Margins
Riverrun book cover 1
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Riverrun
Series · 3 books · 1991-2013

Books in series

Riverrun book cover
#1

Riverrun

1991

Young Theo Etchison is a truthsayer—one with the ability to navigate the great river that connects all the parallel universes. His mother, Mary, is dying of cancer, but she may also be the mother goddess, the nurturer of the world. His father, Phil, is a second-rate poet; his brother, Joshua, has been seduced by a dragon-succubus. On a journey through America to a Mexican alternative medicine clinic, the Etchison family is sucked into the world of the Darklings, superhuman creatures who are battling for domination of the cosmos, who need Theo’s special gift..
Forest of the Night book cover
#2

Forest of the Night

1992

In the sequel to Riverrun, young Theo Etchison is drawn into Strang's terrifying dimension and begins a bizarre odyssey across an inverted land. Original.
Yestern book cover
#3

Yestern

Chronicles of the House of Darkling

2013

"The finest new series of the nineties so far ... some of the finest writing the genre has produced...." - Locus "an object lesson in the potential of fantasy - erudition and post-modern pop awareness spice the narrative - adventurous, stirring writing, and Somtow's powerful, lucid prose glows with internal energy and intensity." - The London Times "the makings of a classic!" - Edward Bryant "S.P Somtow doesn't write like anyone else - his is a fresh voice, as engaging as it is unique...." - Dean Koontz An ordinary American family gets caught up in a cosmic battle for control of the fate of the universe in S.P. Somtow's Riverrun Trilogy. Young Theo Etchison is a truthsayer - one with the ability to navigate the great river that connects all the parallel universes. His mother, Mary, is dying of cancer, but she may also be the mother goddess, the nurturer of the world. His father, Phil, is a second-rate poet; his brother, Joshua, has been seduced by a dragon-succubus. On a journey through America to a Mexican alternative medicine clinic, the Etchison family is sucked into the world of the Darklings, superhuman creatures who are battling for domination of the cosmos, who need Theo's special gift. But is the Riverrun Trilogy about dragons, vampires, fabulous castles, interplanetary warfare, fabulous quests and fantastical kingdoms? Or is it about the millions of worlds inside Theo's mind? Who is the transvestite Navajo shaman who sometimes appears in the form of a raven? Why has the president of the United States turned into a vampire? Why has the king gone mad, and where is the source of the river that flows through all worlds?

Author

S.P. Somtow
S.P. Somtow
Author · 28 books

Called by the Bangkok Post "the Thai person known by name to most people in the world," S.P. Somtow is an author, composer, filmmaker, and international media personality whose dazzling talents and acerbic wit have entertained and enlightened fans the world over. He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author. He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.

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