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Vellum: The Book of All Hours

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Overview

An extraordinary, incendiary debut from a rare new talent, Vellum showcases a complex and sophisticated level of writing coupled with a fecund imagination that defies description. VELLUM: THE BOOK OF ALL HOURS It's 2017 and angels and demons walk the earth. Once they were human; now they are unkin, transformed by the ancient machine-code language of reality itself. They seek The Book of All Hours, the mythical tome within which the blueprint for all reality is transcribed, which has been lost somewhere in the Vellum-the vast realm of eternity upon which our world is a mere scratch. The Vellum, where the unkin are gathering for war. The Vellum, where a fallen angel and a renegade devil are about to settle an age-old feud. The Vellum, where the past, present, and future will collide with ancient worlds and myths. And the Vellum will burn. . . . From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Scottish author Duncan's challenging SF debut, the first in a two-book series about an epic battle between good and evil, reveals the history of the advanced, ancient and powerful civilization of Kur through Egyptian, Babylonian and East Indian myth as well as bitmites, cyber-avatars and warring bands of fallen angels. A book, The Vellum (aka The Book of All Hours), is both portal to parallel realities and guide to a language of power that can be both inscribed in the skin and on the soul. Since individual characters like Seamus Finnan, Jack Carter, Thomas Messenger and Thomas's sister, Phreedom, whose lives are destroyed, prolonged and forever scarred by contact with a realm called the Vellum, tend to appear and reappear at intervals often 20 or 40 years apart, their adventures in the human, parallel and cyber universes can be hard to follow. Readers who persevere will find this a truly rewarding read. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Hal Duncan

Born in 1971, Hal Duncan grew up in small-town Ayrshire, Scotland, and now lives in the West End of Glasgow. He is a member of the Glasgow SF Writers Circle and is currently working part-time as a computer programmer. Vellum is his first novel.

Customer Reviews

  • 4 stars out of 5Vellum

    Posted July 30, 2007 by littlegrice, Bremerton, Wa

    An awesome but very scattered book. Hopefully the second book, called Ink, will bring to full the already compelling plotlines and concepts. Excellent blend of modern-day religion and old-school mythologies, and a compelling idea of where it all came from. If Book two follows where Book one was leading, I think this story has "movie" written all over it.

  • 1 star out of 5Waste of time and money

    Posted October 02, 2009 by Johnski, Clearwater

    I read on avg 2 books a week.. and this is the first time I have never finished a book. I stuck it out for about 300 pages then threw in the towel. Poor writing style.. Jumped around so much, it was not a pleasure to read.. it was a horrible chore. Too many scattered time lines, never knew when or where the story took you next in a blink of an eye.

    Studying for my graduate school exams (yes, many many yrs ago) were never so frustrating as reading this book.
    Don't waste your time and effort as I had... read elsewhere.
    VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!! Wish I could get a refund on this one.

Additional Info

Imprint

Random House

Filesize

1.91 MB

Number of Pages

480

eBook ISBN

9780345493613

Awards

  • Locus Awards
  • World Fantasy Awards

Excerpt from: Vellum by Hal Duncan

One - A Door Out of Reality

From the Great Beyond

From the Great Beyond she heard it, coming from the Deep Within. From the Great Beyond the goddess heard it, coming from the Deep Within. From the Great Beyond Inanna heard it, coming from the Deep Within.

She gave up heaven and earth, to journey down into the underworld, Inanna did, gave up her role as queen of heavens, holy priestess of the earth, to journey down into the underworld. In Uruk and in Badtibira, in Zabalam and Nippur, in Kish and in Akkad, she abandoned all her temples to descend into the Kur.

She gathered up the seven me into her hands, and with them in her hands, in her possession, she began her preparations.



Her lashes painted black with kohl, she laid the sugurra, crown of the steppe, upon her head, and fingered locks of fine, dark hair that fell across her forehead, touched them into place. She fastened tiny lapis beads around her neck and let a double strand of beads fall to her breast. Around her chest, she bound a golden breastplate that called quietly to men and youths, come to me, come, with warm, metallic grace. She slipped a golden bracelet over her soft hand, onto her slender wrist, and took a lapis rod and line in hand.

And finally, she furled her royal robe around her body.