High Couch of
Silistra
The Silistra Quartet Book 1
By Janet Morris
Genre: Epic Dystopian SciFi Fantasy
"Engrossing characters in
a marvelous adventure." - Charles N. Brown, Locus Magazine
"The amazing and erotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in
tomorrow's universe" - Frederik Pohl
I was high-couch in the
greatest house of pleasure in the civilized stars.
“We are all
bound,” is the great truth of Silistra: Bound by biological necessity and
genetics, the men and women of Silistra struggle to sort Nature from Nurture –
where Nature always wins. Welcome to Silistra, a glimpse of a far distant
future wherein a civilization proclaims the greatest feat an individual can
perform is to produce one child, yet distrusts the sciences that brought them
to verge of extinction.
Here women and
men coexist uneasily in a society ravaged by war, technology, and infertility,
each vying for power, each seeking dominion over one another. Be warned, if
your tastes run to simplistic plots, throbbing organs, swooning damsels or
kick-boxing women in men’s armor, Silistra may be too challenging. Feminists,
misogynists, misanthropes, or fans of political diatribe, this is not the book
for you.
High Couch of
Silistra, first of the notorious Silistra Quartet, brings us to a realm where
thought alters probability, where creativity is inextricably linked to the urge
to own and dominate, and where the universe itself is amenable to a focused
mind.
Rooted deeply in
humanity’s mythic past yet unaware of the planet Earth, High Couch of Silistra
begins one woman’s mythic quest for self-knowledge – with surprising results.
**Don’t miss the rest of the
series! Find them at Perseid Press!**
Best selling
author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels,
many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. She contributed short
fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, in which she
created the Sacred Band of Stepsons, a mythical unit of ancient fighters
modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. She created, orchestrated, and edited the
Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well
as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris. She
wrote the bestselling Silistra Quartet in the 1970s, including High Couch of
Silistra, The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne. This
quartet had more than four million copies in Bantam print alone, and was
translated into German, French, Italian, Russian and other languages. In the
1980s, Baen Books released a second edition of this landmark series. The third
edition is the Author's Cut edition, newly revised by the author for Perseid
Press. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction
genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has
written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as
well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military
technology and other defense and national security topics.
Janet said:
'People often ask what book to read first. I recommend "I, the Sun"
if you like ancient history; "The Sacred Band," a novel, if you like
heroic fantasy; "Lawyers in Hell" if you like historical fantasy set
in hell; "Outpassage" if you like hard science fiction; "High
Couch of Silistra" if you like far-future dystopian or philosophical
novels. I am most enthusiastic about the definitive Perseid Press Author's Cut
editions, which I revised and expanded.'
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GUEST POST
What is something unique/quirky about you?
I breed Morgan horses. I consult with Morgan breeders to help them choose breeding combinations to achieve a desired result.
I am also a song writer; I play bass guitar with my husband Chris who sings and plays guitar. We have an album on MCA records. Look for Christopher Crosby Morris on Soundcloud or N1M.com
Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I wrote my first novel, High Couch of Silistra in 1975; a friend sent it to an agent who chose to represent me; I had already written the second book in the Silistra Quartet and my agent told me not to disclose that until they finalized the contract for the first one. When the publisher learned of the others, Bantam Books bought the succeeding three. When the fourth book was published, the series already had four million copies in print. Suddenly I was a novelist specializing in environmental, gender, historical and political subjects. In the process, Chris became my editor and ultimately a co-writer. Since then, we have co-authored many books.
Who is your hero and why?
Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre-socratic philosopher, whose Cosmic Fragments foreshadow our knowledge of reality and how to perceive it. Among his precepts is the statement that change alone is unchanging. I’ve worked Heraclitus’ fragments in here and there throughout our books.
Which of your novels can you imagine being made into a movie?
All of them. I write cinematically, our books are vivid adventures I undertake without knowing the destination. I, the Sun, The Sacred Band, and Outpassage are particularly suited to film. The Threshold Series is a feast of opportunities for today’s special effects creators.
What inspired you, to write The Silistra Quartet?
The Silistra Quartet was a unique departure for me and it included issues of women’s rights in the 70’s before Handmaid’s Tale.
Convince us why you feel High Couch of Silistra is a must read.
The Silistra series in which High Couch of Silistra is book 1 blazed a new trail in science fiction and fantasy, many critics saying that I had created a new pantheon of warrior women giving rise to heroines like Xena. Today it is more important than ever for everyone to accept women in leadership roles and I would like to think we had something to do with gaining them more recognition.
Who designed your book covers?
Most of my covers, including High Couch of Silistra, are realized by Roy Mauritsen, a gifted graphic artist.
Advice to writers?
As for advice to writers, here is all I know: write the story you want to read. Start at the beginning, go to the end, and stop. Seriously. From start to finish you must inhabit the construct in a manner that makes the reader choose to continue; if I, as the writer, can’t feel what it’s like being there, my readers can’t either. So close your eyes, look at your feet where they are standing on the story’s ground; tell me what you see. Tell me what you hear. Ask at the end of each paragraph ‘what happens next?’. If you lose touch with it, wait until you’re back inside it. Tell the story that comes to you, and from you, to me.
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