Nick en Amy zijn vanwege de crisis gedwongen om van New York terug te verhuizen naar Nicks deprimerende geboortestad Carthage, in Missouri. Wanneer Amy spoorloos verdwijnt op hun derde trouwdag, verdenkt de politie Nick onmiddellijk. Amy s vrienden onthullen dat ze zwanger was, en dat Nick daar alles behalve blij mee was. Alle signalen wijzen erop dat Nick iets met haar verdwijning te maken heeft, zeker als bekend wordt dat hun huwelijk op knappen stond en hij al ruim een jaar een verhouding had met een van zijn studentes.

Maar Nicks kant van het verhaal is, uiteraard, anders. Ja, hij was vervreemd geraakt van zijn eigen leven, van zijn vrouw en van zijn werk. Maar hij zweert dat hij onschuldig is, en gaat daarom zelf op onderzoek uit. Terwijl Nick verwoede pogingen doet om erachter te komen wie hem probeert dwars te zitten, vraagt de lezer zich af: wie is écht te vertrouwen?

Scherp geschreven, donker, en slim geconstrueerd: met Gone Girl bevestigt Flynn haar status als een van de beste thrillerschrijfsters van dit moment.


(source: Bol.com)

It’s a big Spiral Arm, and the scarred man, Donavan buigh, has gone missing in it, upsetting the harper Mearana’s plans for a reconciliation between her parents. Bridget ban, a Hound of the League, is unconvinced that reconciliation is either possible or desirable; but nonetheless has dispatched agents to investigate the disappearance. After all, Donovan had once done the favor for her (in Up Jim River).

There is a struggle in the Lion’s Mouth, the bureau that oversees the Shadows—a clandestine civil war of sabotage and assassination between those who would overthrow Those of Name and the loyalists who support them. And Donovan, one time Confederal agent, has been recalled to take a key part, willingly or no.

Review

"A marvelously heroic ancient legend reborn in humanity’s future days. Space opera fans will be swept away by the poetic rhythm and subtle plot construction."

--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Fascinating and intelligent."--Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Michael Flynn:

"This story weaves love, mystery, music, action, and a change to create a mammoth of a read that will leave readers enraptured in its pages for generations to come.”
—Sacramento Book Review on *The January Dancer

“Flavored like Celtic poetry, The January Dancer is the first effort in what promises to be a space opera of epic proportions…. Will leave readers both wide-eyed and breathless.”
—Starlog*

“The January Dancer is an innovative intellectual and stimulating take on the space opera in which, once again, Flynn demonstrates that he is a writer of the highest caliber.
—Interzone

"For fans of… Brainy first-contact tales (Carl Sagan meets Umberto Eco). Lowdown: bursting with pungent historical detail and Big Theme musings, this dense, provocative novel offers big rewards."
—Entertainment Weekly on *Eifelheim

"A deeply researched and well-thought-out novel that moves us and makes us smarter just for having read it…. Excellent."
—Orson Scott Card on Eifelheim

"Firestar was a mighty hard act to follow, but Michael Flynn has done so, and brilliantly. Rogue Star* continues the story, with the same imaginative realism, suspenseful narration, and vivid humanness, plus all sorts of new ideas and insights."
—Poul Anderson

"Another powerful tale of far-future humanity…. Space opera fans will be swept away…will leave them clamoring for future Donovan buigh adventures." —Publishers Weekly, starred review on In The Lion’s Mouth

"The January Dancer is a masterpiece." —Locus

About the Author

MICHAEL FLYNN lives in Easton, Pennsylvania.

www.m-francis.livejournal.com

Robert A. Heinlein Award-winning SF writer Michael Flynn returns to space opera and to the world of The January Dancer

The Hound Bridget ban has vanished and the Kennel (the mysterious superspy agency) has given up looking for her. But her daughter, the harper Mearana, has not, and she has convinced the scarred man, Donovan, to aid in her search.

But Donovan's mind has been shattered by Those of Name, the rulers of the Confederacy, and no fewer than seven quarreling personalities now inhabit his skull. How can he hope to see Mearana safely through her quest?

Together, they follow Bridget ban's trail to the raw worlds of the frontier, edging ever closer to the de-civilized and barbarian planets of the Wild. Along the way, they encounter evidence that they too are being followed--by a deadly agent of Those of Name.

From Booklist

On the harper Mearana’s home planet, up Jim River is a saying indicating a journey ever further into danger and the unknown. Mearana’s mother, Bridget ban, has disappeared on mysterious business. Even the Kennel, her employer and one of the galaxy’s two sources of secret agents, didn’t know what she was looking for or where she went. Mearana is determined, though, to discover her mother’s fate. She manages to convince the scarred man, the Fudir, who was once Donovan but became six or seven personalities after a botched experiment by Those of Name, to join her out of a sense of nostalgia. The worlds inhabited by these people are sufficient reason to read the novel. The extrapolations of linguistic drift and remnants of ancient history that Flynn conjures constitute a fascinating story in themselves. Adding to them a tense and thrilling search from the bar on Jehovah to the very Wild itself, through strange cultures and dangerous ports, just makes the book all the more engaging. A future history with serious punch. --Regina Schroeder

Review

Praise for Michael Flynn:

“With well-drawn characters and a colorful universe, this narrative tour de force brings space opera to the next level.”
--Library Journal on *Up Jim River

“The return to the far future Flynn universe is an engaging science fiction thriller that focuses on a search and rescue mission in an isolated lethal area of the human dominated galaxy. . . . Up Jim River is an enjoyable mostly planet side adventure thriller on an orb on the edge of the Wilds of deep space.”
--SFRevu

“Flynn implants the style of medieval storytelling into an old-fashioned space opera.”
--The Washington Post Book World

“Composed with structural brilliance, invested with authentic human feeling, and redolent not only of its SF precursors but of archetypal myths that echo timelessly through life and art, The January Dancer is a masterpiece.”
--Locus

“Weaves love, mystery, music, action . . . to create a mammoth of a read that will leave readers enraptured in its pages for generations to come.”
--Sacramento Book Review on The January Dancer*