Publishers Weekly
★ 05/06/2024
Hamill (A Cosmology of Monsters) returns with a dark and enchanting account of four friends whose dabbling in the supernatural as teenagers threatens their present happiness. In the 1990s, Hal, Athena, Erin, and Peter discover the Dissonance, which enables them to transform negative emotions into great feats of magic, and form a power-hungry coven. In 2019, now adults and their coven dissolved due to some unstated disaster, the friends must reckon with the consequences of their impulsive adolescent actions. Toggling between the two timelines to tease out what happened between now and then, Hamil weaves a tale of magic, teen angst, the power of enduring friendship, life in small-town America, sexuality, and the use of religion (in this case, Christianity) as a tool of subjugation. As the friends learn more of what they are capable of, they also discover what, and who, is behind the forces of Dissonance, building to a shocking conclusion that will change them forever. Fantasy readers won’t want to put this down. Agent: Kent Wolf, Neon Literary. (July)
From the Publisher
ONE OF PASTE’S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS
“One of the most ambitious genre books of the year, and we’d expect nothing less from Hamill.”
—Matthew Jackson, Paste
“A brilliantly rendered tale of friendship, redemption, cosmic horror, and so much heart. The Dissonance cements Hamill as a master world-builder and one of the most exciting voices in fantasy today. I already want to reread this book.”
—Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin
“Pure magic. A novel that sparks with wonder, heartbreak, and hope. Wildly endearing and compulsively readable, with an immersive, richly drawn world and vibrant characters you’ll never forget. The truths within—about friendship, about pain, about growing up and making mistakes— are beautiful and absolute. A masterpiece.”
—Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep and Such Sharp Teeth
“The Dissonance packs all the punch of a ‘kids on bikes’ adventure—that is, if instead of bikes, the kids were riding waves of terror conjured by eldritch horrors. Shaun Hamill will make you nostalgically recall your first kiss—and mere pages later, he’ll gift you a demon in a skinsuit puking out its own entrails. And the most messed up part? It works. If you, like me, wish there was an Animorphs for fucked up grown-ups—wish granted.”
—GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot
"The most impressive magical feat of The Dissonance are the four teen friends and their complicated, cringy, familiar wart-filled relationship, one imbued with enough love to refill your soul. The result is that this wildly imaginative, thrilling, time-hopping, magic and monsters epic feels authentic and lived in. Not sure how Shaun did it. The jerk."
—Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts
"Shaun Hamill proves there are strange new worlds yet to be explored on the bookshelf. The Dissonance is yet another testament to Hamill's mantel as a master storyteller, blending the terrors and wonders of traumatic magic. You won't read another novel quite like The Dissonance this year, or perhaps ever in this life—or even beyond it."
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters
“Dark and enchanting. . . . Hamill weaves a tale of magic, teen angst, [and] the power of enduring friendship. . . . Fantasy readers won’t want to put this down.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Exceptional plotting. . . . This is dark academia that takes place in someone’s backyard, sweeping the protagonists into a whirlwind of cosmic horrors and alternate dimensions. It’s also a moving tale of the friendship between believable characters that are rough around the edges. A great pick for fans of Stephen King’s It, only with a more fantastical and angsty edge.”
—Andrea Dyba, Library Journal
“A treat for readers whose nostalgia gravitates to the likes of Stand by Me, Twin Peaks, or, most thematically, Stephen King’s It. In a similar vein to Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black novels or Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake trilogy, Hamill takes some ordinary young people and puts them through the metaphysical wringer to see what’s left at the end. . . . A wistful, emotional roller coaster.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
06/01/2024
Hal Isaac is facing prison time. Athena Watts is a teacher of sex magic in her occult café. Erin Porter struggles to hold down a job. The one thing they have in common is that their lives peaked as teenagers, when they discovered the magic of Dissonance, a source of power that's rooted in disharmony and pain. As teens, Hal, Athena, and Erin formed a coven that was eventually disbanded by tragedy, the consequences of which still haunt them in adulthood with apocalyptic magnitude. From the author of the well-received debut A Cosmology of Monsters, this is another bold and bizarre tale that follows the misadventures of a cataclysmic coven. With exceptional plotting, the drama shifts back and forth between the trio's teen years and adulthood, as palpable menace seeps through. This is dark academia that takes place in someone's backyard, sweeping the protagonists into a whirlwind of cosmic horrors and alternate dimensions. It's also a moving tale of the friendship between believable characters that are rough around the edges. VERDICT A great pick for fans of Stephen King's It, only with a more fantastical and angsty edge.—Andrea Dyba
