A curious, but curiously charming, allegory of a world in crisis.
Two hero(ine)s journey through a vast, crumbling palace that houses a surrealistic, decaying civilization.
Kew serves as apprentice to Hawthorn, the elderly Guardian of the West Passage. When Hawthorn dies, she tells Kew to warn Black Tower that the Beast will rise again, but she unfortunately fails to officially name him her successor, despite the fact that the Beast must be confronted by the Guardian. Kew therefore must leave Grey Tower and deliver the message to Black Tower, hoping that in return he will be named the next Hawthorn. The Beast’s slow emergence brings on a dangerously early winter; perhaps Black Tower could give the wheel of seasons a turn? Hoping to save the struggling people of Grey and to recover Hawthorn’s funeral mask (which Kew has taken), young Mother Yarrow of Grey House sets off in ineffectual pursuit. These two have separate adventures wandering through the crumbling, nearly uninhabited areas of the palace, where the remaining people engage in meaningless ritual: trying to teach apes to speak, concocting elaborate feasts that no one eats, issuing endless, pointless pronouncements that no one obeys, and so on. Meanwhile, the gigantic ruling Ladies of the palace are too self-involved to truly confront the crisis or to rule in general, having either gone mad or become more concerned with fighting the other Ladies for scraps of power. This is a vividly depicted, decidedly peculiar world governed by an inexplicable logic, where the seasons are determined by a vast wheel; people have animal, plant, or even inorganic characteristics; and rising up in the ranks of one’s profession might mean switching genders or undergoing other physical alterations. Its fablelike but off-kilter qualities and architectural setting will likely appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, Angélica Gorodischer’s Kalpa Imperial, and Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel series.
A curious, but curiously charming, allegory of a world in crisis.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781250884831
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tordotcom
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A delightful, genre-defying debut.
Historical horror? Dark fantasy? Queer romance? All of the above!
“I was hundreds of years old before I ever met him, but that day we were both young.” While visiting his Florence offices in 2013, attorney Sebastian Grave unearths a bloodstained lambskin glove that belonged to a past lover—a man he’d met in the 18th century. Nestled within this frame narrative is a tale of desire, werewolves, and the French Revolution. In telling his story, Sebastian introduces Sarmodel, the demon with whom he shares a body, and a succubus named Livia contributes chapters in which Joan of Arc, her notorious ally Gilles de Rais, and the archangel Michael all make appearances. First-time novelist Sullivan wields the tools of multiple genres deftly, but what really makes this book special is its central character. Sebastian has powerful magic at his disposal, but he’s also human enough to fall hard for a hot young nobleman. When Sebastian goes hunting for the Beast of Gévaudan, he’s not looking for adventure. The first time, it’s because he can’t resist Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne. The second time, it’s because he dreams of a reunion with his love—even though he knows this is a hopeless wish against the advice of Sarmodel. Using Sebastian as a narrator keeps things light, in part because he has a droll, contemporary voice and in part because it makes the worldbuilding feel natural. There are footnotes, but there are no infodumps. The fact that Sebastian doesn’t know exactly what he is sets the tone for storytelling that leaves a great deal unexplained while providing enough detail to keep the reader engaged. Deploying Sarmodel as a sort of alter ego and allowing Livia to offer her own perspective on Sebastian also adds both depth and charm.
A delightful, genre-defying debut.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781250362766
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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