Massif - by Garth Nix (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From New York Times bestseller and master of speculative fiction Garth Nix comes his first foray into adult science fiction with a brilliant and poignant stand-alone story of sentient starships, galactic warfare, and the bonds a crew forms far, far from Earth.

Caught me a mountain
Rode it to the stars

It's business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonizing planets and exporting an on and off again war between Earth and Mars.

But the big questions are always there, behind every battle, every new colony, every new star system discovery.

Why do the Massifs carry humans to the stars?

Why do they help us export our wars?

What's in it for the Massifs?

Ship crews aren't supposed to ask these questions, they aren't supposed to think about these questions, and they definitely aren't supposed to go deep and talk to Massif avatars. But now Parnell and his tight-knit crew must try to find the answers, to save not only themselves but the future of humanity.

Review Quotes

Bestselling YA fantasist Nix (Sabriel) showcases his worldbuilding prowess in his first adult sci-fi novel, a riveting space opera set in the 24th century. A staggering adventure that should win Nix a whole new set of fans. - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Strange galaxy-faring mountain ranges, a loyal renegade spaceship crew, plenty of military action, and a creepy interstellar mystery combine to make a compelling science fiction epic set in an inventive new universe. - Marko Kloos, bestselling author of the Frontline series

"Nix has created an ingenious, icy world in the throes of chaos. The action charges along at a gallop, imbued with an encompassing sense of looming disaster. A page-turner for sure." - Booklist (starred review)

"[An] excellent anthology that upends expectations and poses 'questions about self-determination and what it means to embrace the power of choice.'" - USA Today

Praise for SABRIEL: "Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. Here is a world with the same solidity and four dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity, and intelligence. I congratulate Garth Nix. And I look forward to reading his next piece of work." - Philip Pullman

"There is no joy like returning to the Old Kingdom. Once again, Nix sets the standard for fantasy, bringing us a tale full of old friends and new enemies, gruesome monsters, and heroines of wit, will, and imagination. Goldenhand delivers the bleak, beautiful magic only Garth Nix can create-impeccable in its details, harrowing in its action." - Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and The Grisha Trilogy

"Goldenhand delivers the bleak, beautiful magic only Garth Nix can create-impeccable in its details, harrowing in its action." - Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and The Grisha Trilogy

"Garth Nix is not only one of the greatest living fantasy writers out there, but he is also part of the reason why I began writing fantasy as a teenager. Goldenhand reaffirms why Nix is a master of the genre: his exquisitely detailed world-building is unparalleled, and his characters are so tremendously alive and compelling that I'm convinced there's Charter Magic in every word." - Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass series

"Goldenhand reaffirms why Nix is a master of the genre: his exquisitely detailed world-building is unparalleled, and his characters are so tremendously alive and compelling that I'm convinced there's Charter Magic in every word." - Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass series

"Garth Nix is one of the best worldbuilders in fantasy, and this book is merely further proof. I love the Old Kingdom series, and Goldenhand is an excellent continuation, packed with the excitement and passion of a storytelling virtuoso at the height of his abilities." - Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn trilogy, Warbreaker, The Alloy of Law, The Way of Kings, Rithmatist, and Steelheart.