The pastel city cover

The pastel city

by M. John Harrison

Could a poet, a braggart and a piratical dwarf stand against the black forces of the North and save the Pastel City? In his melancholy sea-tower moody, reclusive tegeus-Cromis, hero of the Methven, put away his nameless sword, thinking that he had finished with soldiering forever. Then, on the road from Viriconium, came the mercenary, Birkin Grif, bringing dire news of the war between two queens and the hazard facing the Pastel City. They must travel to the Great Brown Waste to find Tomb and Dwarf, and join forces to fight for Queen Jane and Viriconium: for Canna Moidart and the Wolves of the North have awoken the geteit chemosit, alien automata from an ancient science, which will destroy everything in their path, and now they march upon the Pastel City...

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?