In his fourth novel, the critically acclaimed author Adam Roberts once again produces an innovative, rewardingly different SF tale, full of extraordinary ideas.
In Adam's universe, a breathable atmosphere extends between planets, aristocrats cruise insterstellar space in biplanes, and skywhals make mysterious distant orbits. The hero, Polystom, the fiftieth steward of Enting, has always lived in a world of certainties: certain that his new wife will love him, certain that his servants respect him, certain that war will bring him the glory he seeks. Then his uncle Cleonicles--the inventor of the Computational Device, the greatest work of man, the summation of human knowledge, the explanation of the
stars--dies.
And that is only the first shock to Polystom's comfortable view of life...

Adam Roberts is author of the novels "Salt, which was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, "On, and "Stone. He teaches at London University, and has also published academic works on both 19th century poetry and SF.