{"product_id":"salt-of-the-air-hardcover","title":"Salt of the Air - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eVera Nazarian\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eGene Wolfe\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eYou are familiar with the salt of the earth. But did you know there is an even finer, more delicate essence?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Take wisdom and imagination, responsibility and beauty, and mix them together in arcane proportions to form a rich and peculiar brine. The resulting \u003ci\u003ewater of life\u003c\/i\u003e is an emotional muddy liquid, filled with existential sediment swirling in the light of secret reality and reflecting prismatic colors of hope and wonder. If allowed to evaporate -- escape, flee, ascend into the ether and join the music of the spheres -- what remains is the quintessence; a precious concentrate that is elusive and volatile, neither fully solid nor so illusory as to be devoid of pithy substance. It is the \u003ci\u003eSalt of the Air\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In this debut collection from the critically acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eDreams of the Compass Rose\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLords of Rainbow\u003c\/i\u003e, the nineteen stories are distillations of myth and philosophy, eroticism and ascetic purity. Dipping into an ancient multi-ethnic well, they are the stuff of fantasy -- of maidens and deities and senior retirees, of emperors and artists and con artists, of warriors and librarians, of beings without a name and things very fey indeed.... \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Don't be afraid of ingesting ethereal salt. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Open your mind and inhale. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"Cautionary, sensual stories of love, reversal and revenge upend fairy tale conventions in Nazarian's lush collection... Sumptuous detail, twisty plots and surprising endings lift these extravagant tales.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"These are beautiful, haunting confections, reminiscent of \u003cb\u003eTanith Lee's\u003c\/b\u003e erotically charged tales... Fine shades of emotion, mythic grandeur, crystalline prose, sharp revisionist intelligence: these are Vera Nazarian's hallmarks...\" --\u003cb\u003eNick Gevers, \u003ci\u003eLocus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eVera Nazarian\u003c\/b\u003e immigrated to the USA from the former USSR as a kid, sold her first story at the age of 17, and since then has published numerous works in anthologies and magazines, and has seen her fiction translated into eight languages. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e She made her novelist debut with the critically acclaimed novel \u003ci\u003eDreams of the Compass Rose \u003c\/i\u003e, followed by epic fantasy about a world without color, \u003ci\u003eLords of Rainbow\u003c\/i\u003e. Her novella \u003ci\u003eThe Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass\u003c\/i\u003e with an introduction by \u003cb\u003eCharles de Lint\u003c\/b\u003e made the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2005. This first collection \u003ci\u003eSalt of the Air \u003c\/i\u003e, with an introduction by \u003cb\u003eGene Wolfe\u003c\/b\u003e, contains the 2007 Nebula Award-nominated \"The Story of Love.\" Recent work includes the 2008 Nebula Award-nominated, baroque novella \u003ci\u003eThe Duke in His Castle \u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Ancient myth, moral fables, eclectic philosophy, and her Armenian and Russian ethnic heritage play a strong part in all her work, combining the essences of things and places long gone into a rich evocation of wonder. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In addition to being a writer and award-winning artist, she is also the publisher of Norilana Books. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Official website: www.veranazarian.com\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 372\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 15, 2009\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52537701499187,"sku":"9781607620358","price":50.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/d2RvblJlNkRBK2owR0d3QXpKdVlvdz09.webp?v=1760817494","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/salt-of-the-air-hardcover","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}