Stations of the Tide

Q: Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

No, you don’t have to buy the ebook to participate, but we do recommend it to get the most out of your club. There are several premium social reading features that are only available when you buy the ebook, like annotations, reactions, comment threads, resources, discussion prompts, and more, all embedded right in the text. It’s a unique and immersive way to read.

Q: Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

It’s annoying, we know. App store rules prevent us from selling directly in the app, so for now you can only purchase ebooks on our website. Don’t worry: when you purchase an ebook on the web, it’s automatically added to your bookshelf in the app.

Q: How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Kindle is a straightforward e-reader; Fable is an interactive e-reader that includes social features inside the ebooks. When you read an ebook on Fable, you can see and react to the text with others in real time. Start a discussion, share highlights and quotes, add emoji reactions—all of it lives right inside the book. It’s hard to explain and easy to see, so we recommend reading the free sample in one of our most active clubs to get a feel for it.

Q: Do you sell physical books too?

We do not sell physical books at this time. Wish we did? Let us know why here!

Q: Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

Most of our clubs are completely free to join. The only exceptions are clubs marked as “Premium” or “Career Development,” which do require a fee. You can find out more on each club’s detail page.

Q: How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

The first step is to download the Fable app. From there, you’ll be able to create your own private or public book club and invite others to read with you. Once your club is created, click on the plus sign under “Currently reading” and search for this book to add it to your club.

By Michael Swanwick & John Clute &

Download the free Fable app

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

Stations of the Tide Reviews

3.0

Mingus

Created about 1 month ago

Andre Batista

Created 5 months ago

Halie

Created 6 months ago

Natalie Y

Created 9 months ago

“Wild misogyny and fevered sex dreams, with a sprinkle of sci-fi elements—neatly wrapped up in 238 pages. I innocently picked up Stations of the Tide because it won a Nebula, had an intriguing synopsis, and a nice cover. Little did I know I’d soon be fighting the urge to throw up at the grotesque story the author concocted. Quote: "He reached into the vaginal shadows under the bedskirts, drew out a shallow trunk carved with half-human figures. Mother Gregorian rolled over, grunting with effort, to look." (p. 41) After this neat little gem, the book’s disturbing themes became impossible to ignore. Every few miles, there’s yet another sexually defined “vagina on legs,” while every male character is grotesque—except, of course, for the mighty Gregorian and the ever-dedicated protagonist, who embarks on a sex-laden journey of self-discovery. After my revelation about "vaginal shadows" on page 41, even the very first sentences of the book—even the planet itself—felt unnecessarily sexualized. "For an instant, Miranda lay blue and white beneath him, the ice caps fat and ready to melt, and then he was down." The phrasing manages to make the planet seem submissive, it reads like gross innuendo. I tried to overlook the plot holes, the borrowing from other cultures and mythologies, the cruelty, and the animal abuse—to understand why this abomination won a Nebula. But I failed. The only target audience I can imagine for this book is middle-aged white men. The protagonist’s name? Bureaucrat. A convenient blank slate, making it all too easy for certain readers to insert themselves and enjoy the plot to the fullest. Sometimes, it’s better to see a therapist than to write a book.”

Disjointed Plot holes Futuristic Immersive world-building Animal abuse Explicit sexual content Misogyny Murder

Kamilla

Created 10 months ago

“Ok honestly I don’t get this one. The world building is very interesting but it’s also pretty confusing when it didn’t seem like it had to be. The idea for the plot was intriguing too, but it sort of failed to deliver for me in that because it’s constantly going of on tangents that were often sexual somehow and usually either completely unnecessary and/or disturbing or at least oddly crude, and most of the characters were pretty flat/ unrealistic. It seemed like the book was probably trying to get into psychology of subconscious or something but I really just don’t get it. That said it did have a really solid if twisted ending (I’m talking about the very very end here) and I did really like the briefcase character.”

Flat Disjointed Unique location Vivid descriptions Animal abuse Bigotry Explicit sexual content Misogyny Violence

About Michael Swanwick

Michael Swanwick has received the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Theodore Sturgeon awards for his work. His short fiction has appeared in , , , , and numerous other publications, and many pieces have been reprinted in best-of-the-year anthologies. He has written nine novels, among them , , the New York Times Notable Book , , and, most recently, . Swanwick lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marianne Porter, and their son, Sean.