Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)
The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)
The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)
Ebook479 pages7 hours

The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

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 life

Keeping 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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 14, 2013
ISBN9781301583782
The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library: Book Five)
Author

Frederick Kirchhoff

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Fred Kirchhoff graduated from Harvard and for many years taught English at a state university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was responsible for course in British Romantic and Victorian literature. While in Indiana, he also wrote two books on William Morris and a book on John Ruskin, as well as articles on other literary subjects. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Metropolitan State University. Since retiring, he has lived in Portland, Oregon. He began writing the Emperor's Library series while living in Minnesota, but completed it in Oregon, where his chief pleasures have been writing, classical piano lessons, and cooking up dinners for his favorite man and a few cherished friends.

Read more from Frederick Kirchhoff

Related to The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library

Related ebooks

Gay Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Chronophage (The Emperor's Library - Frederick Kirchhoff

    ,cbook_preview_excerpt.html}َ#W8EU3jzy2Z1IK0} zS1T_2vα8#ht2Hrǎo?iNo? ۟Ρi7~>K>}?WU8?˹>~)4ajn<}iU}?y|Ǿqjꫦ]ZGoo/=#˿Og]W/aKhË-E;WaճCf8Nm\ʖzxðT#P]ǵkwϡZj>Sڥ˹q9x]uB=s?ꡪ`pph/.ɶ.=iSTMTvjpsF{SԳ>XRo!>i+=x8=/?\\\6.LՈǘz]`~цo%b/=%jZ;kS[R/4 ? ;/8ؿbvO>-ւFpƏC=u=ح}M Ll'k|!^ ]o ƺUskb`=WW~0ʮ4d/m[[L[qQS["NaoCaUmg[75$Ҕn=:~pXK іx ETI8̿TT w| 1:P\&3^'[9.)pr9/% &}~_/OpV%Lrk_Bړ_BC=}ThIIrMXOe[ۙi|r<=DӗnR Qamd'{>#VcB uL< Յv^!/YwL_x&z:KJk-i͢ fMr]a6pK3sw/ V〵l1~r6G{n4!%.4P&kb67{#ħyĵ-ae{ vDoO-:N(0؍v`=z hג=9ni1#8(~LX|O_#N;]7=$f^0ߛNڨ?>TVJzDٓ>fOd\X?v˶ַP :RP%y5~0,p6r4>n8ż۶>Q栧P"|gL\kU#DX^v߅$6=geQ1}|ƶ=7L<mX5@mbKi^*~}j^lapd#MyK#Yjwib[5I7hnKbHIXTɞ^af(7PçQC;&z++1p{O2Zu ML2fl)sq}f`t]aZ!smrqK?ga~ddf+$L_IlkYi `jgllRjsI-bcR`QOYwo3c} YŽ[*>Ք^w#넵7gbaE>LjOf SmtYƙ8ѨEЉ_kٙ [!m^WIYgsTC?6YU-;-:lӒ L"~^KSp Eq<mD#v|md"̔ Xc?TwmZ82Cv͈ C.LC{\o/\Ej) .@,njb@;v*1qW_Nւ>Qns3#zoϲO]O`[m3(BƠH,B-'8Yx|R-K;mU zs[<1N %# 1PLg?cT$aE=2CU1MnJ'k 6 Ql/UEP&;L-=v $:\;&/…nm?PLi rnafۚ_jK^%"AucnH3 j0xTXpw)mLYy'pfNO[f5DYdcj 6M´4Wi˄ ^f|̟`g}zcN2jo9t7aǐbÕXp< R6#]r@p:!1·`f4{tGeܼyaط#2R4vQ'ȟ!6\8;2Y}ဢ'!%3 {RcX/aZGNsSf\H\= 5qCCcI]r`b)!#ޢf m Dܫ̶\0Q֏ܒk~ƒx RPkUH &;M5NbZV oZ=/%CWӜ`!{ܫ[>#W˘hEzLd͵%uRIWRSbM`]&8>gKg?kËsh듸,dOKK=kW%b}I ,eX渵 \r͎&*7nd?wjG_z*x>պC%hB|~lM1ao^6B^̮A񾝚3ed .!޶qgQNbVV(&9yV\#U`8kep-O5囯@B#fjuu \1r] tWB9U5~J+@LrfupЋ7KD)g eix:! `8i hѩ¸_um}2Vה>j x_?S>>H d-I@50ɺOHxOǖs(F荷`QEv-9Yװdwr=0>2l*^My7߳P.cU lmA"XnKsF,$ HGNE),WDpCyR= .^_:/ozBig %e?#XtgӉI<\eFQ؍R5bۇѭSO#}bU>ϫ\X+n5q\G'RFPmzZ>-B3îXPdTt  ų6\[LTEYHԌXބO-kO.hA mr_uΡxJEoOʖ0=(XH:M5;9I9"]6uk_[_W}Z0' 8ª2P% fiau1E.Pwm{QY1u “ /gѝ{v< RXb,4 5$xTۏM)pۢNQyJ995f<WN#6$&Su,~3 t{bF]䂤q\ʓE"L yB5!1'ީ ߗ{Px#Z!`rmx{¯Ebve+HMOՉ3"lec0шGAPO9`F1Jo!$qB>Qdj0B؁%/[w8:s&G3K魇R@˷)ҵ^:&iJnYQ51y&5{}L,f6@WpiCɖ)"/[z]ov,B4˯7ccYe]te ڑ?WL+Sh4"NVY_bEji4,򬒴~yl@`MiCH]|Gb.Xݳ3E}IĘbr yGlg_5qo`V)nI[nĠD%{P};ϬAuEG|IGFr:~9ؒEqg6-$>;T!iuKaʜڇǴr_6bGEjLIsU@`=db"zۊ$4TD-:jΒ%k dǥEqI˭P@IfxKj\gJBfLWW?Xg:E镱$6N^r33ś^gF`a1O=X"LZQ%;I^Eݎ񁢭p'{5JB`㉕,~(#܌ǩ;+J?, QnxfRel%jtll=̿Ƣŧf-kCI$23)7>D:A(nb.jH ln,&(\9(VtlΝuwQLdQ&o ҆1QfL4h.`A-i\=ֵ 1@pB?։ojmyE%uj %"y;ФA861յгW3 u 3QxAdi,'q{psQ-S `ZdX@&B)Ṗ`wpO]kRS_|ҵ|#900l~eoq4H=?g>aOF-x~SOϣLeJ$((qꚌlYԗBPñ[py3ڙ|T4խ\ݜ*f ד PSO_V: =X/`x zYzTuJ x%K؃ db"zͨ˰hua}յsu=mҟ`9BЁ;G|^xyP8-U.;/;g0&9+o_A58~9TI3a$VN-_suWbQw2udf{|i PId>]nÜM,xr XSAbF#}5"NC*kM PGH"OT6^j;#]1_U"bm.!w|<<>siy/ !S-4W7S?Q,.W|aRwT[Db[\u'2OgD ~J:18}ALN[Lgp!Sr`-VXe83Mŕ!=cL'˩( WBaC } ͮ;P Vy/ :Y!aصݟL+@kFSvvrm]nf*eT[rpl)J@Yr~%Ɨ:0xzp[JP:׀1=`mP[&.?Yk.Jw\ςs,ɬ vN o"!Y&k?x ^))IxصzCƧ[h|fL?,\4+b;'g&S~s֊l'O!BkLܙTW\LN)==2wi,-+s|xIaHF|ݷCdz羑Rޒ0 M6QWܲߨnڳo X<}ϼg,O$oX,~1!~ĝ]ߊ&|Ϲ >'yZ{1x~CbzL8OA OAY=b[f&N@ʡӪT)I%Zo{Bb'w9EېuTs!Vթ~H ҙ8aF12_x1#*ҭXwf>RJif}jԬnu K*# ]! { 50PϺR=tehsg=I Px]a}1V "N6`PJWeT?%Z~(I9&H$'lzh_VO }`'0|v`&44ir'Ńs ptKf:(9}+U%]H}L&%%X;Ha`ih/e1=h]KPJHc)TLa')ݚR^^QmK|{5%O)cy)[Op|fWIjwY,F ojv,[Z !ʒkw^ald!Gf6 0K( pas.HE,rs0L%kg=ȗ0{DITtv-yp[aDW*¾cf"|Q" vP_&Lv9TXY7,zaC<{P LV/ ]8*vxoE Nbib ['^ə(Tѓy%l#,Np$&ogq:LٷxՐ*Oh9>/0$L @4aPsj}Z2m~7>e*cG9%p ltэHyx [4zxӖ_"bٸrs1F5Çu>Ur>S{TI.MfUU zd9<'*yQVhGӡUk3<䔇H/z72yAc0GV{OP<>V srKAH/ c1C9h [Τk+a-` 64$L tJز(ЩXRi?.:xE $w@GNF[ ( 9ș#;u! UG+I.)#d>ذV.=T4{r0P}9F*36k3CfIH ެ10ȭ(_g:`X5aú&vyH^'/ f^f>6XW,*I&~C%-6mocYT-i@d@/bu w6QѴOMajS;qoE:0inri%/mi.ZO2ӷ"PJ03,& f?e2.Db;V/E5mL%I^ nS/3 *op1oٞ7kK9Q#u:,FE׌#b oDG ,VX,/k^-OK5G2S4I0+F5Ş(|oUδ}X> &d/ +T`C&P"u5MN#''(aO &F2h }6PV`i+{|ⶃ=T{4}zcэf3ҙ4DMKRQ.ك]SD>Sܢ-ǛӒƗ(lK[em gs-΂S3 LrZٱ@^Ays4m42n%# X8) WZ?R#]c?`v6M121a)[$i4ui-b|A!M.NœZ>|(0B˫@tc7rMx^f[g~qmGbCŷy![|mׅe…W-㶠5,؂ SK :A?!5eQu{ 8)>G,zLUKѬ4 ,:W Ve7RǗm7Zh*j~8\VA3挢mfPlSH&J.N=ot= uHOϐ NV̈EZmt;XP0R ˾Anޮӎ2 Y^y9v~ߋ%ubۈ:Wq8b.ԢNUl^#+ՏOkV~zxFo#;ӘD}E1=%bu miX>SrH΄ɽE-L&N~ ̛sa|7%7uqx$p,Ag8-1`5;Vi1m͹zDB8‰Eо<)mw2nQ/'di&D1ĈqcųB{nbƵ'b!BM'AdLZOc%$4*'+"44=`ڴfNut@#HYشX^ƋQ_1qvftp4^q>o?~n,l}~P.+8U0P|5z>P;úV֛c>| g-{XcͥjMdkkl6ujtic ;W- 0C%y9eAb&~>d%s'&1zG dsFsY4gnw!1cfvI$d/lkއn=y^fo%6iWCTߙ#MpduޘjB&.Αՙ'Y2 @;4EgߋMʄ&tCLޠ @s]k>Z5N{D=7y!{eW!;B1l| G~\~:SBq ^VQ~ڻpᰝ!#>-?*m{3vO>pCI4qEkN R|?* " 5Q+?c{y8IRk $F] 26p䔳s{8XycSfImcGu_ sI?ߜcviR4ݒh~"5ꖏœ8XTPMCtD1,s2Sm6*$ oqY@E!?i3&xe!fb )m=+p B rA9 ]цYp]垡(~~PcP)E% kVy)nD*҉*73^IA1*-<vͪkvfZ8:^9COFd Fy2Z[ř׋h%9K #l=X;N.*lC`M`ɷHյe)J`fz>\*FEl !%i.N9gF`%,h)n998xN)gCFEGXpR-rDOz&D("R4yOzPCȢ=Jx^MmM@kBOoUT |@N3eEcjct8gZ6){(#3'܇'`9L]vج HfXJc =&͡fqbY v1n'ylAތq%R5u򜖫(غ MlV >Au#;1כ ~F.A9k^.A,@|Zң4 F\8mͣL!junc^݉f{iEѐɑl0+Z(8й'F7lVB1$ڳ.(C t92Ҭv839#7ZԅeWL<>SvjEn‰"M4u?iJqT..eׯ@j(~E[<{I*Ek jbtz +/MӐZγJ ʟ~mIښM" RPF묭9_wI9?#!kbGrD9Rm"v͈&e:j+s>c>UbFq |&my:-3@R,ѹ4js9 Niլ&fAeWJ`R#~|nÆ 47(NAԜ XL LZN\Qb< '³jEz⸙|G JG>.DY*@k " AI:HGi!'D֘\w4}9:LtBn}uxŴ&EăSf^~6UaѡLH1fV"|}#VV-f?oE oa=tGwl.=-LH4a 覱 jՏ=MOqs gHX Zc&v/xgn!GamIl"(Ғky-_ՠ|ƈsăxR<3-6<֋F{p; Uh2uM|Lc,&9SaN'+8p؂T dg!jT0foH;ijk }4%? IU}չAǃ^݌qfkNwJл(Q: ',ɫT^\/Ys#(⢧C4-nX3Qc!zE2U,JG>ԏC~K;wqjIqvgJ|4B'-"esa2ԟ34X1'KAͧ,վ"i}/Fac#5G'qll~RFe>sgSp ~&$+N0vZMh3[xX4(1m?nt/;S osӚw(mNn'\EY˳f@ԙbfwt;wv)8JQ2<̎81JЦ騛jܱE%) I#Ț604Z5k'd1ȑ|@rNƒ&5|.vY㊑xM.oHZ\Ir3|j:Wµ"pozA`WděS-G.ܣ?v盭ml6&N2?CB3SjD]4XtUE/!N9-RڞQx|&UF!uy0q[\X A'M_J}t}d ~̮N`C>9Sf5Qh,!Op}#3kE5&PnѴb&Z.6$l}XQL<%AedxX]1C&iBQQhz(lvyg5=ƪ*0{33tVkh ʋb~Ie .!dmZy8F<(Jr]#!tpQ=1VO"/W†Wwm#cBxxgwI{ë>=B.0ʔΏ" G9,}aBsri-,&  pĨvyX!q rz`1]Y]s"1dn/ǧZǰ6JhðRetP|ݭDsmDӾ07aLFT|ql XK~m6^ |*^'mP"I<'b|mSAe %PvJդF1/Y𥊛ØjZh(G<f$D?v tu$`.X^%12fQ.c{)R Ft-uF?wCl 8]l3vXu?JxB4p, Irկ0CcQx,s)H 7~. 9ôʦ"T3: ӽ}4p]p;th 58dRY@/c-` -5g?j)F>E6Qt s?
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1