Publishers Weekly
★ 07/24/2023
Bancroft (The Fall of Babel) brilliantly inaugurates a new fantasy series with this suspenseful and humorous introduction to “private investigators of the paranormal” Isolde Ann Always Wilby and her husband, Warren, who took her last name when they married. These spell-casting celebrity sleuths get a daunting challenge from Horace Alman, Royal Secretary to Luthland’s King Elbert III. Alman is concerned that the monarch has gone off his rocker after Elbert repeatedly declares that he wants to be “baked into a cake,” and even crawls into an oven to achieve this goal. The secretary traces the king’s mental collapse back to his receipt of a letter from someone purporting to be Elbert’s bastard son, a claim buttressed by the envelope’s having been sealed with a royal signet that went missing 25 years earlier. Isolde and Warren agree to investigate, probing into the letter writer’s identity and motives for coming forward—even when doing so lands them in some supernaturally dangerous situations. This light and charming tale encompasses a twisty mystery, detailed Victorian-esque worldbuilding, and nuanced protagonists who love each other dearly, all relayed in Bancroft’s superior prose. Readers will be eager to see how the series evolves. Agent: Ian Drury, Sheil Land Assoc. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Bancroft is a wonder as ever! The Hexologists was a joyous delight on every page—buoyantly inventive, witty, poignant, gripping, and deeply satisfying."—Madeline Miller, New York Times Bestselling author of Circe
“Bancroft has returned to the page in force, deploying his crystal prose and razored wit around a tale that mixes whimsy and threat in equal measure. He's a gift to the genre and we should support his work.”—Mark Lawrence, author of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
"Characters and humor make this magic-meets-steampunk novel worth checking out."—Kirkus
"This madcap thriller is recommended for readers who can’t resist the rising wave of fantasy mystery series."—Library Journal
"An entertaining investigative romp."—Booklist
"It's rare to find a modern book that feels like a timeless classic. I'm wildly in love with this book."—Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising on Senlin Ascends
“Josiah Bancroft’s imagination will astound you. One of the most inventive fantasy authors out there.” —Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga
“Fantastic! The Hexologists fizzes eloquently with wit and elegance, but also has marvelous worldbuilding and an excellent plot - and a central pair of characters who I quite simply love. A cocktail of a book made with the very best champagne.”—Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library
"Bancroft brilliantly inaugurates a new fantasy series with this suspenseful and humorous introduction to “private investigators of the paranormal.” This light and charming tale encompasses a twisty mystery, detailed Victorian-esque worldbuilding, and nuanced protagonists who love each other dearly, all relayed in Bancroft’s superior prose. Readers will be eager to see how the series evolves."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"The Hod King is a compelling and original novel; the "Books of Babel" are something you hope to see perhaps once a decade - future classics, which may be remembered long after the series concludes."—Los Angeles Times on The Hod King
"Senlin Ascends is one of the best reads I've had in ages . . . I was dragged in and didn't escape until I'd finished two or three days later."
—Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns on Senlin Ascends
"Deeply compelling . . . A classic in the making."—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
"Wonderfully unique and superbly well written. I loved every page."—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld on Senlin Ascends
"Senlin is a man worth rooting for, and his strengthening resolve and character is as marvelous and sprawling as the tower he climbs."—The Washington Post on Senlin Ascends
"What is remarkable about this novel, quite apart from its rich, allusive prose, is Bancroft's portrayal of Senlin, a good man in a desperate situation, and the way he changes in response to his experiences in his ascent."—The Guardian on Senlin Ascends
"Senlin Ascends crosses the everyday strangeness and lyrical prose of Borges and Gogol with all the action and adventure of high fantasy. I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page."
—Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names on Senlin Ascends
"Brilliant debut fantasy . . . This novel goes off like a firework and suggests even greater things in the author's future."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review on Senlin Ascends
New York Times bestselling author Madeline Miller
Buoyantly inventive, witty, poignant, gripping, and deeply satisfying.”
The Washington Post on Senlin Ascends
Senlin is a man worth rooting for, and his strengthening resolve and character is as marvelous and sprawling as the tower he climbs.
Los Angeles Times on The Hod King
The Hod King is a compelling and original novel; the "Books of Babel" are something you hope to see perhaps once a decade - future classics, which may be remembered long after the series concludes.
The Guardian on Senlin Ascends
What is remarkable about this novel, quite apart from its rich, allusive prose, is Bancroft's portrayal of Senlin, a good man in a desperate situation, and the way he changes in response to his experiences in his ascent.
author of Red Rising on Senlin Ascends Pierce Brown
It's rare to find a modern book that feels like a timeless classic. I'm wildly in love with this book.
author of The Thousand Names on Senlin Ascends Django Wexler
Senlin Ascends crosses the everyday strangeness and lyrical prose of Borges and Gogol with all the action and adventure of high fantasy. I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page.
author of the Green Bone Saga Fonda Lee
Josiah Bancroft’s imagination will astound you. One of the most inventive fantasy authors out there.
New York Times Bestselling author of Circe Madeline Miller
Bancroft is a wonder as ever! The Hexologists was a joyous delight on every page—buoyantly inventive, witty, poignant, gripping, and deeply satisfying.
B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
Deeply compelling . . . A classic in the making.
author of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn Mark Lawrence
Bancroft has returned to the page in force, deploying his crystal prose and razored wit around a tale that mixes whimsy and threat in equal measure. He's a gift to the genre and we should support his work.
author of Prince of Thorns on Senlin Ascends Mark Lawrence
Senlin Ascends is one of the best reads I've had in ages . . . I was dragged in and didn't escape until I'd finished two or three days later.
author of The Invisible Library Genevieve Cogman
Fantastic! The Hexologists fizzes eloquently with wit and elegance, but also has marvelous worldbuilding and an excellent plot - and a central pair of characters who I quite simply love. A cocktail of a book made with the very best champagne.
author of Kings of the Wyld on Senlin Ascends Nicholas Eames
Wonderfully unique and superbly well written. I loved every page.
New York Times bestselling author of Circe Madeline Miller
Josiah Bancroft is a magician. His books are that rare alchemy: gracefully written, deliriously imaginative, action-packed, warm, witty, and thought-provoking. I can't wait for more.
Library Journal
08/01/2023
Isolde and Warren Wilby, who delve into secrets and solve magical mysteries, find themselves seconded to the Crown in this first entry in a new series. Their mission: to learn who the king's blackmailer is. It should be an easy case to solve, but all the records seem to have disappeared—and all the witnesses seem to have died under mysterious circumstances. Something is rotten in the kingdom of Luthland, but whether it's the blackmailer, the king's past, or the current cover-up is what the Wilbies will have to hunt down, even if their road leads to forbidden magic or the inside of a tomb—possibly their own. Bancroft (The Fall of Babel) writes a gaslamp fantasy world where magic breeds technology and disaster in equal measure, and sometimes the only thing a pair of magical detectives can do is keep digging in hopes of finding the key to each deadly mystery as it attacks with the able assistance of the dragon who lives in their portmanteau. VERDICT This madcap thriller is recommended for readers who can't resist the rising wave of fantasy mystery series.—Marlene Harris
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-13
Married couple Isolde and Warren Wilby, Hexologists and private investigators, must solve a royal mystery before the kingdom collapses into chaos in the first book in a new series.
When the royal secretary interrupts the Wilbies’ teatime because the king is asking to be baked alive into a cake, it’s just a normal day for the magical investigators. It seems a blackmailer’s claim of an illegitimate heir is driving the king mad. Iz wants nothing to do with royalty, but Warren reminds her that an unrecognized heir creates a power vacuum, which means Luthland's vulnerable will suffer all the more. When a forest golem breaks down the cellar door and heads straight for the royal secretary, that seals the deal: The Wilbies take the case. Magic exists in the Wilbies’ world, one strikingly similar to London during the Industrial Revolution, and Iz is a student of hexegy—the casting of hexes. With Iz’s powers and Warren’s social skills, as well as a large cast of side characters that includes a librarian, a foodie dragon who lives inside a magic carpetbag full of relics, and an alcoholic imp, the mystery unravels into stranger and stranger revelations. If the Hexologists can’t solve the case quickly, it could tear the kingdom apart—literally and figuratively. While the book gets off to a promising start, with action and intrigue bathed in delightfully wry humor, the language soon begins to feel like it's had a wrestling match with a thesaurus. The pacing and clarity sometimes suffer from this cleverness, though the main characters are likable and what you’d expect from a quick-quipping husband-and-wife investigative team. They aren’t unique, but they are fun. If Bancroft had spent more time developing them instead of jumping from one side character to another and given them real obstacles instead of a too-convenient history/tool/hex to solve every problem that arises, this book could have been top-notch. As it stands, this magical tale—ultimately about classism and justice—should still find an audience in need of a chuckle and a mystery to solve.
Characters and humor make this magic-meets-steampunk novel worth checking out despite its shortcomings.
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