The Year of Our War
core novel 2004 The Fourlands
Record
| First published | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.59 (1,494 ratings, collected 2026-11-03) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780575070059 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Fourlands are under attack by the Insects, huge hostile creatures that have taken land across the Paperlands. The Emperor's Circle, a group of immortal warriors, defends the country, and its members spend their time on the war, on rivalry and on drugs. Jant Shira is the Circle's Messenger, a half-breed and the only person who can fly, which lets him carry orders across the front. He tells the story himself, and he is brilliant, restless and addicted to a drug that opens a door to the Shift, another world. As the Insects spread and the Circle is stretched thin, Jant and his companions must respond to the growing threat while his habits put them all at risk.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Fourlands
- Series: The Fourlands core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Steph Swainston
Awards (verified)
- Crawford Award, 2005: won
Notes
- From the series record (The Fourlands): Five novels narrated by Jant Shira, winged Messenger of the Emperor's immortal Circle, during the war against the Insects.
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 The Fourlands: position 1 of 5: next No Present Like Time (2005)
Sources
← The Fourlands dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.