Today, Pocket publishes the mass market paperback edition of Aliette de Bodard‘s award-winning THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS in France! Published as L’ASCENSION DE LA MAISON AUBÉPINE, here’s the synopsis…

Suite à la chute des Flèches d’Argent, l’équilibre entre les grandes Maisons qui règnent sur Paris est plus que jamais chancelant. Le Seigneur Asmodée, à la tête de la Maison Aubépine depuis sa sanglante insurrection, y voit l’opportunité de renforcer son pouvoir. Une ambition qui réclame des alliés. Une délégation est envoyée au royaume dragon, porteuse d’une proposition d’alliance, mais aussi chargée de découvrir ce qu’il est advenu de la précédente émissaire, mystérieusement disparue.

C’est ainsi que Madeleine, sevrée de l’essence d’ange et désormais rattachée de force à la Maison Aubépine, se retrouve sous les eaux troubles de la Seine, dans ce monde annamite secret où le marin, l’humain et la féerie sont étroitement liés.

Au cœur des intrigues, des trahisons et des manœuvres politiques, Madeleine aura à jouer un rôle crucial, bien malgré elle…

THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS is the second novel in the acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen fantasy series, which is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Roc Books (#1-2) and JABberwocky (#3), and is also available in a growing number of translated editions. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the novel…

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. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal – to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic might 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.

Here’s just a small selection taken from the great critical response the novel has received so far…

‘Meddling gleefully in the affairs of devils and dragons, this affective sequel to 2015’s THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS touches the heart as often as it cuts throats… Having fully crafted her world, de Bodard is now completely in control: she can move swiftly from gentle poetic touches to bloody Grand Guignol gestures, and she sure-handedly holds the reader by exposing the vulnerabilities and needs that drive even the seemingly all-powerful figures of rebel angels and ancient serpents to surrender to a higher collective power. In this world lacking signs of heaven, redemptions are painful but possible.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘de Bodard’s people feel real to me… There is hope even in the darkest of places, and there is a desire for love, for trust, for harbor, that takes root no matter how often it’s destroyed. This is a stronger, more certain novel than THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, and if reading it is sometimes walking the unfenced edge of a cliff, the vista is dizzying and beautiful. It is well worth the wait, and if you haven’t read the first novel, I urge you to do so. But have THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS in hand before you reach the end.’ — Fantasy & Science Fiction (Mar/Apr 2017)

‘De Bodard’s writing is very precise, like a well-oiled machine. The tempo is piston perfect, with the prose style having a strong and steady rhythm throughout. The emotional journey is relatively predictable (especially when we get into a marriage sequence), but the narrative is not. In other words, you can pretty much tell that the big emotions are coming, but the how and the why is what keeps you on edge. This is not a villains book; this is a powerful sequel that shows us that the incredibly complex world of the last novel is even more involved than we first expected. Strong stuff which you won’t stop reading till the end.’ — Starburst

‘The author spins a tale that’s rich, emotional and gripping, and delivers that rare thing: a superior sequel… This is an incredibly rich novel. Even as the scheming, double-crossing and action set pieces unfold, the author never loses sight of the people whose lives are on the line… There’s just so much going on here: social commentary, myths and fairytales that often feel under-represented in genre fiction, a gripping genre adventure and an affecting love story. The author has gone from strength to strength and we can’t wait for this story to continue.’ — SciFi Now (5/5*)

‘Truly beautifully balanced: between new and old, birth and death, beauty and ugliness, inside and outside, beginning and, yes, ending. It walks the line, and walks it fine.’ — Tor.com

‘An excellent series with lots of variety and it feels more inventive than many books I come across. It’s an exciting world to fall into and I am looking forward to the next book.’ — SF Crowsnest