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Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Short Stories
Essays
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Graphic Novels
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| Critics: |
We choose our own gods here.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being―three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving―who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
"Dazzling and eclectic...With elements of gut-turning horror, adventure, and romance, this is a powerhouse." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Hall (Second Spear) weaves a fascinating tapestry of mythology and divine politics that she underscores with deep, complicated relationships... . This compelling mix of horror, found family, and intricate mythology will appeal to those who loved Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys and The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin." ―Library Journal (starred review)
"Once again, Hall proves herself a worldbuilder of rare talent ― Asunder will pull readers into a richly detailed narrative from which it is nearly impossible to surface." ―Premee Mohamed, Nebula Award-winning author of Beneath the Rising
"Kerstin Hall delivers both demonic horrors and magical wonder with effortless, incredible imagination. Like its maybe-more-than-a-companion and vivid band of adventurers, Asunder will attach to your soul, ease open your tired heart, and take you across the world. This is fantasy like I've never quite read." ―Wen-yi Lee, author of The Dark We Know
"Karys Eska keeps making desperate pacts just to stay alive, and every single one of them goes wrong. Asunder is a fast-paced dark fantasy, beautifully, bloodily eldritch, but also a political crime thriller in a setting where even divinity is violently contested. Karys finds all her debts ― her gods, her families, and her clients ― coming due at once, and the hardest people to trust are the ones closest to her." ―Vajra Chandrasekera, author of The Saint of Bright Doors
Kerstin Hall is the author of The Border Keeper, Second Spear, and Star Eater. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
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