- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Tor; paperback / softback edition (16 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330413198
- ISBN-13: 978-0330413190
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 789,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Enigma, September 2003
Immerses you in a richly-imagined and complex world... highly recommended.
Product Description
Winner of the 1998 World Fantasy Award, a prestigious novel of literary fantasy and disturbing imagination. The nightmare metropolis called the Well-Built City exists because a satanic genius Drachton Below, the Master, wished it so. And few within its confines hold the power of Physiognomist Cley. With scalpels, calipers and the other instruments of his science, Cley can divine good and evil, determine character and intelligence, uncover dark secrets, and foretell a person's destiny. But now the Master has sent the great physiognomist out of the City on a seemingly trivial assignment in the rural hinterland where, removed from Below's omnipresent scrutiny, even the most loyal servant of logic can fall prey to seductions of the flesh and spirit. And in this unfamiliar place, possessing terrors uniquely its own, await stark revelations that could shatter Cley's perceptions of himself, his profession, and his ordered world.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Intriguing ideas, and plot that pulls you into the reading. However, this book is not for anybody - you will have to accept whole lot about dark side of society while reading it.
In the book, you will see a development of the character of a "not such a nice person" Cley, but - it's up to you to find out everything about him. He'll have romantic encounters, too...
In the book, you will see a development of the character of a "not such a nice person" Cley, but - it's up to you to find out everything about him. He'll have romantic encounters, too...
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the most unique books I've read in years, it defies any specific genre. Ford is a masterful writer, creating some scenes that evoke such a sense of adventure that I found myself peeking around my room half-expecting to see the more frightful scenes of the book coming to life. A must-read.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The morals of this book are that Beauty Is Only Skin Deep and People Should Forgive Each Others' Failings--simplistic enough to be potentially sickening. The imagery of the Fruit of Eternal Life/Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Earthly Paradise likewise could be overly familiar. Nonetheless this book is a masterpiece, largely due to a hallucinogenic atmosphere, strange settings, and a sardonic sense of humor. Frankly, I preferred Cley while he was still wicked and the Well-Built City to the Earthly Paradise.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent.
Excellent original fantasy, beautifully grotesque. I couldn't put it down, and I'll certainly be picking up his other books sometime soon. Buy it. Read it.
Published on 31 Oct 2003 by Mr. N. L. Asher
wonderfully original!
What I enjoyed most about this book is its originality. I primarily read fantasy and science fiction, and after reading so many books that follow the usual cliches of the genres,... Read more
Published on 25 Dec 1998
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