4th in the Chronoptika Quartet, THE SPEED OF DARKNESS concludes the series which began with THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR, then moved on through THE BOX OF RED BROCADE and THE DOOR IN THE MOON.
In this final volume, a great storm brews out at sea and batters the Devon coast, flooding vast swathes of land. At Wintercombe Abbey the preceding weeks have been spent in a ferment of experimentation, as Jake Wilde’s father, David and Maskelyne work furiously on Operation Leah. They have been practising changing tiny events in the past, in preparation for the rescue of Venn’s wife Leah from death, the culmination of their work with the Obsidian Mirror. But in the aftermath of the storm, the Abbey is a drowned house. Where is the Mirror? What has happened to the two halves of the Janus coin? Whose is the mysterious boat wrecked up on the nearby beach? And what plans of mischief and mayhem lay in store for Halloween – the day chosen for Leah’s return?
“The Sídhe are a force to be reckoned with in the final volume of Catherine Fisher’s Chronoptika Sequence, The Speed of Darkness. Fisher’s writing is taut and unnerving, equally at home with the Italian coastline or the wild hunts of the ‘Shee’. The Chronoptika is an obsidian mirror that is also a portal through time. Those with an interest in it include the Queen of the Shee, a human explorer, a changeling, a scientist and a terrifying tyrant from the end of time whose madness will lead to the destruction of the universe. The plot is in itself a wonder to behold, as multiple strands are effortlessly spun to create a shimmering and uncanny whole. The series is a must for any young (or old) fantasy fan. Its final image, of a host of glittering birds’ eyes in the forest, is one of the most unsettling I have read in a long while.” Philip Woman, Literary Review
