On the Horizon – i met a traveller in an antique land (Connie Willis)

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here are me honest musings . . .

i met a traveller in an antique land (Connie Willis)

Title: i met a traveller in an antique land

Author: Connie Willis

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Publication Date: TODAY!! (hardback/e-book)

ISBN:     978-1596068766

Source: NetGalley

The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:

1. Connie Willis wrote the doomsday book and it was seriously one of the best books I have ever read ;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. The story takes place in a bookstore.

I loved this quick paced novella by Connie Willis.  It actually feels at first like yer reading a true-life account.  Then the protagonist enters Ozymandias Books.  It is no ordinary bookstore.  The books seem to be shelved with no organization, there are no prices in any of the books, and the store goes on forever.  As Jim enters further into the bookstore and learns more about its function, his idea of the disposability of the physical book begins to change.  In an era where the e-book is a popular form, those of us readers who cling to our beloved physical copies of childhood favourites and wish we could visit the lost Library in Alexandria will highly enjoy this story of Connie Willis.  She captures a moment where changing technology and nostalgia collide and makes ye think due to her masterful writing.

This be the last read in me April BookBum Club Challenge!  Much thanks to the BookBum Club for giving me the incentive to finally read this wonderful “short and sweet” book (168 pgs).  Day four – challenge complete!  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Subterranean Press!

Netgalley had this to say about the novel:

Jim is in New York City at Christmastime shopping a book based on his blog—Gone for Good—premised on the fact that “being nostalgic for things that have disappeared is ridiculous.” Progress decides for people what they need and what’s obsolete. It’s that simple. Of course, not everyone agrees. After Jim bombs a contentious interview with a radio host who defends the sacred technology of the printed, tangible book, he gets caught in a rainstorm only to find himself with no place to take refuge other than a quaint, old-fashioned bookshop.

Ozymandias Books is not just any store. Jim wanders intrigued through stacks of tomes he doesn’t quite recognize the titles of, none with prices. Here he discovers a mysteriously pristine, seemingly endless wonderland of books—where even he gets nostalgic for his childhood favorite. And, yes, the overwhelmed and busy clerk showing him around says they have a copy. But it’s only after Jim leaves that he understands the true nature of Ozymandias and how tragic it is that some things may be gone forever…

From beloved, multiple-award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Connie Willis comes I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land, a novella about the irreplaceable magic of books.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Connie Willis – Author

To buy the novel please visit:

i met a traveller in an antique land – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous BookBum Club Monthly Reviews

March 2018 – “And the award goes to – pick a book that has won an award!”

Previous Log Entries for this Author

crosstalk (On the Horizon – Sci-Fi eArc)

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