Nobody's Son
{{Short description|1993 fantasy novel by Sean Stewart}}
{{for|the 1917 Hungarian film|Nobody's Son (film)}}
{{Infobox book
| author = Sean Stewart
| image = Nobody's Son.jpg
| caption = First edition
| cover_artist = Stephen Hutchings
| pub_date = January 28, 1993
| awards = {{plainlist}}
{{endplainlist}}
}}
Nobody's Son is a 1993 fantasy novel by Sean Stewart. It was first published by Macmillan of Canada.[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?4849 Nobody's Son] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221232646/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?4849 |date=2016-12-21 }} at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database; retrieved December 20, 2016
Synopsis
When peasant Shielder's Mark breaks the curse of the Red Keep and frees the kingdom of Swangard from the Ghostwood, he claims as his reward the princess royal's hand in marriage. The ramifications of this choice are far more complex than he expected, however, especially since the aristocracy does not particularly like him.
Reception
Canadian Literature praised Stewart for transcending the usual stereotypes of fairy tales, calling Nobody's Son an "existential drama" with "breathing, clearly individualized characters", and comparing Shielder's Mark to the creations of J. D. Salinger.[https://canlit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CL141-Full-Issue.pdf '"The Morning After"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908024400/https://canlit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CL141-Full-Issue.pdf |date=2020-09-08 }}, by J. Kieran Kealy; in Canadian Journal #141 (1993); retrieved December 20, 2016
John Clute noted that "[the novel's] title contradicts the very heart of all modern commercial fantasy, and almost any other kind of fantasy as well", and described it as "the most intensely likeable story" that he had read in years.[https://books.google.com/books?id=eI6PDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22nobody%27s+son%22+scion&pg=PT96 "Unhampered"], by John Clute; originally published in Interzone #86 (August 1994); collected in "Scores", by John Clute, published by Orion Publishing Group, 2016 Jo Walton called it "immensely readable and [with] genuine emotional depth", but noted that — as was typical of her experience with Stewart's works — she was unable to retain much memory of what had happened in the novel.{{Cite web |last=Walton |first=Jo |date=2012-06-04 |title=Growing Up: Sean Stewart’s Nobody’s Son |url=https://www.tor.com/2012/06/04/growing-up-sean-stewarts-nobodys-son/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813222639/https://www.tor.com/2012/06/04/growing-up-sean-stewarts-nobodys-son/ |url-status=live }}
Nobody's Son won the 1994 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award{{Cite web |title=Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award Archives |url=https://bookcentre.ca/awards/canadian-library-association-young-adult-book-award |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208053529/http://bookcentre.ca/awards/canadian-library-association-young-adult-book-award |archive-date=2022-12-08 |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Canadian Children's Book Centre |language=en-US}} and Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work.{{cite news |date=September 6, 1994 |title=Book on Mars wins Canada's top sci-fi prize |work=Toronto Star |agency=Canadian Press |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518229891.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105214657/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518229891.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |url-status=dead }}