Publishers Weekly
01/24/2022
Presumed-white teenagers fight pestilence and an eerie demon siege with epidemiology in this grotesque fantasy horror standalone. A recurring plague has reached socially anxious Non’s citadel, an oasis in lands haunted by the demons who killed her mother. Quarantined at abandoned Cirtop Castle with students from religious Kintaborel and athletic, militaristic Castle Goch, Non, who has been studying medicine, is swallowed by repair work, mapping the abandoned landscape, and an instant attraction to Goch resident Sam. After Cirtop residents find a church full of corpses incubating demon eggs, demon attacks and an escalating siege spur Non to pick up her mother’s unfinished research into demonology. Kinetic prose and a unique approach to apocalypse imbue Rees’s (Jelly) humorous but no less claustrophobic world with slow-creeping dread and body horror. Though secondary characters can be thinly rendered, this volume’s unsettling spirit will linger deliciously for fans of Iain M. Banks or Kendare Blake. Ages 12–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge, and White. (Mar.)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Rees has an eye for unusual apocalyptic landscapes and developing protagonists who are products of their environments, shaped by their unique circumstances. . .Non and the demons are fully realized and lavishly detailed, and readers will be entirely invested in their fate."
Booklist
"The reader is transported through a creepy tale full of horror, immense bravery, and what it means to survive as a community in the midst of fear and threats. Those that love tough main characters and horror-tinged dystopia will find that this book certainly delivers."
From the Publisher
"This fantasy with a side of horror offers an original take on demons, a faux medieval setting, and an anxious protagonist whose perceptive, amusing voice carries the narrative with aplomb. . .A clever and atmospheric read." —Kirkus Reviews
"Kinetic prose and a unique approach to apocalypse imbue Rees’s humorous but no less claustrophobic world with slow-creeping dread and body horror." —Publishers Weekly
"The reader is transported through a creepy tale full of horror, immense bravery, and what it means to survive as a community in the midst of fear and threats. Those that love tough main characters and horror-tinged dystopia will find that this book certainly delivers." —Booklist
"Rees has an eye for unusual apocalyptic landscapes and developing protagonists who are products of their environments, shaped by their unique circumstances. . .Non and the demons are fully realized and lavishly detailed, and readers will be entirely invested in their fate."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Kirkus Reviews
2021-12-15
A dark fantasy about demons, a plague, and the teens who need to survive both.
When a new bout of plague hits the inhabitants of the castles in the valley, all the healthy teenagers are evacuated to the ruins of Cirtop Castle, where they are expected to quarantine and avoid falling victim not only to the disease, but also the demons who live in the surrounding woods. As the daughter of a doctor, Non plans to follow in the footsteps of her father—a safe bet for a safe future—and it’s her natural curiosity and need to control her environment that allow her to observe patterns and note that the arrival of the plague and the sudden increase in demon attacks may not be a coincidence. As the quarantine turns into a siege and the adults in charge prove to be less than competent, it is down to the teens to take control if they want to live. This fantasy with a side of horror offers an original take on demons, a faux medieval setting, and an anxious protagonist whose perceptive, amusing voice carries the narrative with aplomb. Non and her relationships with her best friend and the other girls in their group, as well as a budding romance with warrior-boy Sam, give a personal touch and a sense of community to this story of survival against the odds. All characters are assumed White.
A clever and atmospheric read. (Fantasy. 14-18)
