The Merman's Children
core novel 1979 The Merman's Children
Record
| First published | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.40 (318 ratings, collected 2026-10-02) |
| Page count | 258 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780399123757 |
Synopsis
Beneath the waves off the coast of medieval Denmark lies the city of Liri, ruled by King Vanimen, whose merfolk have long lived in uneasy peace with the Christians on the land. When a zealous bishop has the sea exorcised, Liri is shattered and its soulless people are driven out to wander the oceans in search of a new home. Among them are the king's half-human children by a mortal woman, Tauno and Eyjan and their younger siblings, caught between two worlds: neither the Faith of the land nor the fading magic of the sea, the one with souls to save and the other with none. Following the merfolk's exodus from Denmark to the Adriatic and the North Atlantic, the novel weaves Scandinavian folklore and the Church's war on the old powers into a saga of a people fading out of existence as the age of faith advances.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Merman's Children
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Poul Anderson
Notes
- Berkley/Putnam, September 1979; expands the 1973 novella The Merman's Children and the 1977 novelette The Tupilak. A separate world from Anderson's other universes in this canon.
Sources
← The Merman's Children dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.