The much-anticipated first novel by Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee Nick DiChario puts a spin on the story of being stranded on an alien planet, cut off from your own people, unsuited to your n
The much-anticipated first novel by Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee Nick DiChario puts a spin on the story of being stranded on an alien planet, cut off from your own people, unsuited to your new environment, and physically different from everyone else. This is what the young alien Tink Puddah must face when his parents are killed on their first day on Earth in the year 1845, and Tink finds himself stranded in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.
A story of courage, determination, hope, and survival,
A Small and Remarkable Life chronicles the journey of two people headed in very different directions: the alien Tink Puddah, a lonely outsider who finds the strength and resources within him to endure the most brutal and unforgiving conditions, and the holy man Jacob Piersol, determined to save Tink's soul, but tortured by his own past and the God who seems unable to console him.
Charming, literate, and thought-provoking, A Small and Remarkable Life is a wonderful debut novel from one of the field's best-loved short-story writers.
Bonus feature: Book Club discussion guide included.
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel of the Year is one of the world's most prestigious awards in all of science fiction, bestowed by a blue-ribbon panel of American and British academics and authors.
"The author explores several issues, not just those of faith and love, but other serious, thought-provoking matters, such as euthanasia and the after-life. At the back of the book is a Book Club Guide which lists a series of questions to generate some discussion and reflection regarding the contents of the book. There is adventure but also a lot of thought-provoking commentary. . .
A Small and Remarkable Life would be enjoyed by someone looking for thoughtful discussion of issues that are still with us today, or someone who is looking for a story that is just a little bit different from the normal in this genre. You don't have to be a hardened science fiction fan to enjoy this pleasant little tale. "
Recommended.—
CM Magazine"Nick DiChario's first novel, A Small and Remarkable Life, is at core a 'man who fell to Earth' tale set in the mid-19th century Adirondacks backwoods. No lie, this is one small and remarkable book, powerful, full of unexpected story twists, suffused with a strange alien light and replete with a pathos that had this reviewer reaching for his tissue box within the first 15 pages."
— Scifi dimentions.com
"A Small and Remarkable Life is a remarkable novel, but not a small one. With a persistence and sensitivity worthy of his quirky hero, DiChario quietly explores the big questions: faith, love, hope, and the true nature of reality. This is one of the most original first-contact novels I have ever read, and a must for everyone who cares about good fiction."
— Hugo Award-winner Nancy Kress
"I've been waiting a long time for this book. Hell, everyone has been waiting a long time for this book."
— Nebula Award-winner Mike Resnick, from his introduction
"Nick DiChario writes with a deft touch. Whether illustrating religious practices, a 19th-century game of baseball or the psychedelic Wetspace where Tink originated from, the author's prose reads like poetry. . . The juxtaposition of the future with the past is what makes A Small and Remarkable Life such an intoxicating science fiction. . . His story offers many insights into the truth of what it means to be human."
— hour.ca
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Nick DiChario's short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year's Best Science Fiction, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century, among others. He has been nominated for a John W. Campbell Award, two Hugo Awards, and a World Fantasy Award. Nick is an independant bookseller (owner of The Write Book and Gift Shop, in Honeoye Falls, New York) and the fiction editor of HazMat Literary Review.
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John W. Campbell Memorial Award short-list, 2006
Hugo Award runner-up 2007
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