by Magnus Mills
First published 2011
In the remote empire of Greater Fallowfields, decay spreads through every institution. The imperial orchestra answers to a conductor who cannot play any instrument. Officials constantly adjust the clocks so the sun will set at five o'clock sharp. The Astronomer Royal must insert a sixpence into a slot before he can peer through his telescope. The young emperor has departed for foreign lands and sends only brief messages through the postal service. As the kingdom drifts without proper leadership, bureaucrats struggle to maintain their routines. Meanwhile, a threatening force approaches from beyond the empire's borders. This enemy remains mysterious but grows more dangerous with each passing day. The absurd rituals and failing systems of Greater Fallowfields mirror the breakdown of order itself. Mills creates a world both alien and uncomfortably familiar.
Genres: dystopia, 20th-century, 21st-century, alternate-history
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: absurdist-premise, breakdown-of-order, failing-systems
Setting: Greater Fallowfields
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
276 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury Publishing