A Dirge for Prester John Series by Catherynne M. Valente

This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries... moreThis is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries. But what if it were all true? What if there was such a place, and a poor, broken priest once stumbled past its borders, discovering, not a Christian paradise, but a country where everything is possible, immortality is easily had, and the Western world is nothing but a dim and distant dream?Brother Hiob of Luzerne, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness on the eve of the eighteenth century, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These strange books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prester John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell. The Habitation of the Blessed recounts the fragmented narratives found within these living volumes, revealing the life of a priest named John, and his rise to power in this country of impossible richness. John's tale weaves together with the confessions of his wife Hagia, a blemmye--a headless creature who carried her face on her chest--as well as the tender, jeweled nursery stories of Imtithal, nanny to the royal family. less

When the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father's palace, she brings with her news of war in the West--the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore... moreWhen the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father's palace, she brings with her news of war in the West--the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore. Three narratives intertwine to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John and Queen of Pentexore, who takes up arms with the rest of her nation to fight a war they barely understand, Vyala, a lion-philosopher entrusted with the care of the deformed and prophetic royal princess, and another John, John Mandeville, who in his many travels discovers the land of Pentexore--on the other side of the diamond wall meant to keep demons and monsters at bay.These three voices weave a story of death, faith, beauty, and power, dancing in the margins of true history, illuminating a place that never was. less

The story is built through the parallel love stories of Anglitora and her affair with a Chinese cartographer, Shun-Yuan, on the one hand, and the older, sadder, more complex love of Prester John and Hagia on the other. We follow the slow encroachment of reality on the fantastic inhabitants of the kingdom and the narrowing of the unmeasured spaces they survived in. We also read the cartographer's tale, and come to understand the impulse to know the truth, even at the cost of wonders... moreThe story is built through the parallel love stories of Anglitora and her affair with a Chinese cartographer, Shun-Yuan, on the one hand, and the older, sadder, more complex love of Prester John and Hagia on the other. We follow the slow encroachment of reality on the fantastic inhabitants of the kingdom and the narrowing of the unmeasured spaces they survived in. We also read the cartographer's tale, and come to understand the impulse to know the truth, even at the cost of wonders. Prester John and Hagia reconcile as the creatures of the Kingdom prepare to leave the world. When the time comes, Hagia and her step-daughter leave their lovers behind. Prester John's faith in Christ and love of the human world cost him his kingdom and his love, but the parting is bittersweet. The half-bird daughter leaves behind a child for the cartographer to raise in his world of maps and certainty, and that child is the many-times-great grandmother of the monk's guide. The tree of books and the downy hair of the native guide are the only remaining signs that once the Kingdom was more than a story. less