{"product_id":"9781617755880","title":"An Unkindness of Ghosts","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2017\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2017\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e Best Books of 2017, Science Fiction\/Fantasy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e Best Science Fiction\/Fantasy Books of 2017\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBustle\u003c\/em\u003e Best Fiction Book of 2017\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBookish\u003c\/em\u003e Best Book to Give\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBarnes \u0026amp; Noble\u003c\/em\u003e Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017 \/ Alternate Universe Pick\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBook Scrolling\u003c\/em\u003e Best Science Fiction \u0026amp; Fantasy Book of 2017\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"What Solomon achieves with this debut--the sharpness, the depth, the precision--puts me in mind of a syringe full of stars. I want to say about this book, its only imperfection is that it ended. But that might give the wrong impression: that it is a happy book, a book that makes a body feel good. It is not a happy book. I love it like I love food, I love it for what it did to me, I love it for having made me feel stronger and more sure in a nightmare world, but it is not a happy book. It is an antidote to poison. It is inoculation against pervasive, enduring disease. Like a vaccine, it is briefly painful, leaves a lingering soreness, but armors you from the inside out.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eNPR\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Ghosts are 'the past refusing to be forgot,' says a character in this assured science-fiction debut. That's certainly the case aboard the HSS \u003cem\u003eMatilda,\u003c\/em\u003e a massive spacecraft arranged along the cruel racial divides of pre-Civil War America.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This novel from an exciting new voice follows Aster, who lives in the slums of a spaceship that is escorting the last survivors of humanity to a Promised Land--a journey that has taken decades so far. The vessel is segregated and cruel, and as she tries to escape, she starts discovering dark connections between her own mother's death and the fate of the ship's sovereign. Solomon has already been called a successor to Octavia Butler, rightly so.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eElle UK\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In Rivers Solomon's highly imaginative sci-fi novel \u003cem\u003eAn Unkindness of Ghosts,\u003c\/em\u003e eccentric Aster was born into slavery on--and is trying to escape from--a brutally segregated spaceship that for generations has been trying to escort the last humans from a dying planet to a Promised Land. When she discovers clues about the circumstances of her mother's death, she also comes closer to disturbing truths about the ship and its journey.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Rivers Solomon's debut science fiction novel is cunning, dark, and unapologetic; atmospheric and visceral; the kind of story that pulls you in and doesn't let go. Aboard the HSS \u003cem\u003eMatilda,\u003c\/em\u003e a spaceship in the future, Solomon and her characters deftly tackle race, identity, sexuality, gender, poverty, and discrimination, all with thoughtful insight and thrilling intensity. This is a difficult work that pays off; the rare kind of book that stays with you for years. You should read it now--I plan to read it again.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eShondaland\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This book thoughtfully explores race, gender, and much more, while delivering a story that you won't be able to put down.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eBustle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS \u003cem\u003eMatilda,\u003c\/em\u003e a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot--if she's willing to sow the seeds of civil war.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Akashic Books,U.S.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47041967390960,"sku":"9781617755880","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781617755880_p0.jpg?v=1763854589","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781617755880","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}