Book excerpt: The stunning debut novel from one of genre fictions most exciting new voices. All is not well in Glassholm. Life under the moon has always been so predictable: day follows night, wax phases to wane and, after the despair of every Darkday, a person's mood soars to euphoria at Full. So it has been for five hundred years, ever since the Lunane captured the moon and tethered it to the city. Now, all that has changed. Amidst rumours of unsettling dreams and strange whispering children, society is disintegrating into unrest and violence. The very sea has turned against Glassholm and the island's luck monkeys have gone wild, distributing new fates to all and sundry. Turmoil is coming. Three people find themselves at the eye of the storm: a former policeman investigating a series of macabre murders, an outsider artist embroiled in the murky intrigues of revolution, and a renegade engineer tasked with fixing the ancient machine at the city's heart. Each must fulfil their role or see Glassholm shaken apart, while all are subject to the machinations of their inscrutable and eternal monarch, The Moon King. "Williamson's territories are the liminal experience and the murky corners of the psyche. He is a virtuoso of the fleeting glimpse, a laureate of loss." - Andrew Hedgecock, Interzone "Worth buying and reading, not once but many times." - Keith Brooke, Infinity Plus "A truly unique fantasy, The Moon King is a mysterious, luminous read, full of intriguing characters and featuring a twisty, page-turning plot. Beautifully written and thoughtful. Sure to be one of the best debuts of this or any other year." - Jeff VanderMeer "A talented writer who transcends genre, and should be bought, read and cherished." - Shaun Green, Yet Another Book Review "I'm salivating at the thought of his forthcoming full novel The Moon King." - Charles Packer, Sci-fi Online. "Williamson is one of the best Scottish short story writers alive today." - Jim Steel