Saraband of Lost Time

Saraband of Lost Time is a science fiction novel by Maine author Richard Grant (1952–present), published by Avon Books in 1985. It is his first of several novels, labeled as science fiction. Saraband placed eighth in the annual Locus Poll for best first novel, and received a special citation from the Philip K. Dick Award judges.

Plot summary

The story takes place in thirty-five chapters. The characters come from a variety of locations, and travel across the land in their adventures. Grant created his own place names, drinks, songs and more for this novel. Unlike many fantasy novels, he did not create a map of the world, which is supposedly a futuristic Earth after the occurrence of an apocalypse of some kind. It may or may not be the same world as used in Rumors of Spring and Through the Heart. The characters are still human and are not a great deal different from modern humans in most cases. In all three books, the humans are mostly dealing with major environmental changes and the resulting changes in humanity, but some people have stood out as different.

Reception

Algis Budrys found Saraband to be "one of the most engaging first novels in years," praising the novel as "a piece of cultured prose which by its nature confers importance on its cast of characters and on their activities," but faulting Grant's failure to provide an understandable "pattern the rather fragmented events taking place at the story's...
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