The King's Last Song - Softcover

Geoff Ryman is the author of the novels Air (Clarke and Tiptree Award winner) and The Unconquered Country (World Fantasy Award winner). Canadian by birth, he has lilved in Cambodia and Brazil and now teaches creative writing at the University of Manchester in England.

*Starred Review* Ryman’s reputation as a leading speculative fiction author has been forged with novels that push the envelope of literary innovation with often-disquieting results. His dark, surreal exploration of the Oz mythos, Was (1993), envisioned Baum’s real-life inspiration for Dorothy as a sexually abused teenager living in squalor. Now Ryman steps outside the sf genre for a sweeping mainstream novel that recaptures a slice of Cambodia’s cultural history. When French archaeologist Luc Andrade unearths an ancient Cambodian manuscript, he’s taken prisoner by a political faction still loyal to the defunct Pol Pot regime. During a search-and-rescue attempt by Andrade’s friends, an ex-Khmer Rouge agent and a young tourist guide, Andrade translates the manuscript in full for his captors. The narrative alternates between Andrade’s plight and the story of twelfth-century King Jayavarman VII, including his childhood, eventual rise to power, and conversion of the populace to Buddhism, which spurred construction of the famous Angkor Wat temples. Ryman draws on his extensive knowledge of Indo-Chinese history and his masterful descriptive powers to paint an unforgettably vivid portrait of Cambodian culture past and present. His focus on the power of a peaceful philosophy to assuage pain and guilt brings a message of hope to a country still haunted by its war-torn past. --Carl Hays