Lycidas
core novel 2004 Die uralte Metropole
Record
| First published | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  DE |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.84 (1,502 ratings, collected 2026-10-30) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9783453530065 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Shortly before Christmas in London, the alchemist Wittgenstein meets Emily Laing, a young orphan who is never without a rat that speaks in complete sentences. Wittgenstein soon senses that the girl carries a larger secret than her unusual companion. Emily wants to learn where she comes from, and her search leads beneath the streets to a hidden second city, the ancient metropolis, a magical place of odd inhabitants and dark riddles. Strange creatures begin to hunt her, and the fate of the girl turns out to be tied to a mysterious being called Lycidas. The story has a Victorian atmosphere, with soot, fog and old London streets that conceal another world below.
Where it sits
- Universe: Die uralte Metropole
- Series: Die uralte Metropole core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Christoph Marzi
Awards (verified)
- Deutscher Phantastik Preis (Bestes deutschsprachiges Romandebüt), 2005: won
Notes
- From the series record (Die uralte Metropole): Five novels about Emily Laing, the alchemist Wittgenstein and the hidden ancient metropolis beneath London.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Die uralte Metropole: position 1 of 5: next Lilith (2005)
Sources
- German Wikipedia: Christoph Marzi
- Phantastik-Couch: Christoph Marzi
- Author Wars (ISFDB-style publication record)
- Penguin Random House Germany: Lycidas
- Schweitzer Online (publisher blurb)
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