THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD BEGINS IN ICE
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Stories and Essays from the World of Cold Magic
KATE ELLIOTT
An elderly man retires at last, seeking peace to write his final masterwork on architecture . . . until that peace is disturbed by an outbreak of magic.
Everyone knows the story of Dido and Aeneas. But only Beatrice knows the correct version.
A shapeshifting sabertooth cat falls into the arms of two beautiful palace attendants . . . all too eager to pet him.
A powerful mage and his wife travel into enemy territory on an urgent mission . . . Surely the expedition will go exactly as planned. . . right?
These standalone stories and 6 others are accompanied by wonderful illustrations from 14 featured artists. Eleven short essays that delve into the whys and wherefores of the setting and characters round out the volume.
KATE ELLIOTT
- October 22, 2024 (Hardcover later in November)
- 978-1-958880-19-7 (tp) 978-1-958880-18-0 (hc)
- Ltd. Hardcover; Trade Paper & ebook
- Cover art by Tom Canty
- The edition also reproduces The Secret Journal of Beatrice Hassi Barahal, a sold-out chapbook originally published in 2013.
- Order copies below, or order ebook and trade paper print copies from these dealers.
- A FEW LIMITED HARDCOVERS AVAILABLE
- A FEW LIMITED HARDCOVERS WITHOUT SIGNATURE PAGE TIPPED IN, but we'll include the page loose in your copy
- A FEW "AS IS" HARDCOVER COPIES. THE CASEBOUND COVER WAS DENTED ON THE BACK NEAR THE SPINE.
An elderly man retires at last, seeking peace to write his final masterwork on architecture . . . until that peace is disturbed by an outbreak of magic.
Everyone knows the story of Dido and Aeneas. But only Beatrice knows the correct version.
A shapeshifting sabertooth cat falls into the arms of two beautiful palace attendants . . . all too eager to pet him.
A powerful mage and his wife travel into enemy territory on an urgent mission . . . Surely the expedition will go exactly as planned. . . right?
These standalone stories and 6 others are accompanied by wonderful illustrations from 14 featured artists. Eleven short essays that delve into the whys and wherefores of the setting and characters round out the volume.
Only a few left!
FEATURING COVER AND INTERIOR ARTWORK BY:
Tom Canty, Julie Dillon, Jody Lee, Allaine B. Leoncio, Kelsey Liggett,
Todd Lockwood, Nilah Magruder, Lee Moyer, John Picacio, Jemma Salume,
C.N. Rowen Shiotsuki, Charles Tan, Jeffrey L. Ward, & Wendy Xu
Cover image © by Tom Canty; Secret Journal images © Julie Dillon; all other copyrights on bottom of image.
Tom Canty, Julie Dillon, Jody Lee, Allaine B. Leoncio, Kelsey Liggett,
Todd Lockwood, Nilah Magruder, Lee Moyer, John Picacio, Jemma Salume,
C.N. Rowen Shiotsuki, Charles Tan, Jeffrey L. Ward, & Wendy Xu
Cover image © by Tom Canty; Secret Journal images © Julie Dillon; all other copyrights on bottom of image.
"Fresh worldbuilding: check. Protagonist who feels real but extraordinary: check. Hot romance: check. Reimagines the global power balance if myths were real and the Black Death was just a leeeetle deathier — what, you didn't want that? Well, now you do."
— N.K. Jemisin, author of The Broken Earth Trilogy
"With this fascinating collection of 11 stories and 11 essays, Elliott returns to the world of her Spiritwalker trilogy, an alternate Earth where magic is real and the Roman Empire is still going strong in the 19th century. The stories all stand alone and prove remarkably accessible even to new readers . . . The essays, meanwhile, include character studies, thematic analysis, and Elliott’s explanation of why she created a world centered on cold magic, all of which will be catnip for long-standing series fans. It adds up to an impressive combination of narrative and commentary."
— Publishers Weekly
"The History of the World Begins in Ice is a delightful collection of stories from the brilliantly conceived universe of the Spiritwalker Trilogy. It also includes intriguing short essays about the characters and the world itself, complete with good, readable maps and some nifty illustrations. Highly recommended."
— Katharine Kerr, the Deverry series (Daggerspell) and Polar City Blues
"I loved the world of the Spiritwalker Trilogy! Elliott’s writing is original and fabulously imaginative, epic in scope, while never losing sight of the intense personal story of the characters.”
— Martha Wells, Witch King and The Murderbot Diaries
"Such a richly textured book. So many different perspectives, so much lore, and the tour de force is that the stories stand alone but are all part of an ongoing tapestry. And craft essays too!"
— Aliette de Bodard, award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements
"Brilliantly faceted, perfectly carved — Kate Elliott's boundless imagination is a jewel. A sparkling collection from a generous and incisive writer."
— C. J. Lavigne, author of In Veritas
"When I opened the book I knew only that The History of the World Begins in Ice is a science fiction/fantasy anthology and it somehow involved magic. Nothing else. What I found was a series of stories that drew me in, explained just what I needed to know without any info-dump and, while each telling a complete tale, left me wanting to know more. So I’m here to tell DA readers that this anthology is just as perfect a place to start the Spiritwalker series as Cold Magic . . . The main draw for me was the short stories but there are essays in the back about how certain things in the series were decided -- the geography, certain languages, as well as character studies which were interesting to read. The amount of thought and research that went into the landscape and the language was well beyond what I had considered. The series is set on an alternative Earth based on the geography of about 20,000 years ago and where European colonialism didn’t occur . . . The History of the World Begins in Ice did that rare and lovely thing of leaving me both satisfied and also wanting more."
— Dear Author
"The History of the World Begins in Ice (****½) is a splendid volume by one of fantasy's more underrated but consistently excellent voices. Part short story collection, part behind-the-scenes glimpse at how you build a fantasy world and inhabit it with interesting people, it's a compelling read, and both a solid introduction to the Spiritwalker world and a welcome continuation of it."
— The Wertzone
"The stories are a mix of new and reprint. The essays all appear to be reprints. . . . I think that fantasy fiction struggles more at shorter lengths, but these are almost all quite good. The essays supplied some information that helped me understand the stories, fortunately. "Bloom" was my favorite among the stories. There are more than a dozen illustrations by various artists. If you liked the trilogy, this should be a welcome supplement to the series. If you haven't read the trilogy, this might not be as meaningful but the stories pretty much stand by themselves.
— Critical Mass
Praise for Kate Elliott's Cold Magic series:
“Elliott pulls out all the stops in a wildly imaginative narrative.”
— Publishers Weekly
“The most fabulous part of Elliott’s series is how perfectly crafted the characters are.”
— RT Book Reviews
“Fans of steampunk and alternate history will enjoy this heady mix of magic and technology.”
— Library Journal
— N.K. Jemisin, author of The Broken Earth Trilogy
"With this fascinating collection of 11 stories and 11 essays, Elliott returns to the world of her Spiritwalker trilogy, an alternate Earth where magic is real and the Roman Empire is still going strong in the 19th century. The stories all stand alone and prove remarkably accessible even to new readers . . . The essays, meanwhile, include character studies, thematic analysis, and Elliott’s explanation of why she created a world centered on cold magic, all of which will be catnip for long-standing series fans. It adds up to an impressive combination of narrative and commentary."
— Publishers Weekly
"The History of the World Begins in Ice is a delightful collection of stories from the brilliantly conceived universe of the Spiritwalker Trilogy. It also includes intriguing short essays about the characters and the world itself, complete with good, readable maps and some nifty illustrations. Highly recommended."
— Katharine Kerr, the Deverry series (Daggerspell) and Polar City Blues
"I loved the world of the Spiritwalker Trilogy! Elliott’s writing is original and fabulously imaginative, epic in scope, while never losing sight of the intense personal story of the characters.”
— Martha Wells, Witch King and The Murderbot Diaries
"Such a richly textured book. So many different perspectives, so much lore, and the tour de force is that the stories stand alone but are all part of an ongoing tapestry. And craft essays too!"
— Aliette de Bodard, award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements
"Brilliantly faceted, perfectly carved — Kate Elliott's boundless imagination is a jewel. A sparkling collection from a generous and incisive writer."
— C. J. Lavigne, author of In Veritas
"When I opened the book I knew only that The History of the World Begins in Ice is a science fiction/fantasy anthology and it somehow involved magic. Nothing else. What I found was a series of stories that drew me in, explained just what I needed to know without any info-dump and, while each telling a complete tale, left me wanting to know more. So I’m here to tell DA readers that this anthology is just as perfect a place to start the Spiritwalker series as Cold Magic . . . The main draw for me was the short stories but there are essays in the back about how certain things in the series were decided -- the geography, certain languages, as well as character studies which were interesting to read. The amount of thought and research that went into the landscape and the language was well beyond what I had considered. The series is set on an alternative Earth based on the geography of about 20,000 years ago and where European colonialism didn’t occur . . . The History of the World Begins in Ice did that rare and lovely thing of leaving me both satisfied and also wanting more."
— Dear Author
"The History of the World Begins in Ice (****½) is a splendid volume by one of fantasy's more underrated but consistently excellent voices. Part short story collection, part behind-the-scenes glimpse at how you build a fantasy world and inhabit it with interesting people, it's a compelling read, and both a solid introduction to the Spiritwalker world and a welcome continuation of it."
— The Wertzone
"The stories are a mix of new and reprint. The essays all appear to be reprints. . . . I think that fantasy fiction struggles more at shorter lengths, but these are almost all quite good. The essays supplied some information that helped me understand the stories, fortunately. "Bloom" was my favorite among the stories. There are more than a dozen illustrations by various artists. If you liked the trilogy, this should be a welcome supplement to the series. If you haven't read the trilogy, this might not be as meaningful but the stories pretty much stand by themselves.
— Critical Mass
Praise for Kate Elliott's Cold Magic series:
“Elliott pulls out all the stops in a wildly imaginative narrative.”
— Publishers Weekly
“The most fabulous part of Elliott’s series is how perfectly crafted the characters are.”
— RT Book Reviews
“Fans of steampunk and alternate history will enjoy this heady mix of magic and technology.”
— Library Journal
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR