Pyr SF Editorial Director Lou Anders writes that, “For the first time ever, Pyr is making one of our novels available entirely for free as an ebook. Sean Williams‘ The Crooked Letter: Books of the Cataclysm: One is available now as a PDF from this page.” Pyr first published the hardcover in April 2006, after it won the 2005 Aurealis and Ditmar awards (it was originally published by HarperCollins Australia in July 2004).
The book’s story is that, “When mirror twins Seth and Hadrian Castillo travel to Europe on holidays, they don’t expect the end of the world to follow them. Seth’s murder, however, puts exactly that into motion.
“From opposite sides of death, the Castillo twins grapple with a reality neither of them suspected, although it has been encoded in myths and legends for millennia. The Earth we know is just one of many ‘realms’, three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives. And their afterlives…
“In the tradition of Philip Pullman and Ursula K. Le Guin, and inspired by numerous arcane sources, the Books of the Cataclysm begin in the present world but soon propel the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.”
The second, third, and fourth volumes in the series are available, all published by HC Australia. The Blood Debt appeared in April 2005, with Pyr’s edition following in October 2006. The Hanging Mountains was published in December 2005 (Pyr, 2007). The Devoured Earth appeared in June 2006 (no word on the Pyr edition).