Publishers Weekly
★ 10/08/2018
Tanzer’s charming, confident follow-up to Creatures of Will and Temper continues the conceit of drawing on famous literary source texts for character and plot material; here, The Great Gatsby crashes into the works of H.P. Lovecraft, with, of course, chaotic results. On Long Island in the 1920s, Ellie West does bootlegging by boat to help pay for her brother’s education. One night, she inadvertently gets into an altercation with another sailor that ends in her acquiring some odd new bottles of moonshine; those bottles end up at a party thrown by Delphine “Fin” Coulthead and her rich husband and friends. Fin is out of her element in the endless parties of the Roaring ’20s, a situation only made worse by the nightmarish paranormal effects of the tainted liquor. Fin and Ellie make an appealing team as they work to figure out what’s wrong and stop it, and the depiction of Long Island is a fine example of nuanced, lovely landscape writing. The portrayal of groups of normal people falling into mob violence and hatred of the other groups is genuinely unnerving, and Tanzer resists simplistic moral takes. Some elements of the plot are a touch predictable, but the overall effect is delightful. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
A Barnes & Noble Best Science Fiction Fantasy Book of November 2018 “This is a measured, atmospheric novel, with compelling characters and a deeply disturbing undercurrent of horror . . . a fascinating novel, and an accomplished one.”—Tor.com “Molly Tanzer does it all; from her debut novel, named best book of 2015 by i09, to the ‘thoughtful erotica’ she edits at her magazine, Congress, she’s proven to be one of the most distinct voices in contemporary SFF.”—B&N Blog “Once again, Tanzer expertly weaves an authentic historical setting into a tense, engrossing supernatural frame with lush descriptions and a steadily building pace. The alternating points of view of the two female protagonists, unwilling to live within society's confines, really stand out. Despite the supernatural, historical setting, readers will see themes and issues that reverberate eerily with our present. For fans of Lara Elena Donnelly’s Amberlough or V. E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic.”—Booklist“Charming, confident follow-up to Creatures of Will and Temper . . . the portrayal of groups of normal people falling into mob violence and hatred of the other groups is genuinely unnerving, and Tanzer resists simplistic moral takes...the overall effect is delightful.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review“Once again Molly Tanzer demonstrates a bootlegger’s knack for transforming glorious pulpy material into human spirit. Creatures of Want and Ruin is a riveting two-fisted weird pulp adventure with demons, smuggling, sex, archery, cults, and crime that doesn’t shrink from carving its predecessors open to poke around in their guts. Great fun!”—Max Gladstone, Hugo Award-nominated author of The Craft Sequence
“The writing in Molly Tanzer’s Creatures of Want and Ruin is so smooth you don’t notice it past the first word. The story telling takes over and you just want more of Ellie West and the denizens of her world, the dead-on 1920s Long Island historical setting, the Great South Bay, the apocalyptic religious cult, the strangeness, until the end and there’s no more story to go. A wonderfully engaging read!”—Jeffrey Ford, award-winning author of A Natural History of Hell and Ahab's Return“Creatures of Will and Temper was my favorite fantasy of 2017, and sequel Creatures of Want and Ruin is even better—a perfect Prohibition-Era cocktail of bootleggers, demons, and high society that will leave you shaken and stirred.”—Tim Pratt, award-winning author of The Wrong Stars and Heirs of Grace
“Molly Tanzer’s Creatures of Want and Ruin is a novel brimming with desire. Desires of the flesh. Desires of the soul. Desire for destruction. Though the demons threatening Prohibition-era Long Island are alien and capricious, the more horrifying evils here are the perils of xenophobia and bigotry. Timely, riveting, and weird in all the right ways, this book is full on diabolical!”—Bryan Camp, author of The City of Lost Fortunes
“With Creatures of Want and Ruin, Molly Tanzer has created a deliciously dark and satisfying follow-up to Creatures of Will and Temper. This Prohibition-era romp is rich with archery and moonshine; the bonds between siblings; the love between female friends; and the stark, chilly beauty of Long Island’s loneliest places. Oh—and a demon who is hell-bent on wreaking havoc. Creatures of Want and Ruin is a fun read and an easy page-turner, but it also grapples with hard and heavy stuff: the heartbreak of growing apart from people you once loved, and finding them strangers; the destructive forces unleashed by bigotry and hate; and the sacrifices we might be called upon to make in order to save our world. For a novel about demonic moonshine and nefarious fungus, Creatures of Want and Ruin is nevertheless grippingly timely.”—Desirina Boskovich, author of Never Now Always “Molly Tanzer writes human darkness, intimacy, and joy with equal skill and fervor. Her characters blaze with life, straining against the bonds of society. Creatures of Want and Ruin is horrific fantasy that races along at a breathless clip, with family drama as the revving engine. If you haven’t read Molly Tanzer yet, this is the perfect time to start!”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat
