''Saraband of Lost Time'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer Richard Grant, published by Avon Books in 1985. It is his first novel. ''Saraband of Lost Time'' placed eighth in the annual ''Locus'' magazine poll for best first novel, and received a special citation from the

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

judges.

Plot summary

The story takes place in thirty-five chapters. The characters come from a variety of locations, and travel across the land in their adventures. Grant created his own place names, drinks, songs and more for this novel. Unlike many fantasy novels, he did not create a map of the world, which is supposedly a futuristic

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

after the occurrence of an apocalypse of some kind. It may or may not be the same world as used in '' Rumors of Spring'' and '' Through the Heart''. The characters are still human and are not a great deal different from modern humans in most cases. In all three books, the humans are mostly dealing with major environmental changes and the resulting changes in humanity, but some people have stood out as different.

Reception

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

found ''Saraband of Lost Time'' to be "one of the most engaging first novels in years," praising the novel as "a piece of cultured prose which by its nature confers importance on its cast of characters and on their activities," but faulting Grant's failure to provide an understandable "pattern orthe rather fragmented events taking place at the story's close.""Books", ''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiva ...

'', July 1986, pp.32-34

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

, reviewing ''Saraband of Lost Time'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #93, compared it to ''

A Storm of Wings ''A Storm of Wings'' is a novel by M. John Harrison published in 1980. Plot summary ''A Storm of Wings'' is a novel in which an invasion of alien locusts brings a worldview incompatible with that of humanity. Reception Dave Langford, reviewing ...

'', stating that "Critics prefer ''Storms literary echoes and clever bits; but for all its excessive length, more readers are likely to finish ''Saraband''."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saraband Of Lost Time 1985 American novels 1985 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Debut science fiction novels 1985 debut novels Avon (publisher) books