Ballad of the Bone Road
Published on 27. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-1-83541-378-4 (ISBN)
Description
In the glittering city of Port Astor, where fae roads criss-cross human highways and ghosts whisper to the living, nothing is ever as it seems.
From Sunburst Award-winning author A. C. Wise, this utterly original dark fantasy tale of faith and fanaticism, doomed love and desperate bargains is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Ava Reid.
Port Astor is a city of ghosts. Once home to the beautiful, brutal courts of the fae, forty years ago they vanished without explanation - and Port Astor decided to forget.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, working to keep Port Astor's wraiths and spectres from consuming the city. Both have hauntings of their own: Belle shares her body with a demon, Belizial; Brix has trapped the soul of his dead fiancee in the world of the living, unwilling to let her go.
While investigating the glamorous and notoriously haunted Peony Hotel, Brix and Belle come across a young couple tangled up in one of the city's most infamous tales. Jimmy Valentine, silver screen idol and one-time favorite of a fae queen, has returned to haunt the Peony. But Jimmy is no mere ghost, and Brix and Belle soon realize his return is more intimately tied to their own hauntings than they could ever have imagined.
The fae have not forgotten that Port Astor once belonged to them. And their Hollow Queen won't give up her kingdom so easily.
From Sunburst Award-winning author A. C. Wise, this utterly original dark fantasy tale of faith and fanaticism, doomed love and desperate bargains is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Ava Reid.
Port Astor is a city of ghosts. Once home to the beautiful, brutal courts of the fae, forty years ago they vanished without explanation - and Port Astor decided to forget.
Brix and Bellefeather are paranormal investigators, working to keep Port Astor's wraiths and spectres from consuming the city. Both have hauntings of their own: Belle shares her body with a demon, Belizial; Brix has trapped the soul of his dead fiancee in the world of the living, unwilling to let her go.
While investigating the glamorous and notoriously haunted Peony Hotel, Brix and Belle come across a young couple tangled up in one of the city's most infamous tales. Jimmy Valentine, silver screen idol and one-time favorite of a fae queen, has returned to haunt the Peony. But Jimmy is no mere ghost, and Brix and Belle soon realize his return is more intimately tied to their own hauntings than they could ever have imagined.
The fae have not forgotten that Port Astor once belonged to them. And their Hollow Queen won't give up her kingdom so easily.
Reviews / Votes
The ultimate ghost story, many-layered and highly original. Ballad of the Bone Road is both terrifying and irresistible.-Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters and Blackthorn & Grim series
A new A. C. Wise book is always something to celebrate. A ghostly heartthrob, a hollow queen, a vanishing hotel room and haunted protagonists - what's not to love? Ethereal, wild and liminal, Ballad of the Bone Road is a fabulous intersection between weird crime and the next wave of the paranormal. Not to be missed.
-Angela 'A. G.' Slatter. award-winning author of The Crimson Road
A breathtakingly beautiful and chilling ghost story, Ballad of the Bone Road is like nothing you've ever read before. In these pages, you'll find phantoms, fae, one very glamorous hotel, and so much more. Without a doubt, A. C. Wise is one of the best literary voices of our time, which makes this book a must-read for fans of horror and dark fantasy.
-Gwendolyn Kiste, four-time Bram Stoker AwardAE-winning author of The Haunting of Velkwood and Reluctant Immortals
A. C. Wise has created a lush and lyrical world that draws you in and devastates you. I was captivated.
-Rym Kechacha, author of To Catch a Moon
Wise infuses her worldbuilding with glitzy gilded age-esque details and builds plentiful supernatural suspense. This is eerie fun.
-Publishers Weekly
Praise for A. C. Wise
A unique vision . . . a universe of the undefinable fantastic, gifted by one of our finest imaginations.
-Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Light Most Hateful
A strange and singular book. Wise has crafted a story quite unlike any other and it blew my mind. One of the best books I've read in a long time.
-Tendai Huchu, author of The Library of the Dead
Full of fantastic queer representation and a broad range of voices within the cast of characters . . . Richly textured and easy to imagine.
-ScreenRant
An evocative mystery set in a richly imagined world, populated by a diverse cast of instantly intriguing characters. I loved every word of this gorgeous novella.
-Emmi Itaeranta, author of The Moonday Letters
Hooked is an absolutely breathtaking accomplishment, and further proof that A.C. Wise is one of the most vital voices in fiction today. Her lush, beautiful prose draws you in and never lets you go... Be sure to put Hooked at the top of your reading list.
-Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals
Hooked will effortlessly pull readers back into Wise's dark, seductive, and mesmerizing version of Neverland - and into the equally compelling inner world of her characters. A beautifully written and psychologically astute sequel.
-Leah Cypess, author of Thornwood and Glass Slippers
Fans of creepy updated fairy tales... should snap this up.
-Publishers Weekly
Feminist twists and creeping dread abound in this intriguing retelling of Peter Pan.
-Library Journal
Intelligent and deftly executed.
-TOR.com
This book hooked me immediately with Wendy's voice and rage and longing... what Wise does with the Peter Pan mythos here is nothing short of astonishing.
-Sam J. Miller, Nebula Award-winning author of Blackfish City
Wendy, Darling is a daring, gothic re-envisioning of everything we think we know - and an important, vivid adventure.
-Fran Wilde, two-time Nebula award-winning, World Fantasy finalist author of Updraft
Richly imagined, surprisingly dark, and heartbreakingly beautiful.
-Marian Womack, author of The Swimmers
A dark and delightful retelling of Peter Pan. Wendy, Darling is a gorgeous achievement, and one you don't want to miss.
-Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Boneset & Feathers
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
244 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83541-378-4 (9781835413784)
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.C. Wise is the author of the novels Wendy, Darling, and Hooked, along with the recent short story collection, The Ghost Sequences. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, and has been a finalist for the Nebula Awards, Stoker, World Fantasy, Locus, British Fantasy, Aurora, Lambda, and Ignyte Awards. In addition to her fiction, she contributes a review column to Apex Magazine.