The Gradual - Tapa dura

"This is a brilliant, mediative fantasy...Priest deepens the lore of his recurring setting while reminding us why he is among our most celebrated fantasists. His message is one we all could stand to hear."- Barnes & Noble

"Priest's moving stories are wonderfully constructed and beautifully told." -- Kirkus

"Priest has once again shown us that he is a truly amazing author" - ScienceFiction.com

"The Gradual is a rumination on what time is to us and how we perceive it or take it for granted." - Adventures in Poor Taste

"The way Priest blends time and travel is so different from other science fiction novels that address the same topic...it's worth the wait"- Rant and Rave About Books

"Christopher Priest is a master of prose and a remarkable story-teller." - Impedimenta Magazine

Alesandro Sussken is a composer living in Glaund, a fascist state constantly at war with another equally faceless opponent. His brother is sent off to fight; his family is destroyed by grief. Occasionally Alesandro catches glimpses of islands in the far distance from the shore, and they feed into the music he composes.

But all knowledge of the other islands is forbidden by the military junta, until he is unexpectedly sent on a cultural tour. And what he discovers on his journey will change his perceptions of his home, his music and the ways of the islands themselves. Bringing him answers where he could not have foreseen them.

A rich and involving tale playing with the lot of the creative mind, the rigours of living under war and the nature of time itself, this is multi award-winning, master storyteller Christopher Priest at his absolute best.