Sheri S. Tepper at Tangled Web UK

Page Updated: 28/01/2008

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Sheri S. Tepper - Page 1

pbk 17 Jan 08

About the Author

British Pbk Original - Gollancz (2008)

The Margarets

The myriad alien civilisations populating far, far distant worlds have many good reasons to detest the blight called ‘humankind’...

Margaret Bain is the only child on Phobos, a human colony working on a doomed project to transform Mars into a garden planet. To keep away the suffocating demons of loneliness and boredom, she invents imaginary companions, her own alter egos - a queen, a spy, a tough boy, a healer’. . .
When the Phobos project is shut down, Margaret is forced to return to Earth with her parents, but mankind’s birthplace is impoverished, reduced to trading the only viable product the planet has left to offer: human slaves. Now no longer a little girl, Margaret’s imaginary friends are lost to her, but in this harsh new world she is forced to make some hard choices, and each life changing choice results in a different Margaret spinning off her imaginary selves are refining their own personae, acquiring their own histories, living their own lives.
And as the Margarets scatter off across the universe, unaware of their other selves, each has to struggle to survive by her (or his) wits - until the discovery of a threat to Earth and to the whole of humanity. It’s time for the Margarets to return home, for the survival of the human race depends on them ... all of them.
‘Tepper has lodged firmly upon the pinnacle of excellence’ Kirkus
‘Her novels are the old-fashioned kind, despite their futuristic settings that wrap you up in their embrace, that take over your life, that make the world disappear’ Village Voice

First British Edition Gollancz (2004)

Paperback - Gollancz (2005)

The Companions
Humankind has arrived on Moss to discover if any intelligent native life exists there, and to assess the planet, recently discovered by the Derac, a nomadic space-faring race, for development - and profit. Multi-coloured shapes of dancing light have been spotted; strange sounds are heard in the night: the researchers name them the Mossen and send for a linguist to ascertain if this is evidence of intelligent life.
Jewel Delis has accompanied her half-brother Paul to this verdant paradise. Her task is to help Paul decipher the strange language of the Mossen - but she has a secret mission too. A new law on Earth means the imminent massacre of all beasts great and small, so Jewel must discover if Moss holds the promise of sanctuary for the doomed animals, once humankind’s beloved companions.
Time is running out for Jewel’s creatures, but it might be running out for Humanity too: the Planet Moss, itself a living entity, is not sure it cares for any of the species currently living on its surface ...
`All Tepper’s books are thought-provoking and unputdownable’ SFX
`Her characters, human and alien, are exceptionally well-drawn’ Time Out
`Combining an insight and understanding of human nature with an incisive yet eloquent wit that’s worthy of Kurt Vonnegut’ Starburst
‘Sheri Tepper weaves science fiction and fantasy superbly’ The Times

Paperback - Gollancz (2003)

First British Edition Gollancz (2002)

The Visitor
When an asteroid crashed into Earth hundreds of years ago in the twenty-first century, much of civilisation was obliterated. All that remains of that time are some fragmented memories of science and life coloured by myth and superstition. But a wasted world is coming back alive, despite the tyranny and cruel punishments inflicted by the repressive ruling elite.
Disme Latimer’s entire family is lost in mysterious circumstances, leaving the gentle, troubled young woman at the mercy of a cruel stepmother, an abusive stepsister . . . and a book. Disme’s book is a sacred, unsettling tome written by an ancestor, the courageous scientist Nell Latimer, who left a husband and family behind her in her attempt to salvage something of the post-catastrophe world. It contains disturbing ideas and revelations, though common ‘wisdom’ warns of malevolent entities out in the world, and advises would-be adventurers to stay where they are.
Yet other myths suggest that the selfless band of planet-repairing scientists - including Disme’s brave forebear - have somehow, miraculously, survived until this day. Destiny, it seems, has chosen a most improbable defender to lead an imperilled planet out of the darkness.
But there is evil also, a malevolence beyond imagining. And far away, in the depths of the Earth, a gargantuan beast has roused itself after centuries of slumber. And it has begun to stir . . .
‘Sheri S. Tepper takes the mental risks that are the lifeblood of science fiction and all imaginative fiction’ Ursula K. Le Guin
‘One of’ SF’s most distinguished voices’ Locus
‘Her novels are the old-fashioned kind, despite their futuristic settings; the kind, that wrap you in their embrace, that take over your life, that make the world disappear’ Village Voice Supplement
'Succeeds brilliantly' Publishers Weekly

First British Edition Gollancz (2001)

Paperback - Gollancz (2002)

The Fresco
The bizarre events that have been occurring across the United States - unexplained oddities tracked by Air Defense, mysterious disappearances, shocking deaths - seem to have no bearing on Benita Alvarez Shipton’s life. That is until the softly spoken thirty six-year-old bookstore manager is approached by a pair of aliens asking her to transmit their message of peace to the Powers That Be in Washington.
Suddenly an ordinary woman with a poor self image and lowly self-esteem has been thrust into the limelight. She must leave behind a house in New Mexico on the brink of foreclosure and a drunken bully of a husband to undertake a mission of utmost importance to her planet and its peoples.
Her obligation does not end once the message is delivered, however, for the Pistach have offered their human hosts a spectacular opportunity for knowledge and enrichment. And Benita is to act as sole liaison between the two sentient races. The more she learns about the extraterrestrials who have transformed her grey existence, the more her appreciation grows for their culture, their beliefs and their art - especially the ancient and mysterious Fresco that appears to dominate their collective lives.
But alongside the promise of peace is a dire, unspoken threat - the Pistach are not the only space-faring species making their presence known on Earth. There are others- cold, malevolent, hungry - who have now set their sights on Benita, and their accomplices maybe be as close as Capitol Hill. And the desperate race to save herself and two worlds could carry Benita Alvarez far from her home planet… and light years away from anything she has ever been.
‘Combining an insight and understanding of human nature to rival Theodore Sturgeon with an incisive yet eloquent wit that’s worthy of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., The Fresco is an unaffected remix of X-Files’ UFOlogy . . . generic comedy . . . and good old-fashioned space opera themes. Quite an achievement!’ Starburst
‘As a clever roman à clef and the stuff of secret female dreams, this novel succeeds brilliantly. Better yet, as a commentary on the capacity of women to endure, to achieve and to overcome, it shines as brightly as the stars’ Publishers Weekly
‘This is Tepper’s most approachable book to date . . . Her characters, human and alien, are exceptionally well drawn’ Time Out
‘The Fresco is well written science fiction, and it tugs at one’s attention’ www.infinityplus.co.uk

British Pbk Original - Voyager (2000)

The Awakeners
Northshore and Southshore
The World River carries many secrets.
Come to the world of the River, a world distant in time and space where swift, dark currents flow beneath a placid surface. Pamra Don is a young woman scarred by her mother's death and lured to a priesthood where truth must be hidden from the faithful. Thrasne is a young boatman who trades from town to town, free from the iron control of the Towers of the Awakeners. These two, both by accident and design, are about to discover many truths. The World River is a place where the truth can kill.
For the first time in a single volume, the two books Northshore and Southshore
‘Tepper is a wise and compassionate narrator, and when it comes to spinning a yarn that you don’t ever want to stop reading, there are few better spinners than she is’ Magazine of Fantasy and Science fiction
‘One of those rare worlds into which the reader can escape completely’ Locus

About The Author
Sheri Stewart Tepper is the highly acclaimed author of more than twenty novels. She was born in Colorado, where she lived until recently. She worked for many years for various non-profit-making organizations, and was a writer of children's stories. She sold her first adult novel in 1982. As well as science fiction and fantasy novels, Sheri Tepper has written crime and horror novels under her own name and various pseudonyms. She now lives in New Mexico.

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Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

The Margarets (Gollancz Pbk, 2008) Pbk Jan 08

The Companions (Gollancz, 2004) Gollancz Pbk Mar 05

The Visitor (Gollancz, 2002) Gollancz Pbk Apr 03

The Fresco (Gollancz, 2001) Gollancz Pbk Feb 02

The Awakeners (Voyager Pbk, 2000)

Singer From The Sea (Gollancz, 1999) Gollancz Millenium Pbk Mar 01

Six Moon Dance (Voyager Pbk, 1999)

Raising the Stones Gollancz Pbk Nov 02

Beauty Gollancz Millenium Pbk Feb 01