The Etched City
core novel 2003 The Etched City
Record
| First published | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.67 (2,924 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 382 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781894815222 |
Synopsis
The Etched City, published by K.J. Bishop in 2003, follows Raule, a healer, and Gwynn, a bounty hunter, two former comrades who flee their homeland together after being defeated in a brutal civil war and seek refuge in the strange, dreamlike city of Ashamoil. Raule takes work at a hospital, where she becomes preoccupied with investigating a series of unusual and unsettling births among her patients, while Gwynn drifts into the employ of a local criminal organization, drawn by money and the lack of any better prospects for a man with his particular skills. As the two companions settle into increasingly divergent lives within Ashamoil's surreal, morally ambiguous underworld, their old bond frays under the pressure of choices each is making largely alone, in a story blending love, exile, and the genre's New Weird sensibility.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Etched City
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: K.J. Bishop
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2004: nominated; A third-party aggregator, AwardShelf, incorrectly lists this as a WIN -- the official worldfantasy.org winners-and-nominees page for the 2004 convention confirms Tooth and Claw (Jo Walton) won Best Novel that year and The Etched City was one of 4 other nominees. Official source takes precedence over the conflicting aggregator, per this project's standing convention (the same one already applied when The Etched City was first scoped during earlier phases).
Notes
- A New Weird secondary-world novel following two former revolutionary soldiers-turned-fugitives who settle in a decaying desert city. Was a NOMINEE (not winner, despite a conflicting third-party 'AwardShelf' claim to the contrary) for the 2004 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel -- Jo Walton's Tooth and Claw won that year (also admitted in the same research pass), confirmed via worldfantasy.org's own official winners-and-nominees page for the 2004 convention.
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Etched City
- worldfantasy.org: 2004 World Fantasy Convention (award winners & nominees)
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