The Iron Dragon's Mother - by Michael Swanwick (Paperback)

About the Book

Caitlin of House Sans Merci is the young half-human pilot of a sentient mechanical dragon. Returning from her first soul-stealing raid, she discovers an unwanted hitchhiker-- in her head. When Caitlin is framed for the murder of her brother, she must disappear into Industrialized Faerie and look for the one person who can clear her. Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than she knows... and her deeds will change her world forever. -- adapted from jacket

Book Synopsis

A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST AND KIRKUS BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF 2019

Award-winning author Michael Swanwick returns to the gritty, post-industrial faerie world of his New York Times Notable Book The Iron Dragon's Daughter with the standalone adventure fantasy The Iron Dragon's Mother.

Caitlin of House Sans Merci is the young half-human pilot of a sentient mechanical dragon. Returning from her first soul-stealing raid, she discovers an unwanted hitchhiker.

When Caitlin is framed for the murder of her brother, to save herself she must disappear into Industrialized Faerie, looking for the one person who can clear her.

Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than she knows. Her deeds will change her world forever.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Iron Dragon's Mother

"Michael Swanwick's twisty tale of a half-human changeling warrior is the third work to be set in his 'Industrialized Faërie' world, the most thoroughly imagined fictional realm since that of J.R.R. Tolkien."--The Wall Street Journal

". . . Swanwick's final Faerie novel [is] a thoroughly fascinating meditation on the Nietzschean adventures of his earlier novels."--Los Angeles Review of Books

"Twisted in the right way, with tart and tricksy language you can swirl around in your mouth like good wine, it is a perfect, perfect book."--Jane Yolen

"Discworld meets Faust. They do not like each other. Philip Pullman picks up the pieces."--Kirkus (starred review)

"The irresistible appeal of Swanwick's version of Faerie, along with his usual skill at drawing vividly complex and conflicted characters . . . lend the novel a density and texture that seems a bit surprising, considering all the fun we're having along the way."--Locus

"This epic is full of carefully crafted lands, characters, and creatures, and readers will savor each page."--Publishers Weekly

"Filled with treats and surprises, like a box full of bonbons and firecrackers. Prepare to be delighted and horrified, tickled and amazed."--Eileen Gunn

"Michael Swanwick's stories are woven with an artisan's skill, his adventures with a pilot's sense for the heights, a marksman's aim, and a poet's ear. I've loved his work for decades and am always excited to see something new from him."--Fran Wilde

"Enter this new novel set in his modern, deeply disrupted Faerie. . . . You will eventually emerge from these pages, but you'll wish you didn't have to. You'll wish you could keep reading forever."--Nisi Shawl, author of Everfair

Praise for Michael Swanwick
"[Swanwick's] towering creativity seems so effortless . . . so effortless, and so immense."--Gene Wolfe

"A writer who fearlessly branches out beyond the safe confines of a genre's roots, while permitting those very roots to anchor him in the tradition."--Starlog

"Swanwick's wildly imaginative and beautifully written short stories have been, for several years, one of the primary joys of the field."--Karen Joy Fowler, Washington Post Book World

"One of contemporary sf's greatest short-story writers."--Interzone

"A reputation for radically deconstructing the hoariest of old cliches in science fiction and turning them into something bright, shiny, and new."--Jonathan Strahan, Locus

About the Author

MICHAEL SWANWICK is an institution in both science fiction and fantasy literature. He has served as an influence on genre fiction as a whole as well as an inspiration to many leading authors. He has been a finalist multiple times for every major award in science fiction/fantasy and has won five Hugo Awards for his short fiction.

Michael is the author of The Mongolian Wizard novelette series, as well as the Nebula Award-winning Stations of the Tide, and the "industrial fantasy" novels The Dragons of Babel and The Iron Dragon's Daughter.