Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel, #2)

by Josiah Bancroft

He stood at the edge of a web of yarn. Thousands of strands of every color flowed from the rafters, gathered into bands, and funneled down to a central point. In a flash of insight, he realized this was the reason for the sprawling collection of yarn in Arjuna’s shop; those spools ran through holes in the floor and emerged here as the rays of a web.

Iren was unconvinced the Sphinx existed. So Edith offered a most contrary answer: “He looks like a spoon.” “Like a spoon?” “A spoon,” Edith said with utter conviction.

“a city under an unbreakable bell jar.”