REVIEWS

“A dazzling and spirited evocation of the passions, intrigues, and preconceptions of the age, along with a dandy pair of misfit, star-crossed lovers: an enchanting slice of what-if historical speculation.”—Kirkus Reviews

“McIntyre vividly creates a Versailles poised on the cusp between alchemy and modern science. Her imaginings enliven her history with wonder, but, as in the best fantasy, they serve less to dazzle by their inventiveness than to illuminate brilliantly real-world truths.”—Publishers Weekly

“McIntyre has done her historical homework, as is evident in a superbly realized setting, and she executes the plot with superior skill…. [A] splendid historical fantasy that shows SF star McIntyre admirably opening new territory.”—Booklist

VONDA NEEL MCINTYRE, US writer and geneticist, is one of the earliest successful graduates of the Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop, which she attended in 1970. She began to publish science fiction with “Only at Night” in Clarion (1971 anthology), and gained prominence with “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” (1973) which won a Nebula for Best Novelette and served as the initial section of Dreamsnake (1978), which won both a Nebula and a Hugo award.



* packaged in a sturdy vinyl case.