THE RAGGED WORLD
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JUDITH MOFFETT
The alien Hefn were not especially interested in humanity when they came to Earth; they returned to recover their shipmates who had been left on Earth centuries before—beings who had passed into human legend as “hobs” and “tomtar.” Although all were affected by their arrival, few people actually encountered the Hefn. Those who did were changed. These are their stories.
For Carrie Sharpless, the Hefn intrude upon her life when a chance question on a midterm exam uncovers her student Terry’s strange encounter. When Jenny Shepherd stumbles across a “hob” amid the moors of Yorkshire, the resulting interplay of legend with everyday existence reshapes her own life, while in “Tiny Tango” (“a thunderstorm of a novella” said the New York Review of Science Fiction), Nancy Sandford’s AIDS-afflicted life is redeemed through the intervention of the aliens.
Spun around human emotions, threaded through with a deep love for the Earth, The Ragged World weaves these stories into a beautiful depiction of humanity, a richly worded tapestry of this ragged world in which we live.
Also from Judith Moffett:
Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream
The Bird Shaman
Holy Ground Trilogy (all 3 Books)
- April, 2026 978-1-958880-38-8
- trade paperback, 6 x 9
- Pre-order copies below; Other venues for ebook & print copies forthcoming.
- Buy all 3 books for $48!
The alien Hefn were not especially interested in humanity when they came to Earth; they returned to recover their shipmates who had been left on Earth centuries before—beings who had passed into human legend as “hobs” and “tomtar.” Although all were affected by their arrival, few people actually encountered the Hefn. Those who did were changed. These are their stories.
For Carrie Sharpless, the Hefn intrude upon her life when a chance question on a midterm exam uncovers her student Terry’s strange encounter. When Jenny Shepherd stumbles across a “hob” amid the moors of Yorkshire, the resulting interplay of legend with everyday existence reshapes her own life, while in “Tiny Tango” (“a thunderstorm of a novella” said the New York Review of Science Fiction), Nancy Sandford’s AIDS-afflicted life is redeemed through the intervention of the aliens.
Spun around human emotions, threaded through with a deep love for the Earth, The Ragged World weaves these stories into a beautiful depiction of humanity, a richly worded tapestry of this ragged world in which we live.
Also from Judith Moffett:
Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream
The Bird Shaman
Holy Ground Trilogy (all 3 Books)
“Everyone who plays a role in this complicated narrative is a stubbornly self-possessed individual . . . You will be engaged and moved.”
— The New York Times Book Review
“The Ragged World is based on her well-received tales of the gnome-like Hefn . . . Moffett has done a marvelous job integrating [several stories] into a book the publisher refers to most accurately as a stunning mosaic. Each story is a tile, part of a larger pattern which, viewed as a whole, reveals the intelligence and the skill of the maker . . . In the end it all connects, and it all matters. The Ragged World is a triumph.”
— Faren Miller in Locus
“Moffett has yet to write anything I don’t like, and this book works well either as a novel or a series of related stories.”
— Science Fiction Chronicle
“A small, moving, personal novel spliced together from previously published and new material (including the widely admired “Tiny Tango”), about the effect on a few intertwined lives when aliens assume control of our planet.
— Kirkus Review
“Moffett handles her story and its characters with marvelous warmth and empathy. You, like me, will find her imagination a wondrous place to visit.”
— Analog
"Moffett, winner of the 1988 John W. Campbell Award for best new SF writer, focuses on characters and emotions in presenting a provocative possible reality."
— Publishers Weekly
"Moffett is a fine storyteller with a style and grace reminiscent of the great Theodore Sturgeon. She gives so much life to her characters that we are sorry to see them go."
— Los Angeles Times
— The New York Times Book Review
“The Ragged World is based on her well-received tales of the gnome-like Hefn . . . Moffett has done a marvelous job integrating [several stories] into a book the publisher refers to most accurately as a stunning mosaic. Each story is a tile, part of a larger pattern which, viewed as a whole, reveals the intelligence and the skill of the maker . . . In the end it all connects, and it all matters. The Ragged World is a triumph.”
— Faren Miller in Locus
“Moffett has yet to write anything I don’t like, and this book works well either as a novel or a series of related stories.”
— Science Fiction Chronicle
“A small, moving, personal novel spliced together from previously published and new material (including the widely admired “Tiny Tango”), about the effect on a few intertwined lives when aliens assume control of our planet.
— Kirkus Review
“Moffett handles her story and its characters with marvelous warmth and empathy. You, like me, will find her imagination a wondrous place to visit.”
— Analog
"Moffett, winner of the 1988 John W. Campbell Award for best new SF writer, focuses on characters and emotions in presenting a provocative possible reality."
— Publishers Weekly
"Moffett is a fine storyteller with a style and grace reminiscent of the great Theodore Sturgeon. She gives so much life to her characters that we are sorry to see them go."
— Los Angeles Times
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR