'Seven Surrenders' in the 'Terra Ignota' series by Ada Palmer delves deeper into philosophical ideas introduced in the previous volume, continuing the tale through the perspective of Mycroft Canner, a reformed criminal. The plot is described as twisting and turning, with complex shades of gray explored within the storylines. The narrative is unashamedly philosophical, dense with ideas, and rich in dialogue, which some reviewers find both laudable and superbly executed. challenges readers with questions on topics like religion, individuality, gender equality, utopia, morality, stagnancy vs. progress, and the nature of humanity.
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Content warnings include violence, murder, and complex themes surrounding sexuality and gender identity.
From The Publisher:
*2018 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL CATEGORY*
From 2017 John W. Campbell Award winner, Ada Palmer, the second book of Terra Ignota, a political science fiction epic of extraordinary audacity
"A cornucopia of dazzling, sharp ideas set in rich, wry prose that rewards rumination with layers of delight. Provocative, erudite, inventive, resplendent." -Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings
In a future of near-instantaneous global travel, of abundant provision for the needs of all, a future in which no one living can remember an actual war…a long era of stability threatens to come to an abrupt end.
For known only to a few, the leaders of the great Hives, nations without fixed locations, have long conspired to keep the world stable, at the cost of just a little blood. A few secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction can ever dominate, and the balance holds. And yet the balance is beginning to give way.
Mycroft Canner, convict, sentenced to wander the globe in service to all, knows more about this conspiracy than he can ever admit. Carlyle Foster, counselor, sensayer, has secrets as well, and they burden Carlyle beyond description. And both Mycroft and Carlyle are privy to the greatest secret of all: Bridger, the child who can bring inanimate objects to life.
Shot through with astonishing invention, Ada Palmer's Seven Surrenders is the next movement in one of the great science fiction epics of our time.
"Seven Surrenders veers expertly between love, murder, mayhem, parenthood, theology, and high politics. I haven't had this much fun with a book in a long time." -Max Gladstone, author of Three Parts Dead
Terra Ignota
1. Too Like the Lightning
2. Seven Surrenders
3. The Will to Battle
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About the Author:
ADA PALMER is the author of the Terra Ignota series, including The Will to Battle. She is a professor in the history department of the University of Chicago, specializing in Renaissance history and the history of ideas. Her first nonfiction book, Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance, was published in 2014 by Harvard University Press. She is also a composer of folk and Renaissance-tinged a cappella music, most of which she performs with the group Sassafrass. She writes about history for a popular audience at exurbe.com and about SF and fantasy-related matters at Tor.com.
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