Overview

Only Ludwig can save the fairies-if he can be bothered to. Long before sirens and subways, New York's first residents-noise-loathing fairies-fled underground to escape the city's ever-increasing roar. Now, after centuries of failed plots to bring silence to the city, they're trying something new: hiring a human. When Ludwig, a comfort-obsessed slacker, begins hearing a word no one else remembers speaking, he follows its trail to a hidden fairy society beneath Times Square. There, he meets An Exalted Northwind, a fairy enchantress determined to forgo her species' signature fondness for cruelty in favor of peacefully reclaiming the surface. But she can't do it without a human go-between. As payment for Ludwig's help, she offers him a ruby-defecating piglet. Unfortunately for the fairies, Ludwig's sudden wealth leaves him free to do any job except the one he's been given-like becoming an athleisure fashion mogul. As the fairies become increasingly desperate, Ludwig must choose between comfort and accountability before New York City is forever undone by fairy vengeance. The Loudest Place on Earth is an urban fable of defiance and consequence, where even magic must make way for the modern.

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9781967510412

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Reviews

""Ken Ziegler's The Loudest Place on Earth is a singular reading experience. Why can't more novels be this fresh, inventive, and laugh-out-loud hilarious? Not since A Confederacy of Dunces have we gotten to watch such a quirky and against-all-odds-loveable protagonist fumble and gaff his way through the most ridiculous and, in the case of this novel, wildly fantastical of circumstances. I loved it."" -Jacqueline Holland, author of The God of Endings ""Such a funny and pleasurable read! It's not often that I come across a story that's completely unpredictable, but that's how I felt reading this one-I had no idea what was around the corner. But rather than feeling random or zany, this is a satisfyingly solid fantasy with the rollicking pace of Ludwig's life aboveground always underpinned by the unfolding and expanding mystery of the fairies down below."" -Julie Tibbott, author of Members Only: Secret Societies, Sects, and Cults-Exposed! ""This is a novel for anyone who has ever felt like a 'scavenger for parts' in their own life. It will resonate deeply with disillusioned young professionals who find the 'pivot or die' culture of modern business to be a farce. It's also a perfect fit for fans of contemporary fantasy who prefer their magic to be messy, punitive, and grounded in the dirt of reality rather than high-fantasy tropes. Ultimately, Ziegler has written a 'fresh, inventive, and laugh-out-loud' urban fable that asks us to choose between the easy comfort of apathy and the difficult weight of accountability."" -Manhattan Book Review ""The novel's eloquent, descriptive language verges on poetic. . . . [Ziegler] conjure[s] a New York City that is as magical as the fairy world beneath it. . . . A wild, kaleidoscopic fantasy novel marked by eccentric magic, The Loudest Place on Earth is about combating the overwhelming noise of big-city life."" -Foreword Clarion Reviews ""An outstanding contemporary fantasy that turns the urban fantasy genre upside down with its comical clashes. Replete with the unexpected, The Loudest Place on Earth is a standout."" -Midwest Book Review

Author Information

Homesick for places he can imagine but never visit, Ken Ziegler is a lifelong writer and world builder whose stories marry the mundane and the make-believe in unpredictable ways. Besides filling notebooks and sketch pads with ideas for worlds he hopes to someday share with others, his favorite activity is illustrating abstract monsters. In his downtime, he is the creative director of a tech company within a tech company. His seldom-shared thoughts and opinions can be found on X @NYPD (no affiliation). ""The Loudest Place on Earth"" is his debut novel.

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