Nicked
M. T. Anderson
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
"[An] uproarious saga . . . drawing on contemporary accounts, fantastical folk tales, and [Anderson's] own knack for high jinks."--New York Times Book Review "[A] rollicking comic novel."--NPR "M. T. Anderson is one of our greatest and most precious voices."--Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians Trilogy From the award-winning and bestselling author of Feed comes a raucous, slyly funny, and delightfully queer work of historical fantasy, based on a bizarre but true quest to steal the mystical corpse of a long-dead saint The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus. Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for "liberating" holy relics from their tombs. The seven-hundred-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the "dreamer," will be his guide. What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft. Based on real historical accounts, Nicked is a swashbuckling saga, a medieval novel noir, a meditation on the miraculous, and a monastic meet-cute, filled with wide-eyed wonder at the world that awaits beyond our own borders.
Product Details
Price
$28.00
$26.04
Publisher
Pantheon Books
Publish Date
July 23, 2024
Pages
240
Dimensions
5.4 X 8.3 X 1.0 inches | 0.79 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780593701607
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About the Author
M. T. ANDERSON is the New York Times best-selling author of Feed, a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, winner of the 2006 National Book Award; and Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Prize winner, among many other books for children and young adults. He is also the author of three graphic novels, including The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, a National Book Award finalist, with Eugene Yelchin. Elf Dog & Owl Head, his most recent novel for children, won a Newbery Honor. He lives in New England.
Reviews
A Most-Anticipated Book from Los Angeles Times, Polygon, Parade, and Town & Country
"[A] rollicking comic novel."
--NPR "If there's one thing about M.T. Anderson, it's that he's going to write a book with a plot that's as delightful and captivating as it is downright strange. His adult debut Nicked is no exception . . . . What follows is a heist that is complex and action packed enough to make even the likes of Steven Soderbergh jealous."
--Polygon "[Nicked] positively thrums with excitement . . . . There's something of The Princess Bride in Anderson's simultaneous undercutting and celebration of adventure fiction . . . a fine summer frolic that wears its themes lightly and should win Anderson many new readers."
--Boston Globe "The 11th century queer romantic adventure you didn't know you were looking for."
--Los Angeles Times
"An epic adventure on land and sea, enjoyable not just for the Byzantine strategies and sabotage, but also because of the unpredictable pairing of passive Nicephorus with the aggressive and worldly Tyun . . . . Reminiscent of Indiana Jones and The Princess Bride, Nicked delivers an entertaining and grown-up adventure rooted in religion, humanity and friendship."
--Bookpage
"[A] rich combination of action, adventure, history and fantasy . . . [and a] precise yet irreverent approach to historical fiction."
--WBUR "M.T. Anderson is simply one of the best writers working today in any genre."
--Parade
"A deeply entertaining work of historical fiction--and we can never resist a good heist story."
--Town & Country "Anderson is a once-in-a-generation perfect storm of wit, ethical zing, and sheer linguistic power."
--George Saunders, author of Liberation Day and Lincoln in the Bardo "M. T. Anderson is one of our greatest and most precious voices. His books aren't just brilliantly witty and vastly entertaining, they're fixed stars of wisdom and sanity in our increasingly unhinged universe. When lost, I use them to steer by."
--Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians Trilogy "Witty and deeply affecting, a pointed send-up of power, theology, ownership, and the divine, all executed with masterful flair."
--Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo "Miracles, marvels, saints, sinners, love, plague, and treachery! M. T. Anderson has laid out a medieval feast of a novel, stuffed with everything I could have wished for. If I could canonize him for it, I would. But I'll settle for shouting about how much I love this book."
--Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love "A miracle worker, M. T. Anderson has exhumed the bones of holy legend and startled them to life. Nicked is a far-fetched caper based on the actual heist of the corpse of Saint Nicholas. At once blessedly comic and acerbic, Anderson's confession of devotion to the unresolvable mysteries of faith and love had me laughing out loud and tearing up--nearly simultaneously."
--Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked and Elphie "Enthralling . . . in a novel this funny, it would be all too easy to let an omniscient, present-day narrator earn laughs at the expense of its characters' outdated beliefs, but Anderson instead approaches the medieval with curiosity and compassion . . . . An always entertaining and unexpectedly poignant adventure as rare and gleaming as a reliquary."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"[A] rollicking tale . . . Anderson stocks the exhilarating narrative with sea battles, comely spies, duels, and double crosses, and succeeds at transporting the reader back to 11th-century Italy and Byzantium. Readers will be swept up in this marvelous adventure."
--Publishers Weekly (starred) "The cleverness of this page-turner begins with its title . . . NBA-winning author M.T. Anderson's humorous, suspenseful adult debut, inspired by an actual 11th-century heist of St. Nicholas's remains, deftly demonstrates the circularity of human history."
--Shelf Awareness
"[A] rollicking comic novel."
--NPR "If there's one thing about M.T. Anderson, it's that he's going to write a book with a plot that's as delightful and captivating as it is downright strange. His adult debut Nicked is no exception . . . . What follows is a heist that is complex and action packed enough to make even the likes of Steven Soderbergh jealous."
--Polygon "[Nicked] positively thrums with excitement . . . . There's something of The Princess Bride in Anderson's simultaneous undercutting and celebration of adventure fiction . . . a fine summer frolic that wears its themes lightly and should win Anderson many new readers."
--Boston Globe "The 11th century queer romantic adventure you didn't know you were looking for."
--Los Angeles Times
"An epic adventure on land and sea, enjoyable not just for the Byzantine strategies and sabotage, but also because of the unpredictable pairing of passive Nicephorus with the aggressive and worldly Tyun . . . . Reminiscent of Indiana Jones and The Princess Bride, Nicked delivers an entertaining and grown-up adventure rooted in religion, humanity and friendship."
--Bookpage
"[A] rich combination of action, adventure, history and fantasy . . . [and a] precise yet irreverent approach to historical fiction."
--WBUR "M.T. Anderson is simply one of the best writers working today in any genre."
--Parade
"A deeply entertaining work of historical fiction--and we can never resist a good heist story."
--Town & Country "Anderson is a once-in-a-generation perfect storm of wit, ethical zing, and sheer linguistic power."
--George Saunders, author of Liberation Day and Lincoln in the Bardo "M. T. Anderson is one of our greatest and most precious voices. His books aren't just brilliantly witty and vastly entertaining, they're fixed stars of wisdom and sanity in our increasingly unhinged universe. When lost, I use them to steer by."
--Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians Trilogy "Witty and deeply affecting, a pointed send-up of power, theology, ownership, and the divine, all executed with masterful flair."
--Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo "Miracles, marvels, saints, sinners, love, plague, and treachery! M. T. Anderson has laid out a medieval feast of a novel, stuffed with everything I could have wished for. If I could canonize him for it, I would. But I'll settle for shouting about how much I love this book."
--Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love "A miracle worker, M. T. Anderson has exhumed the bones of holy legend and startled them to life. Nicked is a far-fetched caper based on the actual heist of the corpse of Saint Nicholas. At once blessedly comic and acerbic, Anderson's confession of devotion to the unresolvable mysteries of faith and love had me laughing out loud and tearing up--nearly simultaneously."
--Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked and Elphie "Enthralling . . . in a novel this funny, it would be all too easy to let an omniscient, present-day narrator earn laughs at the expense of its characters' outdated beliefs, but Anderson instead approaches the medieval with curiosity and compassion . . . . An always entertaining and unexpectedly poignant adventure as rare and gleaming as a reliquary."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"[A] rollicking tale . . . Anderson stocks the exhilarating narrative with sea battles, comely spies, duels, and double crosses, and succeeds at transporting the reader back to 11th-century Italy and Byzantium. Readers will be swept up in this marvelous adventure."
--Publishers Weekly (starred) "The cleverness of this page-turner begins with its title . . . NBA-winning author M.T. Anderson's humorous, suspenseful adult debut, inspired by an actual 11th-century heist of St. Nicholas's remains, deftly demonstrates the circularity of human history."
--Shelf Awareness
