In a grand medieval city where all change has been outlawed, a roguish young actor tempts fate and dinosaurs, all in the name of love
By law, nothing can change in Malacia—a teeming, eternal city of dukes, players, wizards, merchants, beggars, ape-men, lizard-boys, and courtesans—but that is of no great consequence to Perian de Chirolo. An out-of-work actor and unabashed rogue, he is well satisfied with his lot as long as there's coin, eager young women to bed, and the occasional adventure. Perhaps it is this thrill-seeking spirit—or simply the lure of noble beauty—that makes Perian imprudently agree to take part in a mad inventor's illegal experiments, since such foolishness will never be tolerated in Malacia. But Perian's rash actions will only lead him on to further indiscretions, winning him first fame and then notoriety, causing him to be hunted, hounded, martyred, and trapped in a fight to the death with a razor-toothed Ancestral Beast on the outskirts of the city. And perhaps most frightening of all, Perian de Chirolo will find himself in love.
Grand Master Brian W. Aldiss performs a truly astonishing feat of alternate-world building, immersing the listener in an unforgettable medieval fantasy realm rich in color, incident, invention, and peril—and of course, giant lizards. Welcome to Malacia.
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Brian W. Aldiss (1925–2017) wrote acclaimed science fiction novels that won two Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He also wrote bestselling popular fiction, including the three-volume Horatio Stubbs saga and the four-volume the Squire Quartet, experimental fiction such as Report on Probability A and Barefoot in the Head , and many other iconic and pioneering works, including the Helliconia Trilogy. He edited many successful anthologies and published groundbreaking nonfiction, including a magisterial history of science fiction. Among his many short stories, perhaps the most famous was "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long," which was adapted for film by Stanley Kubrick and produced and directed after Kubrick's death by Steven Spielberg as A. I. Artificial Intelligence.