cover image Luminous Chaos

Luminous Chaos

Jean-Christophe Valtat. Melville House, $24.94 (528p) ISBN 978-1-61219-141-6

As this sequel to Aurorarama opens, revolutionary leader Brentford Orsini is rejected by a fickle electorate before being assigned a diplomatic post in Paris, far from his home in arctic New Venice. Not content with sending Orsini across the world, his rival mandates the use of the psychomotive, an unreliable and often lethal occult transportation device. Orsini and his companions are cast back in time from 1907 to 1895, before the founding of New Venice. Trapped in a Paris gripped by unprecedented cold and overrun with murderous xenophobes determined to purify their city at any cost, Orsini and his fellows will do well to survive, let along find their way back to their lost home. The dreamlike logic seduces the reader, leading from whimsy to bleak nightmares and back. Imbued with melancholy humor and an appreciation for the fantastic potential of the imagined past, Valtat's voice is strong and engaging, a promise of even better works to come. (Oct.)