The UK paperback edition of Ian McDonald‘s acclaimed novel HOPELAND is out now! Published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…
Hopeland is not a nation. It is not a cult. It is not a religion.
Hopeland is a community. It is a culture. It is a family.
When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne – tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace – in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents and a series of events which will change the world.
Amon falls in love in that moment of chaos, but being loved by him can have a cost. And while Raisa has Hopeland, Amon has a family of his own, and they have their own secrets.
From rioting London to geothermal Iceland to the climate-struck islands of Polynesia, from birth to life to death, from tranquillity to terror to joy, Raisa’s journey will encompass the world. But one thing will always be true.
Hopeland is family.
HOPELAND is also out now in North America, published by Tor Books.
Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received so far…
‘A story of the near future, it starts out as an urban fantasy love story before twisting to become a magical realism-tinged tale and a show-don’t-tell philosophical novel that’s also a rollicking sea-based adventure… HOPELAND is a profoundly optimistic novel, even one tinged with utopianism. Indeed, it often has a vibe similar to the work of another great optimist, lain Banks… By some distance Ian McDonald’s best novel — which is saying something, considering how good so many of his other books have been — this is the work of a writer at the peak of his powers.’ — SFX (5* Review!)
‘… a unique take on time-travel and electromancy… An eccentric and adventurous love story mixed with a rich and picturesque family saga. The popping action sequences reinforce McDonald’s swift and distinctive writing style.’ — Library Journal
‘[M]arries magic realism to solid, near-future speculative fiction… An essential work of climate fiction.’ — Guardian
‘HOPELAND is extraordinary — a deep-dive into pyschogeographic wonders that’s galvanised by jolts of romance and conspiracy…. HOPELAND works a sort of magic on the reader. Resist and you get lost. Submit to its mad energy and you’ll be swept from Spitalfields to Ireland, Iceland to Polynesia by the sheer variety of Ian McDonald’s imagination and the power of his vision.’ — Daily Mail
‘A novel so eerily good it almost made me angry… amazing, uncategorizable, unsummarizable, weird, sprawling, hairball of a novel…’ — Cory Doctorow, Medium
‘On display in this book is a familiar virtue of McDonald’s, seen in works such as River of Gods and Brasyl: the ability to depict a culture in both large and granular details across historical eras. But new to his quiver is the intense lyricism of the prose… Replete with deft, unforgettable character portraits… powerful, never overplayed themes… wise and expansive…’ — Locus (Paul di Filippo)
Gollancz and Tor Books also published Ian’s acclaimed Luna series.
