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Daybreak #1
Daybreak on a Different Mountain
Walled off from a world it no longer remembers, the city of Thryn decays in arrogant isolation. Its ancient scriptures tell of the god,Gomath, who will one day return to perfect his city. But his return has been long awaited.In a bizarre coincidence of events, Lupio, a cynical and decadent young aristocrat, is unwillingly entangled in the prophecy. Appalled, he decides to break ancient law and flee the city. He joins up with Dubilier, a failed poet and dreamer, who is trying to escape from the death of inspiration and love. Together they travel through uncharted lands in search of the lost god. One of them wants to find him. The other certainly does not...
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2013
65 people want to read
About the author
Colin Greenland
44 books76 followersColin Greenland's fiction and criticism have been translated into a dozen languages and broadcast on BBC national radio. His multiple award-winning science fiction novel Take Back Plenty, long out of print in the UK, is available again in the Orion SF Masterworks series, and for e-readers at SF Gateway.
Colin lives in Cambridge and Foolow with his wife Susanna Clarke, the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi . He is sometimes to be found writing something, goodness knows what.
Colin lives in Cambridge and Foolow with his wife Susanna Clarke, the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi . He is sometimes to be found writing something, goodness knows what.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 15, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"Fantasy and science fiction that deploys geographical and urban allegory—Italo Calvino-esque cities balanced over chasms, the skeletons of urban human interactions measured out in string, etc.*—relentlessly intrigues. In John Crowley’s The Deep (1975), the world as chessboard is perched on top of a pillar with endlessness on all sides. In Garry Kilworth’s Cloudrock (1988), two tribes eek out their existence on a levitating rock surrounded by poisonous gasses. Terry Carr’s Cirque (1977) posits a city [...]"
"Fantasy and science fiction that deploys geographical and urban allegory—Italo Calvino-esque cities balanced over chasms, the skeletons of urban human interactions measured out in string, etc.*—relentlessly intrigues. In John Crowley’s The Deep (1975), the world as chessboard is perched on top of a pillar with endlessness on all sides. In Garry Kilworth’s Cloudrock (1988), two tribes eek out their existence on a levitating rock surrounded by poisonous gasses. Terry Carr’s Cirque (1977) posits a city [...]"
November 20, 2021
Recent Reads: Daybreak On A Different Mountain. Colin Greenland's first fantasy novel leaves a city that waits for its god's return to journey a world that doesn't remember. From real to liminal to back again, a tale influenced by the New Wave but going somewhere new of its own.
Colin describes it as "cosmic hippy nonsense", but it's a rich tale in its own right. I think of it as him deconstructing Moorcock and Harrison and building something more informed by the 1980s on the bricks left behind. Much what the characters do in the final third of the book...
Colin describes it as "cosmic hippy nonsense", but it's a rich tale in its own right. I think of it as him deconstructing Moorcock and Harrison and building something more informed by the 1980s on the bricks left behind. Much what the characters do in the final third of the book...
May 31, 2025
Beyond the journey trope there are some fun ingredients in the pot; non traditional fantasy setting, anthropological examination of the different societies the characters encounter and a developing friendship between the protagonists. There's a revolution too. I liked this a lot, an under appreciated classic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews