The scandalous, heart-breaking and horrifying
secret history of two squabbling siblings – and their
confidantes, protectors and enemies.
Janice Shriek, ex-society figure, narrates this tale with flamboyant intensity and under increasingly urgent conditions. We follow the adventures of her brother Duncan, a historian obsessed with a doomed love affair. And we learn of a secret that may kill or transform him.
We witness a war between rival publishing houses that will change Ambergris forever. And we’re introduced to the grey caps, a marginalized people armed with advanced fungal technologies, who’ve been waiting underground for their chance to mould the future of the city.
An epic yet personal look at life, love and death
in the vividly imagined city of Ambergris.
‘Unsettling, erudite, dark, shot through with unexpected humour’
China Miéville
‘Challenging, intelligent and downright fun’
Guardian
‘There are touches of Borges and Nabokov as well as H. P. Lovecraft in this tale of changing fortunes and shifting relationships . . . atmospheric’
The Times
‘Five stars . . . from an author who should be turning heads in the “serious” literary world’
BBC Focus Magazine