CapaCapa
Scan Sign in
Cover of City Under the Stars

City Under the Stars

Gardner Dozois, Michael Swanwick

Ages 12–17

172 pages · Released Aug 25, 2020

Content report card

What's inside

Medium confidence

Sexual content

LGBTQ+ themes

Substance use

What it offers

Educational value

A note for parents

This is a literary science fiction novella-turned-novel exploring themes of hope and redemption in a dystopian future. The story focuses on human resilience and spiritual searching rather than action, but contains some mature themes including a personal tragedy and the existential weight of a oppressive society. The prose is sophisticated and philosophical, making it better suited to older middle-grade or young adult readers willing to engage with complex ideas.

Analyzed by AI · 7 hours ago

Read it with your kids?

Rate it and suggest an age to help other parents.

Log in to review

From the publisher

A tale of hope in the midst of dystopia by the Nebula Award–winning authors—an expansion of their novella The City of God. God was in his Heaven—which was fifteen miles away, due east. Far in Earth's future, in a post-utopian hellhole, Hanson works ten solid back-breaking hours a day, shoveling endless mountains of coa... A tale of hope in the midst of dystopia by the Nebula Award–winning authors—an expansion of their novella The City of God. God was in his Heaven—which was fifteen miles away, due east. Far in Earth's future, in a post-utopian hellhole, Hanson works ten solid back-breaking hours a day, shoveling endless mountains of coal, within sight of the iridescent wall that separates what's left of humanity from their gods. One day, after a tragedy of his own making, Hanson leaves the city, not knowing what he will do or how he will survive in the wilderness without work. He finds himself drawn to the wall, to the elusive promise of God. And when the impossible happens, he steps through, into the city beyond. The impossible was only the beginning. City Under the Stars completes a journey undertaken by Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick when they published the novella The City of God. Over two decades later, the two realized there was more to the story, and began the work of expanding it. Now, after Gardner Dozois' tragic passing in 2018, the story can be told in full.

Shelved under

  • Fiction
  • American literature

Share this guide

ISBN 9781250756572 · Macmillan + ORM