With the same unique vision that brought his now classic Mars trilogy
to vivid life, bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson boldly imagines
an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. In his grandest
work yet, the acclaimed storyteller constructs a world vastly different
from the one we know. . . .
"A thoughtful, magisterial alternate history from one of science
fiction's most important writers."--The New York Times Book Review
It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in
human history is set to occur--the coming of the Black Death. History
teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what
if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would
the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have
been--one that stretches across centuries, sees dynasties and nations
rise and crumble, and spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation.
Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers,
slaves and scholars, Robinson navigates a world where Buddhism and Islam
are the most influential and practiced religions, while Christianity is
merely a historical footnote. Probing the most profound questions as
only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of
religion, culture, power--and even love--in this bold New World.
**
"Exceptional and engrossing."--New York Post***
*
"Ambitious . . . ingenious."--Newsday
