The Briar Book of the Dead
Published on 13. February 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-80336-454-4 (ISBN)
Description
Set in the same universe as the acclaimed All the Murmuring Bones and The Path of Thorns (one of Oprah Daily's Top 25 Fantasy Novels of 2022), this beautifully told Gothic fairy tale of ghosts, witches, deadly secrets and past sins, will be perfect for fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid.
Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lords hold sway.
Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie's cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.
Told in the award-winning author's trademark gorgeous, addictive prose, this is an intricately woven tale of a family of witches struggling against the bonds of past sins and persecution.
Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lords hold sway.
Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie's cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.
Told in the award-winning author's trademark gorgeous, addictive prose, this is an intricately woven tale of a family of witches struggling against the bonds of past sins and persecution.
Reviews / Votes
"Angela plays by her own rules. She's fantastic"Hilarie Burton-Morgan, actress and author of Grimoire Girl, on A.G. Slatter's writing
Praise for The Briar Book of the Dead
"When I reviewed A.G. (Angela) Slatter's 2022 novel The Path of Thorns, I said she was one of the best contemporary fantasists in the field. But I was wrong; my vision was too narrow. Angela is simply one of the best contemporary writers of fiction, regardless of genre... The Briar Book of the Dead is everything I love about Slatter's fiction: the craft, the passion for narrative, and the foregrounding of strong, smart, singular women. More, please."
Ian Mond, Locus
"A.G. Slatter shows that her genius for the magical gothic tale is not waning, with witches and ghosts and terrible deeds coming together to create a riveting story... The Briar Book of the Dead is evidence that Slatter keeps going from strength to strength. She writes complex characters, who are utterly believable in their relationships and attitudes; she creates vibrant worlds whose details show there's so much more to them than appears on the page. And her prose is so beautiful and absorbing that 350 pages fly by, and you're left wanting more."
Alexandra Pierce, Locus
"Slatter nestles stories within stories, immersing readers in a richly imagined world, and leading them on a journey full of unexpected twists and turns. This is an expertly woven tale of intrigue, magic, family, and righting old wrongs."
A.C. Wise, author of Wendy, Darling
"Slatter writes witches like none other, and her newest is a darkling feast, jewelled and blood-stained, rich with secrets and seething with unbearable power."
Cassandra Khaw, author of The Salt Grows Heavy
"Dark, witchy, and downright delicious, The Briar Book of The Dead is the perfect read for shorter days and longer nights."
Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces
"Angela Slatter hits it out of the park again. With gorgeous prose and a heart-breaking story about family, magic, and the weight of the past, this is a darkly fantastic masterpiece that shouldn't be missed."
Gwendolyn Kiste, Lambda Literary and Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Reluctant Immortals and The Rust Maidens
"Lush prose, complex, compelling characters, and an examination of the tangled webs of both the past and family roots left me flipping pages long into the night. What Slatter has crafted with The Briar Book of the Dead is nothing short of an immersive, dark magic."
Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile
"This is a ghost story like no other, weaving past, present and future, life, death and the in-between. Angela Slatter is at her very best in this masterful blend of folkloric storytelling, family conflict and dark horror. That the shadowy pathway is illuminated here and there by a flickering candle of kindness makes The Briar Book of the Dead even stronger."
Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters and Blackthorn & Grim series
"The Briar Book of the Dead is entirely enchanting. Angela Slatter has magic in her pen instead of ink."
A.J. Elwood, author of The Other Lives of Miss Emily White
"Angela Slatter's The Briar Book of the Dead will, with its wonderfully clear yet enchanted prose, cast a spell on readers."
Jeffrey Ford, author of A Natural History of Hell,
"A legend-netted fable of enchantment, The Briar Book of the Dead is decadent with jealousies, voluptuous with duty, upholstered with love and death. Slatter's world is warm and vicious, soft with forgotten crimes and protected by rites and duties. But while its boundaries are marked with ink and blood and fire, a cold wind curls in from beyond..."
Kathleen Jennings?, author of Flyaway
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
288 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80336-454-4 (9781803364544)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
A.G. Slatter Angela has won a Shirley Jackson Award, a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, three Australian Shadows Awards and eight Aurealis Awards. Most recently, All the Murmuring Bones was shortlisted for the 2021 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Book of the Year and the 2021 Shirley Jackson Award; The Path of Thorns won the 2022 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel and the 2022 Australian Shadows Award for Best Novel. She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006. Angela's short stories have appeared in many Best Of anthologies, and her work has been translated into many languages. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.