THE BLOODY AND THE DAMNED

In the year 2120, a killer-for-hire cares for their sisters in Covenant, the ultrapoor duster area of Trinity where resources are scarce.

To survive, Valene Bruinn, who’s nonbinary, secretly works as an assassin—the Butcher—swiftly killing whoever the all-powerful Gang tells them to, helped by their right-hand woman, Dani Morales. They haven’t told anyone that they can phase, or teleport, a skill that marks citizens of the theocratic Trinity as saints. In Trinity, all saints are to be taken away by the godlike Heralds to serve their higher purpose, although no one really knows what happens to them, and orphaned Val, who reads white, doesn’t want to be separated from their remaining family. When a job goes awry, and Val’s sisters are kidnapped, they team up with their childhood love, Orion Booker—who’s now an activist, wanted for his activities against the rich skyliners—to find their sisters and take down the oppressive Heralds. This quest brings Val, Orion, and Dani—on whom Val has long harbored a crush—to the Gate of Heaven at edge of their world. The robustly described world includes explorations of social justice themes—socioeconomic disparity, religious control, and climate change—that echo contemporary real-world concerns. The conclusion of this well-paced, queer-friendly narrative satisfyingly wraps up both the dense storyline and the romantic intrigue. Dani is cued Latine, and Orion presents Black.

A violent, strongly paced dystopian fantasy with inclusive representation and socially relevant themes.