by John Brunner
First published 1981
Conrad lives at the edge of a wasteland that spreads like a wound across three hundred miles of earth. Twisted creatures emerge from this barren zone to kill, yet people have learned to accept both the land and its monsters as facts of life. Conrad experiences visions of this same region in an earlier time, when it flourished with magical inhabitants who could travel between worlds. These mysterious glimpses torment him because no one can explain their meaning or origin. His burning desire for answers drives him to search for truth about what he sees. When he encounters Jervis Yanderman, a soldier familiar with such visions, Conrad discovers he is not alone in his experiences. Yanderman believes survivors still live on an island hidden within the barrenland itself. This revelation offers Conrad his first real chance to understand the visions that have shaped his life and to uncover what transformed a once powerful magical realm into a source of death and desolation.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, fantasy, alternate-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, found-family
Setting: Wasteland
192 pages · Mass Market Paperback · DAW