321 pages ; 24 cm
It is a hundred millennia after Iron Gods. The Spin is at the end of its life and its diminished inhabitants are divided between those who live unknowingly in the relative paradise of one of hundreds of Virtual Realities - 'vrealities' - and those who scrape a living in what remains of the real world. But running the increasingly huge servers needed to maintain the vrealities is draining the last resources of the Spin, leading to conflict between those who tend the servers and those who believe they should simply be switched off, and so killing millions. There is one individual who divides his time between the real and the vrealities, finds himself caught up in this escalating and seemingly futile war. Meanwhile, in a remote star system, an ancient insectoid called Skarbo the Horologist observes The Spin. He has been doing so for several lifetimes. But now he notes the accelerating signs of decline in what he unfashionably considers to be a giant complex clock. And Skarbo too is about to die for the very last time. He had resigned himself to never visiting the object of his studies, but decides to make a last journey - travelling across a war-torn galaxy to what will be his final destination: the Spin. There he will learn of the artificial system's past - and its future - while there is one who will discover the real nature of the vrealities - and the part he has to play in their future ... Returning to the extraordinarily-envisioned artificial planetary cluster called the Spin - Stone Clock is the third thrilling work of space opera from the acclaimed author of Creation Machine

Stone clock : a novel of the Spin

Andrew Bannister

Penguin Random House Distribution

Random House, Incorporated

Penguin Random House LLC

London: Bantam Press

Random House UK

United States, United States of America

Spin Trilogy, 3, S.l, 2018

"The Spin is nearing the end of its life. Its inhabitants are divided between those who live unknowingly in the relative paradise of one of hundreds of Virtual Realities - vrealities - and those who scrape a living in what remains of the real world. The massive servers needed to maintain the vrealities are draining the resources of the Spin. And an escalating, desperate and seemingly futile war has begun between those who tend the servers and those who believe they should be shut down, killing millions. But one amongst these unwitting combatants will discover the real nature of the vrealities - and his role in their fate. From a remote star system, a being has been observing the Spin for several lifetimes. He is Skarbo the Horologist and he is about to die for the very last time. He has come to accept that he will never visit the object of his studies but is coerced into making one last journey. His final destination lies across a war-torn galaxy. And there he will learn of the Spin's past - and its surprising future"--Publisher's description

The author of the acclaimed Creation Machine and Irons Gods returns to the extraordinary artificial planetary cluster of the Spin with his dazzling new novel - a work of thrilling, heart-in-mouth space opera - a must-read for fans of SF bestsellers such as Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds.

2023-10-09