“1468”

The novel takes place in England, and the narration at the beginning of the novel states that the year is 1468. Thus, at first, the reader believes the novel to be set in the late Middle Ages. However, the reader very quickly learns that the novel is actually set in the future. In the 2020s, an apocalyptic event (that is unspecified in the novel) killed much of humanity and destroyed their technological infrastructure. Thus, human society now resembles the medieval era. The Church has declared the year of the apocalypse to be the year 666, which means that the main story takes place about 800 years later.

Addicott St. George

Much of the novel takes place in a small Wessex village called Addicott St. George. Fairfax is sent there by the Church to perform a funeral for the village’s recently deceased priest. However, in the village, Fairfax quickly begins to learn...