The James Lovegrove Collection Series

'When the Worldstorm first stirred in the distant reaches of the earth, the people of the earth were torn asunder and thrown into disarray. For a time, all was panic and terror. But out of this panic and terror and division a new order coalesced, and the four Inclinations were known, and named' Or so at least one of the old stories has it. Elder Ayn doesn't really know why the Worldstorm comes to wreak devastation on the world any more than the next man. But, being a previsionary, he does know the exact time and nature of his death. He will be murdered and he will do nothing to prevent the killing blow. Elder Ayn also knows why he has left the splendid academic isolation of Stonehaven and gone out into the world. He knows where his quest will take him. But he's not about to tell his scribe, Khollo. And meanwhile the world's order is breaking down. War is brewing between the Earth and the Fire Inclined. People who can shake the ground with a fist or pull fire out of the air with a simple thought. A storm is coming. And a girl who fears she is Extraordinary is about to learn the truth ...

The Hope

by James Lovegrove

Published 25 January 1990

The Hope is five miles long, one mile high. A ship launched on a voyage to a new utopia - a philanthropist's dream. But there has been no landfall and the ship's purpose has been forgotten, and between decks life is decaying into a phantasmogoric nightmare as the passengers descend into madness or simply revert to instinct. THE HOPE was reviewed ecstatically everywhere, from the TLS, Spectator and Interzone, and is shown to be even more relevant now than it was in 1990.

Provender Gleed

by James Lovegrove

Published 15 September 2005

The Families.O Insanely rich and richly insane.O With world-spanning business interests, glamour and power, they are monarchs, Mafia and movie stars rolled into one.O Since theOBorgias and de'Medicis united in the 17th century,Othe FamiliesOhave transfixed, transformed, and ruled, the world. Top British FamilyOthe Gleeds areOhosting the social event of the year, their annual ball.O Venice has been reconstructed in all its glory in the grounds of their estate, Dashlands, and should provide the perfect romantic backdrop for Provender - the young, disaffected Gleed heir upon whom the Family line, and status, depends - finally to find a wife.O But Provender shows no sign of settling down with any of the social beauties his mother parades before him ...and in the moment whenOloveOdoes begin to blossom, Provender is kidnapped by an anti-Familial revolutionary. The future of the Gleeds, and of Europe,Odepends onOthe skills of two Anagrammatic Detectives - while Provenders own future depends on the dark eyes and equally dark wit of a girl called Is.

The Foreigners

by James Lovegrove

Published 28 September 2000

A utopia brought to us by the Foreigners, inscrutable aliens who appeared amongst us from nowhere one day. A utopia that will end when the Foreigners leave which they are bound to id the whoever is killing them cannot be stopped. A utopia that is already fatally flawed.

Untied Kingdom

by James Lovegrove

Published 17 April 2003

After a series of disasterous political decisions the United Kingdom has finally fallen foul of the International Coummunity. Ostracized and bombed at random, the country has fallen apart. With the infrastructure in ruins tiny communities struggle on, relying on ancient traditions and myth for their structure and identity. In the village of Downbourne, the mayor has styled himself the Green Man. But even he is powerless to stop a raid on the village by a London based gang who kidnap a number of the village's women. One of them is the schoolmaster's wife. Their marriage was an arid disaster, but the schoolmaster feels bound to do the right thing and sets off on a journey through an England at once terrifying and magical to get her back. But does this particular damsel even want to be rescued?

The James Lovegrove Collection, Volume One: Days and United Kingdom

by James Lovegrove

Published 2 December 2014

Days

Nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award

Days is a gigastore the size of a small city, whose security are licensed to kill and whose seven owners brood in the penthouse, far removed from the desperate scramble of consumerism. But at what price commerce? Security man Frank has lost his reflection, Books are entering a localised war with Computers, and there is a riot in Third World Instruments. Time for another flash sale...

UNTIED KINGDOM

Nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award

When the village of Downbourne is raided and schoolmaster Fen Morris’s wife Moira is snatched, there are no authorities to turn to. In the absence of its government – in exile in the Caribbean following the ‘Unlucky Gamble’ – and subject to random bombings and leaflet drops, the UK is lawless and falling apart. Their marriage was a disaster, but Fen sets out to recover her anyway; but does she even want rescuing?

Imagined Slights

by James Lovegrove

Published 13 June 2002

A combination of previously unseen stories, favourites from Interzone and contributions to numerous anthologies, IMAGINED SLIGHTS showcases one of the most versatile and elegant writers on the genre scene today. Whether taking you through a Britain turned into a theme park, imagining a parallel London existing at the margins or exploring the mysteries of our own pasts, James Lovegrove is incapable of writing a dull sentence.

Days

by James Lovegrove

Published 11 December 1997

Originally published to unprecedented and widespread praise ('exceptional brilliance' INTERZONE, 'sharp funny and brutal' THE TIMES) DAYS has been described as a cross between JG Ballard and even Jonathan Swift. It describes one day in the life of the Days gigastore, a massive shop seven storeys high and 2.5 kilometres on a side. Within its walls you can buy anything and everything. But there is a price to be paid. A savagely funny satire on a society obsessed with consumption DAYS paints a picture of a future that is just around the corner. This is a remarkable feat of visionary writing; blackly funny, lyrical and tightly plotted. It has affirmed James Lovegrove's position as one of the key writers of fantastic fiction in the UK today.