Notes from the Burning Age

Name: Notes from the Burning Age
Brand: Hachette Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Claire North
ISBN: 9781549136351

Author: Claire North

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Unabridged: 13 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 07/20/2021

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense & Thriller, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF 2021
A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF 2021

“A riveting tale of subterfuge and deadly self-indulgence” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from award-winning author Claire North, Notes from the Burning Age presents an extraordinary vision of the future that puts dystopian fiction in a whole new light.

Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age—a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.

But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he's willing to go to save this new world—and how much he is willing to lose.

“ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE READ IN RECENT YEARS. THOUGHT PROVOKING, IMAGINATIVE AND PACKS A HELL OF AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH.” —Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
Also by Claire North:The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustTouchThe Sudden Appearance of HopeThe End of the Day84KThe GameshouseThe Pursuit of William Abbey

About Claire North

Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, who wrote several novels in various genres before publishing her first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and becoming a word-of-mouth bestseller. She has since published several hugely popular and critically acclaimed novels, won the World Fantasy Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. She lives in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jamie on June 16, 2021

On the surface, Notes from the Burning Age appears to be a post-apocalyptic tale of survival on a future Earth ravaged centuries earlier by war and man's poisoning of the environment. Yet it develops into something else - a bittersweet dystopian tale of intrigue and espionage, where the central ques......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on January 31, 2022

4 stars for literary merit, 2 stars for actual enjoyment. Intriguing setup and clever mystery bogged down by 200+ pages of running away, getting caught, being tortured/injured/nearly killed, repeat. Claire North writes brilliantly and bitingly, but Notes from the Burning Age is a hard book to read.......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on July 18, 2021

Claire North's new SF is climate-punk without as QUITE an uber-bleak outlook as usually comes with such cli-punk SF. Lots of intrigue, repressed societies, quasi-religious cultural restrictions that summon up the monsters that burned the old world, but still enough technology going around to make th......more

Goodreads review by Karen on July 25, 2021

I usually love Claire North's books. I've read many and have really enjoyed all of them. The writing in this book was really good and the details of the dystopian world were very intriguing. What ended up holding me back was that I couldn't get attached to any of the characters enough to care and mu......more

Goodreads review by Liz on July 10, 2021

Claire North has written somewhat of an epic here, the trademark quirky writing style bringing to life a plethora of engaging characters living in a world that once burned and in war may do so again.. Venn is our main viewpoint into this world, as two factions head towards a war of principles that m......more

Quotes

"One of the best books I've read in recent years. Thought provoking, imaginative, and packs a hell of an emotional punch."—Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time, on Notes from the Burning Age

"A fantastical nightmare so skillfully sketched that it felt like truth. And when it was done, I simply didn't want to leave... Compelling [and] beautiful."—NPR Books on Notes from the Burning Age

"A riveting tale of subterfuge and deadly self-indulgence in this postapocalyptic thrill ride... North's convincing view of postapocalyptic society captivates, and the political intrigues will keep readers hooked right up until the explosive close."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Notes from the Burning Age

"Claire North depicts a startling, richly developed postapocalyptic world in this beautiful and riveting novel."—BuzzFeed on Notes from the Burning Age

"A fascinating and tense novel, recommended especially for fans of Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy."—Booklist on Notes from the Burning Age

"A passionate and committed vision of what we do to nature, and what it can do to us."—Locus on Notes from the Burning Age

"There is no doubt that Claire North is an exceptional writer with a brilliant imagination and eloquent storytelling. If you are looking for a unique fantasy with an espionage driven plot and descriptive writing, pick up this one!"—Nerd Daily on Notes from the Burning Age

"North is an original and even dazzling writer."—Kirkus on 84K

"Claire North's writing is terrific, smart, and entertaining."—Patrick Ness on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

"North has established a reputation for tense, dense, science fiction/fantasy-inflected thrillers that defy facile explanations... Well-paced, brilliant and balanced."—New York Times on The Sudden Appearance of Hope