July 2021 Indie Next Recommended Book
[STARRED REVIEW] "Liu's mastery of so many different subgenres
astounds, and her ear for language carries each story forward on
gorgeously crafted sentences. This is a must-read"
--Publishers Weekly, Top-10 forthcoming SF/F/H title
New York Times bestseller and Hugo, British Fantasy, Romantic Times,
and Eisner award-winning author of the graphic novel Monstress,
Marjorie Liu leads you deep into the heart of the tangled woods. In her
long-awaited debut collection of dark, lush, and spellbinding short
fiction, you will find unexpected detours, dangerous magic, and even
more dangerous women.
Briar, bodyguard for a body-stealing sorceress, discovers her love for
Rose, whose true soul emerges only once a week. An apprentice witch
seeks her freedom through betrayal, the bones of the innocent, and a
meticulously plotted spell. In a world powered by crystal skulls, a
warrior returns to save China from invasion by her jealous ex. A
princess runs away from an arranged marriage, finding family in a
strange troupe of traveling actors at the border of the kingdom's deep,
dark woods.
Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Marjorie Liu's first
short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales
of love, revenge, and new beginnings.
