Asunder
Will be published approx. on 15. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
576 pages
978-1-83786-698-4 (ISBN)
Description
We choose our own gods here.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being-three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving-who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being-three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving-who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
Reviews / Votes
"Read this book. Let its deliciously dark world envelop you. Fall in love with its complicated, wounded, winsome characters. Feel every last feeling. You'll thank me later." -Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Divergent and Chosen Ones "There is no doubt in my mind that Kerstin Hall is one of the great imaginative minds writing fantasy today-Asunder is a masterful novel, one that is both intimately character-focused and layered with intrigue, eldritch horrors, and high-octane action. It is immersive, inventive, and intensely unputdownable. I was spellbound from the first pages." -Isabel Canas, USA Today Bestselling author of Vampires of El Norte "Immensely enjoyable. Kerstin Hall's writing is simply awesome." -Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice "Dazzling and eclectic. . .With elements of gut-turning horror, adventure, and romance, this is a powerhouse." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Kerstin Hall writes sharp, fierce stories with precise and visceral prose, and with worldbuilding that possesses a keen sense for the weird, the haunting, the marvel-lous, and the twistedly strange... Asunder is a thoughtful novel, complex and deep. It's also a fast-paced, tense ride through a world that doesn't hold back from glittering weirdness... Phenomenal." -Locus "Brimming with arcane horrors, uncanny atmosphere, darkly wondrous magic, divine meddling, broken yet loveable characters, and brutal emotional gut punches, this is truly the fantasy horror adventure of my darkest dreams." -Grimdark Magazine "Entirely engrossing." -ReactorMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Nottingham
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Rebellion Publishing Ltd.
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
346 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83786-698-4 (9781837866984)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kerstin Hall is the author of The Border Keeper, Second Spear, and Star Eater. Her short fiction has been published by Strange Horizons, Fireside, and Tor.com, and she is a first reader for Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa.