The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

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The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe.jpg
Cover of first edition
Author Kij Johnson
Cover artist Victo Ngai
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Tor.com
Publication date
2016
Media typePaperback, ebook
Pages165 pages
ISBN 978-0-7653-9141-4

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is a 2016 fantasy novella by American writer Kij Johnson, revisiting H. P. Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath from the viewpoint of a woman. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook format by Tor.com.

Contents

Synopsis

When a student at Ulthar Women's College runs off with a man from the Waking World, professor Vellitt Boe — a retired adventurer — must track her down and convince her to return.

Reception

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe won the 2017 World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction, [1] and was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 2016, [2] the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novella, [3] and the 2017 Locus Award for Best Novella. [4]

Publishers Weekly called it "absorbing" and "utterly irresistible", lauding Johnson for "(s)uperb worldbuilding and gorgeous prose". [5]

At National Public Radio, Amal El-Mohtar noted that the story is "perfectly self-contained", and can be appreciated without any knowledge of the source material on which it is based. [6]

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References

  1. World Fantasy Convention 2017; at WorldFantasy.org; retrieved April 11, 2018
  2. “The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe” at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved April 11, 2018
  3. 2017 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 11, 2018
  4. 2017 Locus Awards Finalists at Locus ; published May 12, 2017; retrieved April 11, 2018
  5. The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, reviewed at Publishers Weekly ; published July 18, 2016; retrieved April 11, 2018
  6. Everything Has Meaning In The Dream World Of 'Vellitt Boe', by Amal El-Mohtar, at National Public Radio; published August 27, 2016; retrieved April 11, 2018