“Blessed Virgin,” I whispered, even though I couldn’t even hear myself. “Why must you keep sending me innocent monsters?”
Another atmospheric, creepy, entertaining and delightful novella in the Sworn Soldier universe.
Sworn soldier Alex Easton has invited mycologist Eugenia Potter to stay at their father’s old hunting lodge in Gallacia to study the local mushrooms. They arrive to find the lodge in disarray, as it turns out the caretaker has recently died, although folk from the local village are hesitant to say what killed him – natural causes, or supernatural ones? What is superstition and folklore, and what is a very real threat? The story also touches on subjects such as war and PTSD.
Soldier’s heart doesn’t know the difference between terrible things. Fungus or cannon fire, it’s all just the war.
As always, Kingfisher’s writing made me laugh out loud at times, while also being perfectly spooky and evocative.
Miss Potter gave him a much warmer smile over her shoulder than I’d ever seen her give to anything that didn’t have spores.
This is Gothic writing at its finest, with a healthy sprinkling of Eastern European folktales, humor, and admirable messages. You love to see it!
“May we always have the choice to err on the side of mercy,” I said, lifting my wine.
This engaging and original story is the first in a new fantasy series by the author of The Founders trilogy.
Buckle in and prepare yourself for some hefty worldbuilding, but part of what was admirable about this book was the fresh and unique setting. The Empire of Khanum is arranged like a succession of spoked wheels, with the the wealthiest citizens living in the center, the farthest from the outer ring’s sea walls. This is because every wet season, leviathans surface from the deep and try to breach the walls, destroying everything in their path. Branches of the military are dedicated to shoring up and defending the wall from the monstrous titans.
Some people who serve the empire are given grafts or suffusions, altering their abilities in specific ways. Our main character, Din, is an engraver; he has been cerebrally altered to have a perfect eidetic memory of everything he sees and hears. He carries little vials of different scents with him to use as cues to associate with particular memories. With this ability, he acts as the eyes and ears of the exceedingly eccentric, and brilliant, Ana, the investigator to whom he is newly apprenticed apprenticed.
“He’s new,” said Ana, “and big, and I think he lost his sense of humor in some tragic accident. But he helped me solve the Blas issue quick enough.” Then, simply, “He is good.”
The bulk of this novel focuses on a murder investigation Ana and Din undertake, one that winds up with far-reaching political implications. But there’s also a lot about the uncertainties of living in a world that is routinely under threat, not only by the titans of the sea, but also contagion, worms, and a host of other worries. It addresses the nature of civilization, and the question of whether people exist to serve their Empire, or vice versa.
One of the highlights of this book is the relationship and banter between Ana and Din (and a few other characters introduced during their investigative proceedings), which are charming and often downright hilarious. Ana is irreverent, Din is sincere.
“Just wish to comment, ma’am,” I said, “that, ah, I’ve no idea at all what’s going on anymore.”
And as if all of that wasn’t enough to secure a place for this book in my esteem, is also included great representation: of disability and neurodiversity, plus the minor romance included was queer.
“…if I hadn’t been the person that I was, then the alterations would not have been a success. It was my choice. I changed and became, I self-assembled. Just as you have done.”
I highly recommend this refreshing and entertaining tale of a murder mystery that unfolds in a new and interesting fantasy world, and I can’t wait to read about what Ana and Din get mixed up in next.
Leech by Hiron Ennes is Gothic horror set in a post-apocalyptic future. After climate disaster and the backfiring of man-made technology drove people underground, they finally resurfaced when it was safe(ish) and rebuilt, reclaiming some of the knowledge that was lost through records that were spared.
The main character is actually a gestalt intelligence formed by a parasite that takes control of the human hosts it infects. It hoards the world’s recovered medical knowledge for job security, in order to stay relevant and needed by humanity, and to maintain its evolutionary niche.
While working as a doctor for the draconian baron in the frozen wilds of the North (stalked by beings with unknown origins, but plenty of mythological possible origin stories), they discover a new (probably ancient but newly resurfaced) parasite that threatens everything.
The world-building here is truly impressive!
Of course the baron lives in a crumbling chateau and his family is comprised of a strange cast of characters (and ghosts?). Consent and bodily autonomy are big players in the story that unfolds.
Not for the faint of heart, this tale is creative, creepy, and really quite wonderful! I can’t wait to see what this author does next.
Between this book, Mexican Gothic, and What Moves the Dead, I’ve learned that apparently parasite horror is my jam!
Jessica Crawford 