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The Rowan
The Rowan
Nov 14, 2025 9:12 AM

Author:Anne McCaffrey

The Rowan

Let Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, open your mind to new worlds and new concepts: alien nations, psychic powers, telepathy and planetary systems. Perfect for fans of David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams.

'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' -- THE TIMES

'Marvellous from the beginning to the end, believable, spellbinding, mind-bending, truly magnificent' -- ***** Reader review

'Thrilling and exciting' -- ***** Reader review

'Fabulous from beginning to end' -- ***** Reader review

'Simply awesome' -- ***** Reader review

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The Talents were the elite of the Nine Star League. Their gifts were many and varied, ranging from the gently telepathic, to the rare and extremely valued Primes. On the Primes rested the entire economic wealth and communications systems of the civilised worlds.

But Primes were scarce - only very rarely was a new one born. And now, on the planet Altair, in a small mining colony on the western mountain range, a new Prime existed, a three-year-old girl - trapped in a giant mud slide that had wiped out the rest of the Rowan mining community.

Every Altarian who was even mildly talented could 'hear' the child crying for help, but no one knew where she was buried. Every resource on the planet was centred into finding 'The Rowan' - the new Prime, the first ever to be born on Altair, an exceptionally unique Prime, more talented, more powerful, more agoraphobic, more lonely, than any other Prime yet known in the Nine Star league...

Reviews

'One of the best McCaffrey novels to come along in years'

—— Locus

The literary skills of Hari Kunzru are evident throughout this complex and disturbing novel . . . beautifully constructed sentences . . . A brilliant crossover literary feat . . . Careful readers will find Kunzru himself is something of a trickster

—— Annie Proulx

Consistently atmospheric . . . Richly detailed . . . For all the wit, this is a dark portrait of modern morals . . . Kunzru tenderly teases out the humanity, to powerful emotional effect

—— GQ

Psychological acuity, a wonderful linguistic precision and the ability to make beautiful accordance between form and content via thoughtful narrative experiment. Gods without Men is a step further along the road towards the full realisation of Kunzru's early promise. It makes undeniable the claim that he is one of our most important novelists . . . As large and cruel and real as life . . . Never less than entertaining

—— Independent on Sunday

With each novel, Hari Kunzru is proving himself a subtler and more ingenious writer . . . his most ambitious work yet

—— Scotland on Sunday

Gods Without Men is a dazed, erudite and unforgettable novel

—— David Mitchell

Kunzru's gift for satire remains undimmed . . . Kunzru has already established himself as one of the most socially observant and skilful novelists around. In Gods Without Men, he has raised his game still further, creating a mature, intricately balanced fiction that is consistently gripping and entertaining

—— Literary Review

A funny, beautifully observed novel that raises big questions about how far events and people, past and present, are connected. But for all the big ideas, it is also surprisingly moving

—— Psychologies

Dizzying scope . . . It is a testament to Kunzru's ability as a writer that Gods Without Men presents so many characters sketched so vividly

—— New Statesman

Kunzru's gift for the plain craft of prose, [and the wilful idiosyncrasy that] has shaped this sprawling, multi-stranded novel

—— Metro

Involving, thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining

—— Daily Mail

Hugely entertaining . . . A warm and well-travelled intelligence . . . Heartwarming

—— Sunday Express

His biggest, most ambitious and most engaging novel to date

—— The Times

Psychological acuity, a wonderful linguistic precision and the ability to make beautiful accordance between form and content via thoughtful narrative experiment. Gods without Men is a step further along the road towards the full realisation of Kunzru's early promise. It makes undeniable the claim that he is one of our most important novelists . . . As large and cruel and real as life

—— Independent on Sunday

Ambitiously eclectic . . . smartly sharp social detail, high-fidelity dialogue, vivid evocation of place . . . ironic wit and exuberant guyings of paranormal gobbledegook

—— The Sunday Times

Fuelled by an energetic intelligence. Along with a love of big ideas came narrative zest, verbal and comic flair, and an acute eye for contemporary mores both East and West . . . Gods with Men marks another new and bold departure . . . This really is Kunru's great American novel . . . Compulsively readable, skilfully orchestrated, Kunzru's American odyssey brings a new note into his underlying preoccupation with human identity'

—— Independent

Being able to create a vivid sense of place is one of the hallmarks of a quality literary writer, but few could have done so as brilliantly as Hari Kunzru in his latest novel Gods without Men

—— Big Issue

Intensely involving . . . Gods Without Men is one of the best novels of the year

—— Daily Telegraph
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