Table of Contents
Title Page
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF THE PROMETHEAN AGE
Principal Players in Ink and Steel
Epigraph
Prologue
Act I, scene i
Act I, scene ii
Act I, scene iii
Act I, scene iv
Act I, scene v
Act I, scene vi
Act I, scene vii
Act I, scene viii
Act I, scene ix
Act I, scene x
Intra-act: Chorus
Act II, scene i
Act II, scene ii
Act II, scene iii
Act II, scene iv
Act II, scene v
Act II, scene vi
Act II, scene vii
Act II, scene viii
Act II, scene ix
Act II, scene x
Act II, scene xi
Act II, scene xii
Act II, scene xiii
Act II, scene xiv
Act II, scene xv
Act II, scene xvi
Act II, scene xvii
Act II, scene xviii
Act II, scene xix
Act II, scene xx
Intra-act: Chorus
Act III, scene i
Act III, scene ii
Act III, scene iii
Act III, scene iv
Act III, scene v
Act III, scene vi
Act III, scene vii
Act III, scene viii
Act III, scene ix
Act III, scene x
Act III, scene xi
Act III, scene xii
Act III, scene xiii
Act III, scene xiv
Act III, scene xv
Act III, scene xvi
Act III, scene xvii
Act III, scene xviii
Act III, scene xix
Act III, scene xx
Act III, scene xxi
Act III, scene xxii
Intra-act: Chorus
About the Author
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF THE PROMETHEAN AGE
Whiskey and Water
The many varied plots skillfully and subtly interweave into a finale withserious punch. Elizabeth Bear’ writing style is as dense, complex, andsubtle as her plots and characters. The style reminds me a little of Tolkien.This is definitely not a book to sit down to for a light, fluffy read. But ifyou immerse yourself in this rich, dark world, you will be rewarded withcharacters with layers of motivation and relationships that weave through theworld’ destiny like an intricate spider’ web.
SFRevu
[Whiskey and Water] reaffirms [Bear s] skill at creating memorable and memorably flawed characters as well as her sure hand at blending together themodern world with the world of the Fae. Her elegant storytelling shouldappeal to fans of Charles de lint, Jim Butcher, and other cross-world andurban fantasy authors.
Library Journal
Bear brings a new level of detail to the subject, and her magical creaturesare an interesting mix of familiar and unfamiliar traits.
Don D Ammasa, Critical Mass
Bear succeeds in crafting a rich world… . It’ a book that I couldn tput down, with a world in which I found myself easily enthralled andenchanted, not necessarily by Faerie, but by Bear’ poetic expression andknife-sharp narrative.
Rambles
Intrigued and delighted sum up my reaction to Whiskey and Water as a whole. Don’t think of it as a sequel, because it’ not: It’ the next part ofthe story, and just as rich, magical, and poetic as its predecessor. … I mhoping for another one.
The Green Man Review
The wonderful Promethean Age series just keeps getting better. Bear has aknack for writing beautifully damaged characters, who manage to be both alienand sympathetic at the same time, and then putting them in situations wherethey have no choice but to go through the fire. The result is glorious.
Romantic Times (Top Pick)
Cleverly designed and well written … a delightful tale filled with allsorts of otherworldly species. Alternative Worlds Blood and Iron “Blood and Iron takes everything you think you know about Faerie and twistsit until it bleeds.
Sarah Monette, author of The Mirador
Bear works out her background with the detail orientation of a sciencefiction writer, spins her prose like a veil-dancing fantasist, and neverforgets to keep an iron fist in that velvet glove.
The Agony Column
Complex and nuanced… . Bear does a fantastic job with integrating thesecenturies-old elements into a thoroughly modern tale of transformation, love,and courage. Romantic Times
Bear overturns the usual vision of Faerie, revealing the compelling beautyand darkness only glimpsed in old ballads and stories like Tam lin.
Publishers Weekly
This is excellent work. Bear confronts Faerie head-on, including thedangerous and ugly bits, and doesn’t shield the reader with reassuringhappily-ever-after vibes… . She also writes a few brilliant scenes andset pieces, the most memorable for me being … the beautifully handled(and beautifully explained) Tolkien homage near the climax… . I’m lookingforward to spending more time in this world. Eyrie… and for the other novels of Elizabeth Bear
A gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek inside a future world we’d allbetter hope we don’t get, liberally seasoned with VR delights andenigmatically weird alien artifacts… . Elizabeth Bear builds her futurenightmare tale with style and conviction and a constant return to the twistsof the human heart.
Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon
Very exciting, very polished, very impressive.
Mike Resnick, author of Starship: Mercenary
Gritty, insightful, and daring.
David Brin, author of the Uplift novels and Kiln People
A glorious hybrid: hard science, dystopian geopolitics, and wide-eyed sense
of wonder seamlessly blended into a single book.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight
Elizabeth Bear has carved herself out a fantastic little world… . It’ rare to find a book with so many characters you genuinely care about. It’ aroller coaster of a good thriller, too.
SF Crowsnest
“What Bear has done … is create a world that is all too plausible, onewracked by environmental devastation and political chaos… . She conductsa tour of this society’ darker corners, offering an unnerving peek into afuture humankind would be wise to avoid. SciFi.com An enthralling roller-coaster ride through a dark and possible near future.
Starlog
[Bear] does it like a juggler who’ also a magician.
The Mumpsimus
combined with a selection of historical and literary figures as may be convenient to the reader.
Alleyn, Edward : (Ned) A player. Principal Tragedian of the lord Admiral’s Men.
Amaranth : A lamia
Arthur : A King of Britain. Mostly dead.
Baines, Richard : An intelligencer and Promethean
Bassano lanyer, Abilia : England’s first professional woman poet. Mistress of Henry Carey. Sadly, not appearing in this book because I did not have room for her.
Bassano, Augustine : Court musician to Elizabeth, Venetian Jew, father to Abilia, and intimate of Roderigo Lopez. Also not appearing in this volume,but I promise you, he and Abilia and Roderigo and Alfonso had manyinteresting adventures that Will never found out about. Someday I will write the Jews of Elizabeth’s Court book and you can find out all about it.