The Snail on the Slope consists of the two largely independent stories of Pepper and Kandid, which are nevertheless brought together by the forest, their continentwide silent antagonist.
Pepper, is afraid to resist the Directorate but yearns to do so. He yearns to enter a mystic forest but is trapped on a cliff top where he can only glimpse it. He toes the line and inspite of his yearning does nothing more than watch.
Kandid manages to understand the reality when he ends up in the forest. After encountering mysteries of the forest and the unexpected forces therein. Kandid decides not to surrender under any circumstances. He is the proactive one either marooned or blessed to be in a forest of untold truths made of magic and wonder. His suffering includes the fact that the forest is ruled by a race of ruthless parthenogenic amazons that tolerate his male presence but offer little else. He can see the beauty within but not partake of it, could a man imagine a more frustrating torture.
- ISBN10 0553131974
- ISBN13 9780553131970
- Publish Date 1 August 1983 (first published June 1980)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 30 June 2021
- Imprint Bantam Books
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 243
- Language English