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Calenture
Casmeer is the only living soul left in Thermidore, high atop the mountains of Overhang. So it has been for hundred of years. Immortal historian and chronicler, Casmeer is the self-appointed keeper of the city's remains and its crystalline inhabitants. Finnigin is a young terranaut, whose people collect the crystal fragments from Thermidore that wash down from the mountains to use as pilot stones to guide the floating cities across the Flatlands. Finnigin is forced to leave his people on an initiation of manhood, to journey across the plains and confront the mystery of the pilot stones. Ays is a Priest of Hands, a consoler to the dying, in the floating city of Min. His faith shaken by the words of a dying man, he undertakes a journey of his own, and leaves his floating city to face the unknown on the Flatlands. But as both Ays and Finnigin travel throughout their world, they are huanted by a mysterious figure who seems to know more about them than they do themselves. And as Ays and Finnigin cross paths, they find their lives linked in ways they could not have imagined. While in Thermidore, Casmeer, the last immortal, has one last chronicle to write. First time in print in the US, with a new introduction by the author.
406 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 1994
8 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Storm Constantine
144 books502 followersStorm Constantine was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.
Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.
In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.
Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.
In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 10, 2012
Avoid all reviews and don't read the "Introduction from the Author." Had I done either of those things... I just can't see how this book would have made me bleed and laugh and everything like it did.
It's okay to read this review. [Oh, Chy, you would say that, wouldn't you?] Well, this isn't a review of the book. It's more like a reader's blog entry, or a "Why I wrote that first sentence."
Look, I got this because I'd read the Wraeththu trilogy---the first one. I order the trilogy she wrote years (decades?) later on the Wraeththu, but I wanted to read something out side that world, just to see how I like this Constantine. I chose this because the title of it is Calenture, pretty much.
It's fitting, for my reading Constantine experience.
And turned out to be... Ohhh...
Thing is, the blurb's safe. Whoever wrote that blurb needs a reward for being awesome. Because it didn't give anything away. Even though the main thing is given away by page 20, it's still pertinent to not know yet!
Well, it was for me.
And it's not required to have read any Wraeththu before reading this, but it does make one particular bit character (no, not anyone you'd recognize; this is not that world) have extra meaning. And that left me wondering how much else I would have picked up on if I'd read more from her than just that trilogy.
What was best is the gradual way I figured out what she was doing. It was like, "Oh, man, you know what this could be a broader metaphor for? Like, this thing is just like..."
And then I'd go on a little more and know "this" was a metaphor for "that," but I was wondering if Constantine had meant that, if she'd done it on purpose. And then gradually, I realized there was absolutely no doubt she had done it on purpose. And I so fell in love with her. I'd want to grab her by the upper arms and go vibratory, squeeing, "Do you see what you did?"
Of course, I know she knows what she did.
Guys. If you see stories even just a little bit the way I do, if you've seen stories that are soulless because they're scripted, or frustrating because they've thieved so many things from other stories, or sad because they fall apart---if you've seen stories that move too fast, that move too slow, that seem to just sit still and grow...
If you've had thoughts that characters didn't fit their stories, or were playacting rather than being real people...
If you savvy the phrase "storyless character" or "character without a story yet" if you prefer, or even "character caught between stories," and a whole bunch of other character...stuff...
If you've ever loved a character as a real person or loved a story as if it were a living thing...
...read this book.
Do not read any reviews for it. I've read a few of them now, and they give things away early on. Don't read the "Introduction by the Author" before reading the book. It should come at the end of the book, not at the beginning. I still haven't read the instroduction. Once I finished the book, I read just enough of the introduction to assure myself I had been absolutely right in skipping it.
Someday, I will read that intro, but right now, I'm terrified she'll tell me way more than I want to know. I mean, there are quite a few questions left unanswered, but I love, them and I'm terrified the intro will say with of my theories are the author's theories. Of course, that doesn't make then true, but it does take just a little fluff out of my cloud.
Also, just as a note, it took me months to read this book because I kept getting scared I'd be wrong about the metaphor and the next page would prove that was so. Or I'd be worried something I didn't want answered would get answered. Or that I'd be disappointed in some other way. But that worry made it such an experience. I'd put this book down for weeks, read other things, but I was always thinking about it.
When I finished it (yesterday), two lines kept going through my head. From The Neverending Story: "It's only a story! It's not real! It's only a story!" --and then I'd laugh.
The other line was from the Taking Back Sunday song, "Divine Intervention": "An act of God and nothing less will be accepted."
And I walked around in kind of a stupor, unable to focus on the "real world." The song that drew me back and made me feel absurdly happy about reconciling the part of my brain that was still in the book and the part of my brain that had to deal with everything else (which was so small compared to what was still in the book)---that song was "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees. Y'all.
It's okay to read this review. [Oh, Chy, you would say that, wouldn't you?] Well, this isn't a review of the book. It's more like a reader's blog entry, or a "Why I wrote that first sentence."
Look, I got this because I'd read the Wraeththu trilogy---the first one. I order the trilogy she wrote years (decades?) later on the Wraeththu, but I wanted to read something out side that world, just to see how I like this Constantine. I chose this because the title of it is Calenture, pretty much.
It's fitting, for my reading Constantine experience.
And turned out to be... Ohhh...
Thing is, the blurb's safe. Whoever wrote that blurb needs a reward for being awesome. Because it didn't give anything away. Even though the main thing is given away by page 20, it's still pertinent to not know yet!
Well, it was for me.
And it's not required to have read any Wraeththu before reading this, but it does make one particular bit character (no, not anyone you'd recognize; this is not that world) have extra meaning. And that left me wondering how much else I would have picked up on if I'd read more from her than just that trilogy.
What was best is the gradual way I figured out what she was doing. It was like, "Oh, man, you know what this could be a broader metaphor for? Like, this thing is just like..."
And then I'd go on a little more and know "this" was a metaphor for "that," but I was wondering if Constantine had meant that, if she'd done it on purpose. And then gradually, I realized there was absolutely no doubt she had done it on purpose. And I so fell in love with her. I'd want to grab her by the upper arms and go vibratory, squeeing, "Do you see what you did?"
Of course, I know she knows what she did.
Guys. If you see stories even just a little bit the way I do, if you've seen stories that are soulless because they're scripted, or frustrating because they've thieved so many things from other stories, or sad because they fall apart---if you've seen stories that move too fast, that move too slow, that seem to just sit still and grow...
If you've had thoughts that characters didn't fit their stories, or were playacting rather than being real people...
If you savvy the phrase "storyless character" or "character without a story yet" if you prefer, or even "character caught between stories," and a whole bunch of other character...stuff...
If you've ever loved a character as a real person or loved a story as if it were a living thing...
...read this book.
Do not read any reviews for it. I've read a few of them now, and they give things away early on. Don't read the "Introduction by the Author" before reading the book. It should come at the end of the book, not at the beginning. I still haven't read the instroduction. Once I finished the book, I read just enough of the introduction to assure myself I had been absolutely right in skipping it.
Someday, I will read that intro, but right now, I'm terrified she'll tell me way more than I want to know. I mean, there are quite a few questions left unanswered, but I love, them and I'm terrified the intro will say with of my theories are the author's theories. Of course, that doesn't make then true, but it does take just a little fluff out of my cloud.
Also, just as a note, it took me months to read this book because I kept getting scared I'd be wrong about the metaphor and the next page would prove that was so. Or I'd be worried something I didn't want answered would get answered. Or that I'd be disappointed in some other way. But that worry made it such an experience. I'd put this book down for weeks, read other things, but I was always thinking about it.
When I finished it (yesterday), two lines kept going through my head. From The Neverending Story: "It's only a story! It's not real! It's only a story!" --and then I'd laugh.
The other line was from the Taking Back Sunday song, "Divine Intervention": "An act of God and nothing less will be accepted."
And I walked around in kind of a stupor, unable to focus on the "real world." The song that drew me back and made me feel absurdly happy about reconciling the part of my brain that was still in the book and the part of my brain that had to deal with everything else (which was so small compared to what was still in the book)---that song was "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees. Y'all.
January 23, 2020
I don’t think I was in the mood for a book when I read this, otherwise I might have enjoyed it more. Even though I’ve never read Alice In Wonderland, there are odd scenes that make me think of it, just the weird surreality of it.
April 14, 2025
Is this a tragedy? Or does it have a happy ending, a rebirth brought about by the power of writing, of creation, of storytelling?
For this is what Casmeer, the last survivor of a dead civilization finds. Alone in a still graveyard of humans, of empty buildings; he starts writing a story about two young men in an elaborate vibrant world of moving cities guided by pilot stones. Only that world and his characters; Ays and Finnigin become more real to Casmeer than he, Casmeer ever dreamed he’d be. And Casmeer himself becomes more real to Ays and Finnigin when he becomes part of his own story, a story which takes on a life of his own.
This is one of the most mind-bending books I’ve read, yet understood completely as a storyteller, intimately. Writing is how I cope with many things. I’m right there with Casmeer on his journey. I’m right there with Ays and Finnigin, too, even though I often want to slap both of them, particularly Ays for the way they treat other people. I get the impression Casmeer is exorcising part of his own shame through Ays. I find more sympathy for the side characters, particularly Leeth. The side characters are often as rich and vibrant as the main characters. I never lost interest in Ays and Finnigin, though, nor in Casmeer himself. I wonder if the way I live on the fourth wall at the Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration isn’t an homage to this remarkable story in part. It remains to this day one of my favorite books.
For this is what Casmeer, the last survivor of a dead civilization finds. Alone in a still graveyard of humans, of empty buildings; he starts writing a story about two young men in an elaborate vibrant world of moving cities guided by pilot stones. Only that world and his characters; Ays and Finnigin become more real to Casmeer than he, Casmeer ever dreamed he’d be. And Casmeer himself becomes more real to Ays and Finnigin when he becomes part of his own story, a story which takes on a life of his own.
This is one of the most mind-bending books I’ve read, yet understood completely as a storyteller, intimately. Writing is how I cope with many things. I’m right there with Casmeer on his journey. I’m right there with Ays and Finnigin, too, even though I often want to slap both of them, particularly Ays for the way they treat other people. I get the impression Casmeer is exorcising part of his own shame through Ays. I find more sympathy for the side characters, particularly Leeth. The side characters are often as rich and vibrant as the main characters. I never lost interest in Ays and Finnigin, though, nor in Casmeer himself. I wonder if the way I live on the fourth wall at the Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration isn’t an homage to this remarkable story in part. It remains to this day one of my favorite books.
January 17, 2012
In short, two figments of Casmeer's imagination go on a journey to discover the purpose of their lives...
This wasn't what I was expecting when I first bought the book, but it blew me away. I think while reading people always try to guess what is going to happen next (at least that's what I do) but every thing I thought would happen was way off.
This was genuinely the most unique book that I have ever read and I find that it is something like an abstract painting; every time you look at it, it seems to have a different meaning. Not just as a whole, but even individual sentences.
Finishing this multiple times I can say that each time I reach the end it feels like I have just read a fresh new story. Definitely gives meaning to the saying "It's not the destination that counts, its the journey."
This wasn't what I was expecting when I first bought the book, but it blew me away. I think while reading people always try to guess what is going to happen next (at least that's what I do) but every thing I thought would happen was way off.
This was genuinely the most unique book that I have ever read and I find that it is something like an abstract painting; every time you look at it, it seems to have a different meaning. Not just as a whole, but even individual sentences.
Finishing this multiple times I can say that each time I reach the end it feels like I have just read a fresh new story. Definitely gives meaning to the saying "It's not the destination that counts, its the journey."
October 25, 2019
This is such a hard book to review as I read it during formative years and now re-reading it as an adult it struck me again how peculiar and distinct this book was and is.
I hadn't really read many books like it that have given me such an experience or that exposed me to so many idea (less so now but when I first read this reading about same sex relations people living as different genders it was all revelatory)
When I first read this the ending threw me and even now I vacillate between what I want the ending to be the authors potential intent and whats on the page. I believe all the viewpoints can be true. I remember unwinding the spool of the story as a teen and looking back at it for the clues.
Satisfying as the journey itself.
This world has no name no history and it's just moving cities and mazed folx trying to get through each day and it feels so real.
I hadn't really read many books like it that have given me such an experience or that exposed me to so many idea (less so now but when I first read this reading about same sex relations people living as different genders it was all revelatory)
When I first read this the ending threw me and even now I vacillate between what I want the ending to be the authors potential intent and whats on the page. I believe all the viewpoints can be true. I remember unwinding the spool of the story as a teen and looking back at it for the clues.
Satisfying as the journey itself.
This world has no name no history and it's just moving cities and mazed folx trying to get through each day and it feels so real.
April 3, 2008
The people of Thermidore sought to cheat death, but made a poor bargain and have been turned into crystalline statues, all save Casmeer. Alone in his timeless city, he begins a tale, but where does reality end and fiction begin? It is a tale of cities that that roam endlessly, and of the terranauts who guide the cities. The wanderings of Finnigin, a young terranaut, and Ays, a priest whose hands bring the gift of death, seem both to be somehow guided by mysterious strangers who know far too much about them, and will eventually lead to the same destination. Storm Constantine's style is sensual and hypnotic, and she creates a rich and vivid dreamscape. Highly recommended.
March 7, 2021
It's a pretty good read. The stories of the three main characters seem disparate but the come together satisfactorily at the end. The final reveal is excellent.
I would say it does go on a bit sometimes and you have to push on but it's worth it.
I would say it does go on a bit sometimes and you have to push on but it's worth it.
December 7, 2018
A book for those who enjoy the journey more than the destination. Pretty but occasionally rambling.
June 24, 2019
Thought provoking, enjoyable novel
May 24, 2016
I thought this was a very interesting book. I really liked the premise of this novel and thought it was very well done. Of course, for me, nothing can compare to the author's Wraethu novels. But this book was really different and kept me interested from the beginning. I do wish that we could have read a bit more about Ays and Finnegin. I like that the characters had flaws. You liked them for the most part, but there were aspects of the characters that were not very likable. Overall, it was a very good book.
December 29, 2012
Not my fav storm constantine, very hard to like her protagonists in this one, as opposed to Hermetech, or the Wraethru books. Very imaginative, tho. Interesting travellign cities, years before Phillip Reeve.
Want to read
September 10, 2010*note to self. Copy from A.
May 13, 2014
I'm only on page 49 and I'm already in 'can't-put-down' mode! I shall return with a full review!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews