Table of Contents

Title Page

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF THE PROMETHEAN AGE

Principal Players in Ink and Steel

Epigraph

Prologue

Act I, scene i

Act I, scene ii

Act I, scene iii

Act I, scene iv

Act I, scene v

Act I, scene vi

Act I, scene vii

Act I, scene viii

Act I, scene ix

Act I, scene x

Intra-act: Chorus

Act II, scene i

Act II, scene ii

Act II, scene iii

Act II, scene iv

Act II, scene v

Act II, scene vi

Act II, scene vii

Act II, scene viii

Act II, scene ix

Act II, scene x

Act II, scene xi

Act II, scene xii

Act II, scene xiii

Act II, scene xiv

Act II, scene xv

Act II, scene xvi

Act II, scene xvii

Act II, scene xviii

Act II, scene xix

Act II, scene xx

Intra-act: Chorus

Act III, scene i

Act III, scene ii

Act III, scene iii

Act III, scene iv

Act III, scene v

Act III, scene vi

Act III, scene vii

Act III, scene viii

Act III, scene ix

Act III, scene x

Act III, scene xi

Act III, scene xii

Act III, scene xiii

Act III, scene xiv

Act III, scene xv

Act III, scene xvi

Act III, scene xvii

Act III, scene xviii

Act III, scene xix

Act III, scene xx

Act III, scene xxi

Act III, scene xxii

Intra-act: Chorus

 About the Author

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF THE PROMETHEAN AGE

Whiskey and Water

The many varied plots skillfully and subtly interweave into a finale withserious punch. Elizabeth Bear’ writing style is as dense, complex, andsubtle as her plots and characters. The style reminds me a little of Tolkien.This is definitely not a book to sit down to for a light, fluffy read. But ifyou immerse yourself in this rich, dark world, you will be rewarded withcharacters with layers of motivation and relationships that weave through theworld’ destiny like an intricate spider’ web.

  SFRevu

[Whiskey and Water] reaffirms [Bear s] skill at creating memorable and memorably flawed characters as well as her sure hand at blending together themodern world with the world of the Fae. Her elegant storytelling shouldappeal to fans of Charles de lint, Jim Butcher, and other cross-world andurban fantasy authors.

  Library Journal

Bear brings a new level of detail to the subject, and her magical creaturesare an interesting mix of familiar and unfamiliar traits.

  Don D Ammasa, Critical Mass

Bear succeeds in crafting a rich world… . It’ a book that I couldn tput down, with a world in which I found myself easily enthralled andenchanted, not necessarily by Faerie, but by Bear’ poetic expression andknife-sharp narrative.

  Rambles

Intrigued and delighted sum up my reaction to Whiskey and Water as a whole. Don’t think of it as a sequel, because it’ not: It’ the next part ofthe story, and just as rich, magical, and poetic as its predecessor. … I mhoping for another one.

   The Green Man Review

The wonderful Promethean Age series just keeps getting better. Bear has aknack for writing beautifully damaged characters, who manage to be both alienand sympathetic at the same time, and then putting them in situations wherethey have no choice but to go through the fire. The result is glorious.

  Romantic Times (Top Pick)

Cleverly designed and well written … a delightful tale filled with allsorts of otherworldly species. Alternative Worlds Blood and Iron “Blood and Iron takes everything you think you know about Faerie and twistsit until it bleeds.

  Sarah Monette, author of The Mirador

Bear works out her background with the detail orientation of a sciencefiction writer, spins her prose like a veil-dancing fantasist, and neverforgets to keep an iron fist in that velvet glove.

  The Agony Column

Complex and nuanced… . Bear does a fantastic job with integrating thesecenturies-old elements into a thoroughly modern tale of transformation, love,and courage. Romantic Times

Bear overturns the usual vision of Faerie, revealing the compelling beautyand darkness only glimpsed in old ballads and stories like Tam lin.

  Publishers Weekly

This is excellent work. Bear confronts Faerie head-on, including thedangerous and ugly bits, and doesn’t shield the reader with reassuringhappily-ever-after vibes… . She also writes a few brilliant scenes andset pieces, the most memorable for me being … the beautifully handled(and beautifully explained) Tolkien homage near the climax… . I’m lookingforward to spending more time in this world. Eyrie… and for the other novels of Elizabeth Bear

A gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek inside a future world we’d allbetter hope we don’t get, liberally seasoned with VR delights andenigmatically weird alien artifacts… . Elizabeth Bear builds her futurenightmare tale with style and conviction and a constant return to the twistsof the human heart.

  Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

Very exciting, very polished, very impressive.

  Mike Resnick, author of Starship: Mercenary

Gritty, insightful, and daring.

  David Brin, author of the Uplift novels and Kiln People

A glorious hybrid: hard science, dystopian geopolitics, and wide-eyed sense

of wonder seamlessly blended into a single book.

  Peter Watts, author of Blindsight

Elizabeth Bear has carved herself out a fantastic little world… . It’ rare to find a book with so many characters you genuinely care about. It’ aroller coaster of a good thriller, too.

  SF Crowsnest

 “What Bear has done … is create a world that is all too plausible, onewracked by environmental devastation and political chaos… . She conductsa tour of this society’ darker corners, offering an unnerving peek into afuture humankind would be wise to avoid. SciFi.com An enthralling roller-coaster ride through a dark and possible near future.

  Starlog

[Bear] does it like a juggler who’ also a magician.

  The Mumpsimus

combined with a selection of historical and literary figures as may be convenient to the reader.

Alleyn, Edward : (Ned) A player. Principal Tragedian of the lord Admiral’s Men.

Amaranth : A lamia

Arthur : A King of Britain. Mostly dead.

Baines, Richard : An intelligencer and Promethean

Bassano lanyer, Abilia : England’s first professional woman poet. Mistress of Henry Carey. Sadly, not appearing in this book because I did not have room for her.

Bassano, Augustine : Court musician to Elizabeth, Venetian Jew, father to Abilia, and intimate of Roderigo Lopez. Also not appearing in this volume,but I promise you, he and Abilia and Roderigo and Alfonso had manyinteresting adventures that Will never found out about. Someday I will write the Jews of Elizabeth’s Court book and you can find out all about it.