Vellum
Tähtivaeltaja Award 2010, World Fantasy Award nominee 2006, Prix Europeén Utopiales nominee 2009.
A magnificent, fantastical literary epic of Heaven and Hell in direct conflict, with sleeper agents who will murder, rape and torture at their master’s command, and where the heroes will be lucky to save their own skins
It's 2017 and the End Days are coming, beings that were once human gathering to fight in one last great war for control of the Vellum – the vast realm of eternity on which our world is just a scratch. But to a draft-dodging Irish angel and a trailer-trash tomboy called Phreedom, it's about to become brutally clear that there's no great divine or diabolic plan at play here, just a vicious battle between the hawks of Heaven and Hell, with humanity stuck in the middle, and where the easy rhetoric of Good and Evil, Order versus Chaos just doesn't apply.
Here there are no heroes, no darlings of destiny struggling to save the day, and there are no villains, no dark lords of evil out to destroy the world. Or at least if there are, it's not quite clear which is which. Here, the most ancient gods and the most modern humans are equally fate's fools, victims of their own hubris, struggling to save their own skins, their own souls, but sometimes... just sometimes... sacrificing everything in the name of humanity.
”Vellum is a mind-blowing read that's genuinely like nothing you've ever read before... The imaginary worlds that he dreams up are stunning... Vellum has expanded fantasy's limits like nothing published in years.” – SFX
Readers also enjoyed
Hal Duncan
Hal Duncan is a Scottish science fiction and fantasy writer based in Glasgow. A graduate of Glasgow University, his first book, Vellum, about a war between heaven and hell, was released in 2005. It has since been translated into several other languages and nominated to the World Fantasy Award and Locus Award. Ink, the follow up, was released in 2007.
The Book of All Hours
The Book of All Hours consists of two primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Reviews and Comments
When I read Vellum a couple of years ago, I had mixed feelings about it. After careful consideration and some digestion I decided to give Vellum four stars, because it's quite an interesting book. Vellum is a challenging and different kind of book. It isn't a linear book, so it must be read with thought. That's why some readers will love this book and others will hate it. I personally like Vellum, because it's something different and it's quite an ambitious book (there aren't many writers who can write this kind of books). I can recommend Vellum to readers, who enjoy reading challenging books. It's a unique reading experience, so don't be afraid to read it.