ISBN 0-553-29542-X (US pbk),,, 0-553-40350-8 (UK pbk)

"This is the story of a multi-leveled society forever protected from the presumed horrors of the Outside having to come face to face with its worst fears." [promo]

"Four centuries after the Third Shining, the Orsinas rule absolute in the domed city-state of Araboth. A fortress built at the ocean's edge, Araboth protects its citizens from the presumed horrors of Outside. But now, the predictions of Araboth's collapse seem near fulfilment. As the Prince of Storms gathers Outside, amidst a giddy atmosphere of decadent ritual inside, four inhabitants of Araboth will come together in one last hope for survival. Prisoner and privileged alike, this small group will face the opening gates to welcome the raging Aestival Tide.

"In a stunning feat of the imagination, Elizabeth Hand takes us once again into a world shaken by forces of devastating evil, sustained by a fragile ray of hope. Breathtaking in its invention, mesmerizing in the telling, Aestival Tide is the intoxicating sequel to the highly praised Winterlong ." [jacket blurb, UK pbk, 1992]