author talk: City Of Ruins by S. E. Lister (RESCHEDULED DATE!)
rescheduled date: Thursday 22nd July
in the shop - 7pm - free entry - author talk
Please register here via Eventbrite if you wish to attend so we can manage social distancing on the shop floor. Please note this is a rescheduled date - all original tickets remain valid
Join S. E. Lister in the shop to hear all about her thrilling feat of literary imagination - ‘City Of Ruins’
A tremor shakes the ancient city. Fear grips the people as omens multiply. Yet nightly feasting continues at the Palace, and at the Temple the gods’ favour is bought as it always has been – with gold and sacrifices. Only the Augur, a fearless, ageless prophetess, can see what’s coming. Around her an unlikely resistance gathers: Saba and Aemilia, her two young acolytes, stolen from distant homelands; Myloxenes, fleeing his savage father; and pain-wracked Antonus, raising a family far from the depravity of the Palace he once called home. City Of Ruins is a tour-de-force of imagination and literary craft from a young author whose star is rising. The setting is ancient, yet its conflicts, fears – and its hopes – are our own.
S. E. Lister grew up in Gloucestershire, and studied Creative Writing at Warwick Uni. She has been reading stories since she was old enough to pick up a book, and writing them almost as long. Her first novel, Hideous Creatures, was shortlisted for the Edinburgh Festival First Book Award.
The Guardian says… Set in an unnamed city in an unspecified classical age, SE Lister’s powerful third novel tells of upheaval and uncertainty in a time of plenty. Following an earthquake, the Augur, an ancient priestess who was once close to the ruling emperor, prophesies imminent doom for the city and its hedonistic inhabitants, though few are willing to listen. Opposing the priestess is the merciless Athraxus of the Dark Temple, who has the favour of the emperor and will stop at nothing to ensure the Augur’s downfall. The novel charts the period leading up to the impending catastrophe, seen through the eyes of a large cast of well-drawn characters, as the priestess attempts to save the city and its citizens. Lister excels at depicting the complexity and consequences of deadly court politics and the misuse of power.
Please register via Eventbrite if you wish to attend so we can manage social distancing on the shop floor. This is a free entry event, but if you'd like to sling October Books a donation, please do.
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If you’d like to reserve a copy to collect on the day, email us at info@octoberbooks.org
