The last clue means it really has to be Cyteen, I think.

You are correct, ChymysVasar. Congratulations! And now it's your turn

whoops, didn't see this had been answered.

Sorry for the delay.

"It happened one midsummer night, when the huge black sky above the Great River was punctuated only by a scattering of dim halo stars and the dull red swirl, no bigger than a man’s hand, of the Eye of the Preservers."

This is a guess based on the content of the quote, as I have never read this booK;

"Great Sky River" by Gregory Benford.

No, this was published a bit less than 10 years earlier. Here's more...

'The trader said, "The bureaucrats are trying to wake the Hierarchs from their reveries. Some say by science, some by witchery. The bureaucrats are so frightened of heresy consuming our world that they try anything to prevent it.

[Character] spat. "The Hierarchs are all ten thousand years dead. Everyone knows that. They were killed when the Insurrectionists threw down the temples and destroyed most of the avatars."'

Hm. May be time for a hint.

He's probably much more popular on the east side of the Atlantic.

(OK, two hints for the price of one!)

Child of the River

Blip!

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Commander Thrawn is correct!

Child of the River, the first book of Confluence, by Paul J. Mcauley.

Over to you, sir!

Paging Commander Thrawn...

Commander Thrawn, Car 54, where are y'all?

__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Last call for the Commander.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Someone wanna pop something in here?

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Hey Mike, how about this -- I'll post a quote here if you take me off the hook in the Fantasy Literary Quote thread. (hint: the book was Tomoe Gozen by Jessica Amanda Salmonson)

Okay, here's a favorite quote, but an easy one:

From Lucifer's Hammer, by Niven and Pournelle.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

I knew that wouldn't last long. All yours, Mike -- now go win the Bride of Sci-Fi and Space quote to complete the trifecta!

Okay...

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

"And All the Seas with Oysters." Gotta be.

Fred

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"For shame, gentlemen, pack your evidence a little better against another time."
-- John Dryden, "The Vindication of The Duke of Guise" 1684

It is, indeed. OK, it's "Or", not "And", but who cares. Author Avram Davidson.

Go ahead Ferd. Fred.

__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

And, or, what's the difference? (I should know, I program for a living.)
Fred

__________________
"For shame, gentlemen, pack your evidence a little better against another time."
-- John Dryden, "The Vindication of The Duke of Guise" 1684

I'm trying to remember. Wasn't there a character named Jing in John Brunner's The Crucible of Time?

Annoyingly, I can't seem to find my copy.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.