Nights of Villjamur (63 page)

Doesn't anyone just want a quiet life?
Randur thought.

'Thank you,' Eir whispered, words meant for his ears only. Her glistening eyes fought back tears of exhaustion.

Given all the problems of this world, Eir offered him so much comfort, and that was maybe enough, wasn't it, just to find someone to love, and to get through life with that person alongside you, because there were no certainties in this world except maybe uncertainty itself.

As the boat was dragged by the breeze, he could see the orange glow of light in the windows of a handful of houses along the shore, warm and inviting but distant and untouchable, and it was as if they weren't just sailing away from Villjamur, but from all the comforts and luxuries they had been used to, from their own lives as they had been lived.

From the world as they knew it.

My sincere love and gratitude to my parents, Kamal and Mick, for their continuing support.

Immense thanks to my agent, John Jarrold, who has been both consul and oracle; without his deeply valuable guidance and belief, this book would never have reached publication.

Peter Lavery, possibly the smartest man alive, and with a pencil in his hand, certainly the most ruthless. My deep gratitude to him, and also to Julie Crisp for helping to shape this book into something better.

Thanks to: Graeme Harris, for the late-night conversations; Robert Thompson for the crucial advice; James Long for the wide-ranging discussions. And a special thanks to George Mann, good friend and sounding board.

And many writers continue to inspire and influence me, and I'm doubtlessly in debt to them all; but they are too numerous to mention here.

P
RAISE FOR
N
IGHTS OF
V
ILLJAMUR

'Newton treads new ground in his attempt to bring literary concerns to the fantasy genre'

Guardian

'This is a grown-up fantasy that touches on real-life concerns, and this is where fantasy is at its most potent and relevant. Newton is certainly a new talent to watch, and I look forward to the next in the
Legends of the Red Sun
series'

Speculative Horizons

'Scorning the fantasy cliches of inescapable battles and all-conquering heroes, Mark Newton has created a unique world threatened by uncaring calamity. Convincingly drawn across the moral spectrum, men, women and other sentient races pursue their own interests, their paths crossing and conflicting. In an atmospheric tale of different strands woven into a compelling tapestry, successive surprises prompt shocks of understanding and fresh apprehension to send shivers down the spine and keep those pages turning'

Juliet E McKenna, author of the Aldabreshin Compass series

'The author's style pushes this tale closer to literary work than most fantasy fare and in particular there's a pleasing depth to the characters . . . there's not a cliche among them; he paints his cast to harbour some wonderful contradictions hidden beneath their official faces . . . Overall, this is an impressive novel from a new fantasy author'

DeathRay

'
Nights of Villjamur
is a terrific debut, it starts with a bang and keeps on going, building action upon action with terrific pace and plenty surprises before relenting and letting you catch your breath before it starts up again . . . refreshingly deft storytelling from an author who clearly knows how to write and I look forward to the next in the series'

Sci Fi London

'
Nights of Villjamur
has something for everyone and it's all good'

'Graeme's Fantasy Book Review' blog

'Mark Charan Newton's
Nights of Villjamur
has established itself in my mind as a contender for Best Fantasy Novel of 2009. Highly, highly recommended'

Fantasy Book Critic

'A great book, which takes old tropes and re-imagines them into something new and memorable . . . Definitely my favourite fantasy of the year so far, in what is a very good year for the genre. This will be a "best of the year" novel, unless I'm much mistaken'

Sffworld.com

N
IGHTS OF
V
ILLJAMUR

B
Y
M
ARK
C
HARAN
N
EWTON

For Mick,
a father when you never had to be

'The power of the dead is that we think they see us all the time. The dead have a presence. Is there a level of energy composed solely of the dead? They are also in the ground, of course, asleep and crumbling. Perhaps we are what they dream.'

- Don DeLillo,
White Noise

First published 2009 by Tor

This edition published 2010 by Tor

This electronic edition published 2010 by Tor
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-0-330-53292-1 PDF
ISBN 978-0-330-53291-4 EPUB

Copyright (c) Mark Charan Newton

Map Artwork by Hemesh Alles

The right of Mark Charan Newton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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