Swainston, Steph 1974(?)–

PERSONAL: Born c. 1974. Education: Attended Cambridge University, England.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Eos, 10 E. 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Archeologist and novelist. Archaeologist on dig unearthing oldest recorded burial site in United Kingdom for six years; information scientist. Formerly worked variously at a pharmaceutical company, as an assistant in a zoo veterinarian lab, at a garage restoring cars, and at a plant packing golf balls for sale.

WRITINGS:

SCIENCE FICTION

The Year of Our War, Eos (New York, NY), 2005.

No Present like Time, Gollancz (London, England), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: In her highly praised fantasy novel The Year of Our War, Steph Swainston tells the story of Fourlands and its war against a horde of insects. An island continent, Fourlands is composed of numerous kingdoms ruled over by a band of immortals who were chosen by the immortal emperor from among the continent's mortal inhabitants. The immortals' job is to look over and help rule the land. The rulers and inhabitants of Fourlands have been battling the ravaging insects for nearly 2,000 years as they destroy cities and countless lives. The novel's protagonist, Jant, is an immortal who can fly because of his interbred heritage. He is also called "Messenger" because of his ability to quickly get anywhere in the Fourlands, making him a valuable asset to the emperor. But Jant is also a drug addict who, whenever he takes his heroinlike drug called cat, enters the alternate reality of Shift, where he escapes the problems of his everyday life. It is Jant who discovers the insects' weakness and offers the people of Fourlands an ultimate victory over them.

Writing on the SF Reviews Web site, a reviewer noted that the reader "will be treated to some unforgettable imagery and more than a few bravura storytelling moments." Rick Kleffel noted in his review on the Agony Column Web site that the author's novel "swarms out of the pages and into the reader's mind like a virus, an invasion of our reality." Kleffel added that the book "is like nothing else out there, deftly combining the familiar with the strange at a density that often beggars the imagination. Swainston brings instinct and artistry to bear on a creation that is both chillingly familiar and yet almost impenetrably unreal." A Publishers Weekly contributor called the author's first effort "a well-written … fantasy" and noted Swainston's "powerful sense of the surreal." Jackie Cassada, writing in Library Journal, felt that the author "brings a bold new vision to the fantasy genre," while MBR Bookwatch contributor Harriet Klausner wrote, "The story line is exhilarating as the action-packed tale moves quickly yet provides fans with a deep look at an intriguing society."

In her sequel to The Year of Our War, titled No Present like Time, Swainston resets the stage five years after the ending of the first novel. This time Jant, a newly minted immortal named Serein, and a character called the Sailor travel to a newly discovered island named Tris, which is inhabited by former residents of the Fourlands. Jant's mission is to convince Trisians to join the continent Empire. But the Trisians live a utopian existence and decline the offer. Unfortunately for them, their three visitors have mistakenly brought a deadly insect with them that is released on the island. Rich Horton, writing on the SFSite, noted that No Present like Time "bring[s] to the fore some more detail of the political structure of the Empire of the Fourlands, and some details of its history." Horton also called Swainston "an author certainly worth watching."