 | |
| Author | Steph Swainston |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Castle books |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
Publication date | April 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-575-07007-3 |
| OCLC | 72148537 |
| Preceded by | No Present Like Time |
The Modern World (published as Dangerous Offspring in the US) is a 2007 fantasy/science fiction novel by the British author Steph Swainston and is a sequel to The Year of Our War (2004) and No Present Like Time (2005).
The novel is set in the Fourlands, a country in danger of being overrun by large hostile Insects, and follows the exploits of Jant, also called "the Messenger" or "Comet". As a half-breed of two humanoid species Jant is the only person who can fly, which makes him an indispensable part of the Emperor's Circle of about 50 immortals, an elite group of (mostly) warriors who do not age (but, despite the name, are capable of being killed).
At Slake Cross near the border with the Insect-held Paperlands, the immortals are gathered to oversee the latest plan to retake lost territory. Frost, the immortal Architect, has constructed a gigantic dam which will allow them to flood and drain the surrounding area. The Insects, unable to swim, can be driven back and land reclaimed.
Jant learns that Cyan, the 19-year-old daughter of his friend Lightning, the archer, has gone missing in the city of Hacilith. Jant, familiar with the city's underworld from his youth, agrees to search for her.
In Hacilith, he locates Cyan but she refuses to return with him, having tired of her life as a secluded noblewoman. That night, Jant discovers Cyan unconscious in the throes of the drug scolopendium, and takes her to the immortal doctor, Rayne.
There he is approached by the Vermiform, a creature from the alternate world of the Shift, which Jant has previously accessed through the use of scolopendium. The Vermiform tells Jant that Cyan has entered the Shift and together they rescue her from the Gabbleratchet, a strange monster which constantly shifts between worlds in a bizarre hunt. On the run from the creature, the Vermiform shows them many worlds which have fallen to the Insects. When they escape back to the real world, Cyan reluctantly agrees to join her father at Slake Cross.
On his flight back to the dam, Jant is shocked to feel the Circle break three times, each indicating the death of an immortal. At the dam he finds a chaotic scene; the Insects, previously unable to fly, have taken to the air in a mating flight, and are laying their eggs in the lake, killing any who approach. Holed up in their defenses, the immortals theorise that the presence of standing water has triggered an instinct to breed.
Jant returns to the palace to inform the Emperor San of the threat. To the astonishment of all, the Emperor orders all the armies of the Fourlands to be called into action, and prepares to leave the palace to go to the front - an event said to mean that the end of the world is approaching.
At the front, the armies begin to gather, and the immortals realise that if the eggs are allowed to hatch the Insects' numbers will be unstoppable. They agree to try to fight their way to the winch tower, which will allow the lake to be drained. During the counsel session, in a bid to gain her father's attention, Cyan challenges Lightning for his position in the Circle. The Emperor agrees that the challenge may go ahead if they survive the crisis.
The armies advance towards the lake but soon find themselves cut off, and attacked by the newly-hatched larvae, which ravenously devour anything before them. Lightning orders a retreat, but Frost manages to break through to the dam itself. There she and her crew manage to collapse the dam, killing themselves in the process but washing away the Insects and their eggs.
With the crisis passed, Lightning holds a ceremony at his estate for Cyan's challenge. Though the spectators expect him to win easily, he deliberately misses his shot, giving up his place in the Circle and becoming mortal again.
As the immortals return to relative normality, Jant reflects on whether he has, despite himself, become part of the establishment. Traumatised by recent events and frightened of losing his closest friend, he reveals that he has begun to use the drug scolopendium once again.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
The northern harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 100 cm (39 in) in length and weighing from 22 to 45 kg. Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
The Phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects. Phasmids in the family Phylliidae are called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera Phryganistria, Ctenomorpha, and Phobaeticus include the world's longest insects.
Erlang Shen (二郎神) or Erlang, also known as the Lord of Sichuan (川主), is a Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.
The northern jacana or northern jaçana is a wader which is known as a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It sometimes known to breed in Texas, United States, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona. The jacanas are a group of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws, which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. In Jamaica, this bird is also known as the 'Jesus bird', as it appears to walk on water. Jacana is Linnæus' scientific Latin spelling of the Brazilian Portuguese jaçanã, pronounced [ʒasaˈnɐ̃], from the Tupi name of the bird. See jacana for pronunciations.
Steph Swainston is a British literary fantasy/science fiction author, known for the Castle series. Her debut novel, The Year of Our War (2004), won the 2005 Crawford Award and a nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
The fantasy novel The Year of Our War (2004) is the first book by British author Steph Swainston. It is often given as an example of the New Weird literary genre.
The fantasy/science fiction novel No Present Like Time (2005) by Steph Swainston is the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Year of Our War (2004).
The arroyo toad is a species of true toads in the family Bufonidae, endemic to California (U.S.) and Baja California state (México). It is currently classified as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of habitat destruction.
The Columbia spotted frog is a North American species of frog. It is green to brown in color with spots on the dorsal surface. The belly and upper lip are white in color. Individuals can be distinguished from other Rana species by their shorter back legs, narrow snout, and upturned eyes. Since they spend most of their time in the water, they also have more webbing in their hind feet than similar species. Although not threatened, this animal has been studied as a model species for the effects of habitat fragmentation.
Dragon Flyz is an animated television series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and produced by Gaumont Multimédia in association with Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. The show, based on a toy line by Galoob, ran for two seasons, in syndication in the US and Europe. 26 episodes were produced.
"Here Comes Tomorrow" is the eighth and final story arc in Grant Morrison's run on the Marvel Comics series New X-Men, which ran from issues #151-154 (2004). The storyline featured many controversial elements, such as Cyclops moving forward with his relationship with Emma Frost, the Stepford Cuckoos being revealed as a development in the Weapon Plus Program, John Sublime being a sentient bacterium bent on bringing evolution to a halt and hints that the Xavier Institute student Ernst and Cassandra Nova are the same person.
The Colorado pikeminnow is the largest cyprinid fish of North America and one of the largest in the world, with reports of individuals up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long and weighing over 100 pounds (45 kg). Native to the Colorado River Basin of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico, it was formerly an important food fish for both Native Americans and European settlers. Once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers have declined to the point where it has been extirpated from the Mexican part of its range and was listed as endangered in the US part in 1967, a fate shared by the three other large Colorado Basin endemic fish species: bonytail chub, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. The Colorado pikeminnow is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The Pyrenean brook salamander or Pyrenean newt, Calotriton asper, is a largely aquatic species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in the Pyrenees of Andorra, France, and Spain. The IUCN lists it as "near threatened" due to habitat loss.
Breviceps adspersus, also known as common rain frog, bushveld rain frog, and many other vernacular names, is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is found in Southern Africa, in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique.
The Kajika frog or Buerger's frog is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Japan where it can be found on Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku islands. It is locally threatened by habitat loss caused by dam building and construction of concrete riverbanks.
Lestes dryas is a species of damselfly in the family Lestidae, the spreadwings. Its common names include emerald spreadwing, scarce emerald damselfly and robust spreadwing. An alternate name in Ireland is the turlough spreadwing.
Labidesthes sicculus, also known as the Brook silverside is a North American species of Neotropical silverside. The brook silverside lives in slow moving rivers and lakes from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi Basin and Gulf Coastal Plains. The brook silverside survives best in clear water with aquatic vegetation. L. sicculus feeds on a diet of copepods, insect larvae, and winged insects. The spawning season of the brook silverside occurs during the spring and early summer. The survival of freshwater fishes such as the brook silverside is increasingly threatened. In order to ensure survival of the brook silverside, turbidity of natural habitats should be monitored.
Chuck Chicken is a Flash animated television series created by Animasia Studios. The story takes place on a bird-filled island of Rocky Perch, and tells the story of Chuck who turns into "Kung Fu Chicken", providing Kung Fu-style security and protection to the citizens of the island. When Chuck inherits a very special amulet in the shape of a golden egg with amazing powers, he uses it to defeat evil to protect the island of planet bird, which looks like planet Earth but with birds instead of humans).