I’ve been taking a break from the H. P. Lovecraft collection I have been reading to re-read one of my favorite science fiction series: The Chronicles of the High Inquest.  I finished the first book the other day, and I wanted to blog a bit about why I like this series so much.

First and most obvious is that these books are science fiction.  From the very first page, the characters talk about displacement plates which teleport matter from one place to another, and before long we are introduced to humans that live in complete darkness without eyes and ears, tachyon bubbles used to travel through space, and carnivorous alien plants.  However, Somtow doesn’t leave it there, there are fantastic elements as well – the twin cities of Effelkang and Kallendrang where the latter hangs inverted above the former, the purple trees of Shtoma, and the whale-like delphinoids that float in the currents of the wind and make their music and light shows. Continue reading Light on the Sound →