Yesterday, Tor.com unveiled the US cover for the second novel in Aliette de Bodard‘s award-winning Dominion of the Fallen series, THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS! Due to be published in April 2017 by Roc Books, here’s the synopsis…
As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the Great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.
House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Philippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal — to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic may be more than he can bear.
In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater Dragon Kingdom — and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear…
As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength — or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.
The first novel in the series, THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, is also published in the US by Roc Books.
The series is published in the UK by Gollancz (covers below). Here’s just a brief selection of great reviews from the many that the first novel received…
‘Aliette de Bodard’s alternate vision of Paris is one of the most brilliantly dark reconstructions of the city of lights ever written. It’s a poetry of destruction, drenched in the horrors of a house war. Her writing is so gorgeous in its depiction of ruination, it feels like she’s literally swooping you off your feet and dropping you into the dilapidations of a city post-heavenly war. Different myths intersect, united in their savage search for celestial feasts, reminding us that tragedy transcends culture and beliefs. THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS is a shrine to all that we love about books, humbling us with its awe-inspiring constructions as well as its violent plunges into the depths of existence…‘ — Examiner
‘De Bodard… has spun a fascinating Paris of decay and cruelty. Phillippe is a marvel of a character, unreliable as a narrator but compelling in his flaws and his deep well of homesickness.‘ — Library Journal (Starred Review)
‘A gripping tragedy of forlorn individuals caught up in an angelic version of the Cold War… De Bodard aptly mixes moral conflicts and the desperate need to survive in a fantastical spy thriller that reads like a hybrid of le Carré and Milton, all tinged with the melancholy of golden ages lost.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
‘de Bodard will sweep you up into the dark and dirty world Paris has become. The characters are very vivid and will stay with you until long after the last page… The writing style rendered the characters’ feelings and emotional turmoil beautifully… There’s so much going on, and every character has their own past, their own tragic history. It’s a whirlwind, it’s heartbreaking and it’s one of the best fantasy novels of 2015.’ — RT Book Reviews (Top Pick August 2015)
‘… strikingly original… heavily character-driven… remarkably evocative use of setting… both haunting and original, its sense of loss almost palpable, and its setting not quite like anything else in modern fantasy.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)
‘A suspenseful supernatural narrative focusing on fallen angels as they fight for power in a post-apocalyptic Paris… brilliant worldbuilding, powerful prose and a cast of terrifically conflicted characters. It’s the year’s best urban fantasy by far… Complicated as they are, its characters are clearly defined and deftly developed; its plot, Byzantine as it becomes, never feels false, or forced; its messed-up magic system is as insidious as it is rigorous; meanwhile its world, whilst confined to a cathedral, is wonderfully well-rendered. De Bodard doesn’t talk down to her readers, or repeat herself needlessly; refreshingly, she has faith enough in us to put the pieces of the puzzle together ourselves. There’s an intelligence — and, yes, an elegance — to THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS that is as rare and precious as angel essence. It’s a wonder, in a word, and I for one want more.’ — Tor.com
‘Beautiful writing; well drawn characters; ornately baroque world… A deep, dark, wondrous look at an alternate Paris and the fallen angels that strive to maintain their position, and themselves… a richly done antagonist makes heroes and protagonists all the more striking and can take a life of their own. In Asmodeus, the author has created a character I want to know more about, and whom I want to see face off against the protagonists in future volumes… From the ruins of Notre Dome, now part of House Silverspires, to the mean streets of the once-great city, every setting and location is invoked in vivid detail, and a very dark world is brought to life… Aliette de Bodard is a writer who deserves attention. With THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, the wonders of characters and setting on display certainly put the .truth to my remark, and THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS is the perfect way to discover her work.’ — SF Signal
‘A grim story with high-flown conventions, but by finding so much ugliness even in supernatural beauty, de Bodard makes both seem more compelling, and more concrete.’ — NPR
