THESE SHATTERED SPIRES, the highly-anticipated new novel by Cassidy Ellis Salter, is out now! The first novel in the author’s Wyrdos series, it is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and in North America. Here’s the synopsis…
In a rotten and bloody world, four magical rivals are forced to work together to avoid certain death in a deadly competition. A queer, gothic fantasy YA, perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines – blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she’ll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines – not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro – find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all; each other.
These Shattered Spires is the first instalment of the sensational and gloriously gothic Wyrdos Trilogy.
The cover artwork is by Danlin Zhang. The novel is out now in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook — read by Kit Griffiths, and also in the UK as a Waterstones Exclusive Edition.
Here are just a few of the great early reviews the nolve has received so far…
‘Gory yet sensuous, weird and addictively compelling, THESE SHATTERED SPIRES is a unique magical fantasy about four complicated people who must work together to survive.’ — Bookseller (Editor’s Choice, March 2026 Releases)
‘Rival teen witches unite to circumvent their doom in this heartrending trilogy opener from Salter… Salter deftly balances the intersectionally diverse characters’ grim existence with gleefully gruesome worldbuilding, snarky banter, and fraught queer romance. Candid close-third-person narration alternates between the quartet’s perspectives, revealing the pain and yearning that underlie the protagonists’ outsize personalities while fostering tension and drive.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘This darkly humorous fantasy trilogy opener, which will appeal to fans of Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Room trilogy, starts strong with a fast pace driven by imminent life-or-death stakes, irresistibly self-destructive characters, and absorbing worldbuilding… A cliffhanger ending creates high anticipation for the sequel. A grim, engrossing, and captivating fantasy.’ — Kirkus
‘This fantasy sets the stakes high immediately, and Salter never lets up on the urgency, setting up an inexorable march toward doom, salvation, or, most likely, some sort of uncomfortable, still miserable combination of the two. The four protagonists are deeply sympathetic, with staggering power that they have been forced to yield to others and distinct, relatable motivations to want to live, despite being imperfect in their shared core emotions… those who revel in a bit of gore mixed in with their magic will be right at home immediately, and they’ll be rewarded with strong worldbuilding and character development as well.’ — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
‘Absolutely perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth, THESE SHATTERED SPIRES pulses with the weird and wonderful macabre. Salter weaves a ragtag crew of lovable misfits with uniquely grim world-building that is impossible to forget. Witty, diverse characters and tongue-in-cheek humor makes this gothic YA fantasy both upbeat and chill inducing. I fear I’ll never look at nuns the same way again!’ — Catelyn Wilson