately read again. A masterpiece.” —Hugh C. Howey, author of the bestselling Wool series

“Rich in detail, packed with action, and inventive in its blending of epic traditions, Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings is an absolute pleasure to read.”—Kate Elliott, Nebula Award–winning author of the Spiritwalker trilogy

“Ken Liu is a genius.”—Elizabeth Bear, Hugo Award–winning author of the Eternal Sky series

“Ken Liu wrote the Wuxia version of Game of Thrones. The scope is breathtaking. The story is epic. This book kicks major ass!”—Wes Chu, John M. Campbell and Alex Award winning author of the Lives of Tao trilogy and Time Salvager