by Jo Walton
First published 2017
In the experimental city of Daidalos, immortal deities collaborate with humans to construct an ideal society. The settlement expands as philosophers guided by reason clash with those driven by passion and devotion. When Pytheas, a young girl, enters this carefully planned community, her arrival disrupts the delicate balance the founders have tried to maintain. The utopian project faces mounting pressures from competing ideologies within its walls. External threats compound the internal discord as rational thinkers and emotional believers struggle for influence. The city's survival depends on whether its inhabitants can reconcile their fundamental differences about how to live and govern together. This fragile paradise must confront the question of whether any perfect society can withstand the complexities of both divine and human nature.
Genres: historical-fiction, fantasy, alternate-history, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Daidalos
Period: Ancient
723 pages · Kindle Edition · Tor Books