The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)
Reeks: The Emperor's Library
Frederick Kirchhoff
- The
- sixteen-year-old
- Lim
- accepts
- a
- dare
- and
- crawls
- through
- a
- drainage
- tunnel
- to
- the
- beach,
- where
- he
- for
- the
- first
- time
- observes
- the
- life
- of
- the
- Masters
- who,
- with
- the
- Army,
- rule
- Gort.
- Threatened
- by
- a
- guard,
- he
- is
- rescued
- by
- Laurel,
- the
- niece
- of
- Master
- Jules,
- and
- thus
- begins
- a
- relationship
- across
- class
- boundaries
- that
- changes
- Lim's
- lifeKeeping
- a
- promise
- to
- Laurel,
- he
- returns
- to
- the
- beach
- only
- to
- be
- captured
- and
- suffer
- physical
- abuse
- at
- the
- hands
- of
- the
- guards.
- Filo,
- one
- of
- Jules's
- slaves,
- finds
- Lim
- half-dead
- on
- the
- street
- and
- takes
- him
- home,
- where
- he
- recovers
- from
- his
- injuries
- in
- the
- opulent
- setting
- of
- the
- Master's
- villa.
- Here
- Filo
- teaches
- him
- to
- read
- and
- Jules
- introduces
- him
- to
- maps
- and
- his
- collection
- of
- antiquities.
- But
- Lim
- cannot
- stay
- there
- forever,
- so
- Jules
- apprentices
- him
- to
- Falke,
- a
- mysterious
- goldsmith
- who
- is
- constructing
- a
- strange
- device
- for
- Jules--the
- chronophage--which
- turns
- out
- to
- slow
- the
- passage
- of
- time.When
- Jules
- is
- threatened
- with
- execution
- for
- his
- political
- views,
- they
- use
- the
- chronophage
- to
- evade
- the
- Army
- and
- escape
- the
- city.
- But
- Lim
- is
- ultimately
- separated
- from
- his
- companions,
- who
- are
- captured
- and
- returned
- to
- Gort,
- while
- he
- finds
- himself
- in
- the
- company
- of
- Filo's
- sister
- Nan
- and
- the
- boy
- Raven,
- who
- unlike
- Filo,
- has
- no
- objection
- to
- sex.They,
- too,
- eventually
- turn
- up
- in
- Gort
- City,
- where,
- through
- the
- intervention
- of
- Lim's
- old
- friend
- Rake,
- they
- are
- cast
- in
- an
- extravagant
- theatrical
- performance
- that
- brings
- about
- unexpected
- and,
- for
- some,
- disastrous
- consequences.The
- novel
- is
- told
- in
- the
- voices
- of
- four
- major
- characters,
- who
- narrate
- their
- adventures
- to
- Rel,
- the
- central
- character
- in
- Book
- Four
- of
- The
- Emperor's
- Library.
- He
- is
- now
- very
- old
- and
- has
- come
- to
- Gort
- as
- part
- ambassador,
- part
- spy
- for
- the
- Emperor.
- His
- perspective
- connects
- the
- events
- of
- The
- Chronophage
- with
- those
- described
- earlier
- in
- the
- series,
- as
- more
- new
- light
- begins
- to
- be
- shed
- on
- the
- formation
- of
- the planet.
