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| Martin just before his first event at Booktopia May 6, 2016 |
Happy release day to Martin Seay! His first novel, The Mirror Thief, is available at bookstores and libraries today. From all the pre-publication buzz and early reviews, this is bound to be one of the big books of 2016.
From the publisher: A globetrotting, time-bending, wildly entertaining masterpiece in the tradition of Cloud Atlas.
Publishers Weekly raved that “with near-universal appeal . . . Seay’s debut novel is a true delight, a big, beautiful cabinet of wonders that is by turns an ominous modern thriller, a supernatural mystery, and an enchanting historical adventure story.” Set in three cities in three eras, The Mirror Thief calls to mind David Mitchell and Umberto Eco in its mix of entertainment and literary bravado.
The core story is set in Venice in the sixteenth century, when the famed makers of Venetian glass were perfecting one of the old world’s most wondrous inventions: the mirror. An object of glittering yet fearful fascination—was it reflecting simple reality, or something more spiritually revealing?—the Venetian mirrors were state of the art technology, and subject to industrial espionage by desirous sultans and royals world-wide. But for any of the development team to leave the island was a crime punishable by death. One man, however—a world-weary war hero with nothing to lose—has a scheme he thinks will allow him to outwit the city’s terrifying enforcers of the edict, the ominous Council of Ten . . .
Meanwhile, in two other Venices—Venice Beach, California, circa 1958, and the Venice casino in Las Vegas, circa today—two other schemers launch similarly dangerous plans to get away with a secret . . .
All three stories will weave together into a spell-binding tour-de-force that is impossible to put down—an old-fashioned, stay-up-all-night novel that, in the end, returns the reader to a stunning conclusion in the original Venice . . . and the bedazzled sense of having read a truly original and thrilling work of art.
I haven’t read Cloud Atlas, so can’t vouch for the comparison, but I can say that I’m 100+ pages into the novel and it kept me up past my bedtime last night. And thus far the character Curtis is shaping up to be one of my favorite fictional Marines. He’s more realistic than the macho, fantasy stereotypes out there. I missed him when the story flipped from 2003 to 1958, but I know he’ll be back.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Martin at Booktopia, an amazing book event hosted by The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT.
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| Martin & Me. |
Here’s Seay’s tour schedule. Go and see him if you can, he gives an interesting talk. And after he’s a household name you’ll be able to say you met him at the beginning of his career. 😎
May 6-7 – Booktopia Festival, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester, VT
May 9 at 7 p.m. – WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
May 11 at 7 p.m. – Chaucer’s Bookstore, Santa Barbara, CA
May 12 at 7 p.m. – Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco, CA
May 13 at 7 p.m. – Copperfield’s Books, Petaluma, CA
May 14 at 7:30 p.m. – The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
May 16 at 7 p.m. – Book People, Austin, TX
May 17 at 7 p.m. – Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX
May 25 at 7 p.m. – 57th Street Books, Hyde Park, Chicago, IL
Author: Martin Seay
Title: The Mirror Thief
Publisher: Melville House, May 10, 2016
Source: I did receive an electronic ARC via Edelweiss that I started prior to the event and which greatly whet my appetite. I purchased my own copy at Northshire. Speaking of which, thanks to Melville House for allowing early sales at The Northshire Bookstore.
Back to reading now….