Book Club - The Spear Cuts Through Water
Details
It's back to fantasy for March. This is a longer one, so we're meeting on March 31. The Spear Cuts Through Water is the second book by a fairly new author, Simon Jimenez. His first novel, The Vanished Birds, was nominated for the Arthur C Clark and Locust awards. He was also a finalist for 2021 Astounding Award for best new writer (an award given at the Hugos, but not run by the WSFS). He's Filipino-American, and as of 2020, he was living in Philadelphia.
While his first book was SF, he has described this one as epic fantasy. Kirkus Reviews listed it with their best SF/F books of 2022, describing it was "Lyrical, evocative, part poem, part prose—not to be missed by anyone, especially fans of historical fantasy and folktale." Publishers Weekly said, "The rapidly shifting perspectives and slippery plot make for a steep barrier to entry, but the beautiful prose and inventive worldbuilding pay dividends. Though this won’t be for everyone, committed readers who enjoy piecing together stories will be blown away." This might be a difficult book for some of us to get into (especially if fantasy isn't your thing), but it truly seems like it will be worth it if you stick with it.
The Spear Cuts Through Water
by Simon Jimenez
525 pages, 17hr 17min
pub 30 Aug 2022
Available:
ebook: FPL, all retailers
library book: FPL and DPL
audio: Audible
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The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.
But that god cannot be contained forever.
With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before.