Harrowmark

In a broken, shattered world, the last vestiges of a once-revered order are all that stand against the return of an insidious evil

With the depth of John Gwynne's Malice and the rugged found family of Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils, this lush dark fantasy urges us to confront the monster within

The world is a broken one, held together only by magical portals and the Vespers, an ancient order clinging to its fight against the darkness. The Vespers are noble. They are gifted. They are pure. 

Or are they? 

Sennia, daughter of the ruling queen, is sick of political games and longs for the simple, clear life of a Vesper, battling the few remaining wraiths that still menace the Outlands. But she soon discovers the order is nothing like she imagined.

Ezerye, an idealistic post-graduate scholar, has always told herself that the only true evil is ignorance. No harm could ever come of an honest search for knowledge... and then a mysterious presence begins to speak to her from within the vergeglass portals, and Ezerye must decide how badly she really wants answers.

Jaskin casts himself upon the mercy of the Vespers, desperate for sanctuary. He has lived his entire life with a monster who shares his face, and surely anything is better than waiting to be consumed by his dear twin brother. But when he comes into his newfound powers, Jaskin suddenly discovers he has a new option: to become the monster himself, and give his brother a taste of what it feels like to be hunted.

Full of terrible sacrifices, impossible choices, and desperate faith, this is a reminder that we can still drive back the darkness, both within and without, even when all seems lost.