Vellum
core novel 2005 The Book of All Hours
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.32 (2,139 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 480 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345487315 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Vellum depicts a vast layered reality called the Vellum, of which Earth is only one small fragment, which can be reshaped by those who know how to use a power called the Cant. Ancient beings known as the Unkin have learned to exploit this power, and one faction among them, calling themselves Angels, has formed a Covenant meant to prevent older gods from reclaiming their former dominance, preparing for a final war across the Vellum's many folds. The novel follows a group of newly awakened Unkin -- including Seamus Finnan, Phreedom Messenger, her brother Thomas, and Jack Carter -- who refuse to be drafted into this coming conflict and are pursued by Covenant forces as a result, their individual stories woven through a framing narrative involving Guy Reynard's theft of the Book of All Hours, a text said to record the Vellum's ultimate fate, and threaded with echoes of the Sumerian myth of Inanna's descent to the underworld.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Book of All Hours
- Series: The Book of All Hours core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Hal Duncan
Awards (verified)
- Gaylactic Spectrum Award (Best Novel), 2006: won; Single-sourced (Wikipedia only), see CONF note.
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2006: nominated
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2006: nominated
Notes
- From the series record (The Book of All Hours): Completed duology (2005-2007).
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 Book of All Hours: position 1 of 2: next Ink (2007)
Sources
- Wikipedia: Hal Duncan
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellum_(novel)
- World Fantasy Awards -- 2006 World Fantasy Convention
← The Book of All Hours dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.