Publishers Weekly
★ 07/31/2023
Liu (If Found, Return to Hell) recasts Hamlet as a high-tech thriller in this ingenious sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare’s classic. When Elsinore Labs’ Operating System AI, who prefers to be called Horatio, accesses data from Dr. Graham Lichfield’s lab, he’s shocked to find that Lichfield, the creator of neuromapper technology that preserves “your ongoing thoughts, your way of thinking, everything that makes up who you are” after death, is dead himself. Lichfield’s son Hayden, a researcher into longevity and the first person on the scene, utilizes the neuromapper to communicate with his late father—who discloses that he was murdered and asks his son to avenge him. Hayden’s suspicions initially focus on his uncle, Charles, but Liu manages to make the mystery suspenseful even for those who know the original story well. Nimble perspective shifts—Horatio, Hayden, and the Ophelia stand-in, Felicia Xia, daughter of the labs’ security head, all narrate—help keep readers guessing about what actually happened. This is a nail-biter. Penelope Burns/Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Shakespeare, a haunted-house escape room, and a plot full of tenderness, philosophy, brazenness, and terror”—C. S. E. Cooney, author of Saint Death’s Daughter
“Liu’s exquisite prose perfectly marries physicality and emotionality, the visceral and the sterile. This is Hamlet reflected in a fractured mirror. Every angle on the familiar comes as a surprise; every new edge cuts with razor intelligence. And oh, the tension! It will murder you.”—Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
“A breathless, piercingly immersive Hamlet reimagining that feels at once futuristic and timeless. Each scene is layered with creeping dread and tension that builds masterfully to a harrowing climax. This is the kind of story that will be crawling at the edges of your brain like static for a long while.”—Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars
“Don’t tell anyone.... I’ve always been kinda lukewarm about Hamlet. But The Death I Gave Him finally gives me a Prince of Denmark I can feel: someone whose pain and brokenness are so powerful and beautiful that they can change the world.”—Sam J. Miller, author of Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy
“Blazingly ambitious, immaculately written, imaginative, and oh goodness, I can absolutely keep going. The Death I Gave Him is the locked-room murder mystery queer Hamlet retelling of my dreams.”—Cassandra Khaw, author of The Salt Grows Heavy
“The Death I Gave Him is the Hamlet retelling of my wildest dreams, and Liu’s prose cuts like a scalpel: precise, unflinching, unafraid to draw blood. Read this book, and then read it again.”—Grace D. Li, author of Portrait of a Thief
“This is both a locked-room mystery with some pointed things to say about science, hubris and mortality, and one of the best versions of Hamlet I’ve ever come across. Smart, wildly propulsive, and tense as a muscle held at the snapping point. After this, I’ll read anything Liu cares to put in front of me.”—Freya Marske, author of The Last Binding Trilogy
“Brilliant. Breath-taking. An absolute page-turner. The Death I Gave Him is a complex and gritty story unlike anything you’ve seen.”—K.B. Wagers, author of The Ghosts of Trappist
“Ingenious ... This is a nail-biter.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Clever in structure and reinterpretation – very nearly too clever, but it finds a tense, riveting balance.”—GQ
“This is a fantastic and innovative retelling.”—Library Journal
“A bludgeoningly emotional read.”—The Fantasy Hive
“A fast-paced thriller that will keep you guessing at every turn.”—Them
“Compellingly readable and unreservedly commendable.”—The FT
“Solid and smartly-drawn, The Death I Gave Him shines.”—Set The Tape
“Addictive and nuanced... an intelligent evolution of a classic.”—SciFiNow
“A powerful reading experience.”—Reactor (Tor.com)
“A layered puzzle of a novel.” — SFBook Reviews
“A story of science, ambition, AI, and betrayal.” — Locus
“The novel’s multiple-viewpoint structure and coolly sophisticated style make it compellingly readable and unreservedly commendable.” — Financial Times
“Hamlet through the lens of a locked room sci-fi thriller, with plenty of murder, gore, and body horror to satisfy any horror reader.” — BookRiot
“Instantly intriguing... Beautifully gothic.” — Buzz Magazine
Library Journal
08/01/2023
Liu (If Found, Return to Hell) offers a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet, set in a futuristic biotech lab. Hayden Lichfield and his father are close to a breakthrough on the Sisyphus Formula, a serum to reverse death. When his father is murdered while working late, Hayden hides their research before it can fall into the wrong hands. Elsinore Labs is put on lockdown until the research is found, and Hayden is locked in with his uncle Charles, lab tech Gabriel Rasmussen, intern Felicia Xia, and Felicia's father Paul, who is head of security. Over the course of one night, Hayden must avenge his father's death and defend his father's work and legacy. Hayden's one ally is Horatio, the lab's AI assistant, who will stop at nothing to protect his friend. Deft characterization and smart nods to Hamlet keep the tale feeling fresh. Like the original, this is less a murder mystery than a study in grief, full of complex characters and situations. Hayden is just as vulnerable, grief-stricken, and impulsive as Hamlet, while Felicia gets the more nuanced and robust storyline that wasn't given to Ophelia. VERDICT This is a fantastic and innovative retelling. Highly recommended for adventurous readers.—Portia Kapraun
