Synopsis
Chilling, dark fantasy with a heavy dose of Sherlock Holmes in this new series of twisty mysteries in fantasy worlds.
Pale moths haunt an icy frontier. Beneath the shadow of a drowned death god, a frozen body is unearthed from the snow.
Investigators arrive to a superstitious island to solve a brutal crime. Among them is a lowly slave desperate to prove her worth and a soldier with dark dreams. Neither are prepared for what they find.
Death City is a strange and violent frontier, and no one who survives comes back clean.
First though, Thora and Diem must survive.
Welcome to the Red Kingdom.
Review
I first read this in 2022, when all of the author’s releases were dropping. I just realized the other day that I used to see/converse with them all the time and they’ve virtually disappeared! While that may be a personal choice of theirs, I’d hate for these stories to disappear too though!
So not only was I offered an E-book for an honest review, I then won a giveaway for a signed paperback before the official release! (I was really lucky in 2022)
Let me start by saying that this is one of the most original fantasy stories I’ve ever read. Like I said for Pyres in the Long Night (review here) and A Pale Box on the Distant Shore (review here), with this story being a fantasy mixed with mystery, it definitely had the feeling of Morgan Rice’s Shadowseer: London, however Nwosu’s features an entirely created fantasy world, while the former is urban fantasy. That for me stood out as singularly unique, at least in my reading experience thus far.
It is a murder mystery set in this incredibly gritty, visceral, dark fantasy world. Death City is a far off island in the Red Kingdom. A kingdom in which a political party known as Purge House has incredible sway and commands the kingdom’s people through fear. Those found guilty are literally burned alive publicly on pyres. They’re feared in such a way that even innocent people avoid even looking at them!
The main characters, Thora and Diem, are incredible. Emotional, stoic, real, and ever-changing. They don’t miss a beat in this winding, twisty mystery.
Honestly the description of the found bodies will haunt my dreams, so please prepare for a dose of horror in there as well.
Incredible and professional level of world building, story weaving and editing. I will certainly continue to read anything this author has to offer. I will say for anyone thinking of getting a physical copy (if I had to pick one single small gripe) that the book is long and so tightly pressed that I really wish some of the outer margin had been sacrificed, as I found it practically impossible to read through it without cracking the spine—and I hate doing that. Beautiful quality though, and unbelievable and intricate covers!
Get it and support. Right now! I want so much more of this and I can only imagine where the series could go. If anyone knows anything about the author, or a possible book two, please let me know!
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