We Shall Be Monsters
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- £6.49
Publisher Description
Frankenstein meets Indian mythology in this twisty, darkly atmospheric fantasy where the real horrors are not the monsters you face, but the ones you create.
“One of the most unique and intelligent books I’ve read. . . Alluring, completely enthralling, and masterfully rendered.” —Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
Kajal knows she is not a good person. If she were, she wouldn’t selfishly be risking her sister’s soul in a dangerous bid to bring her back to life. She would let Lasya rest in peace—but Kajal cannot stand the horror of living without her.
As Kajal prepares for the resurrection, the worst happens: Her sister’s soul warps into a bhuta—a murderous, wraith-like spirit—and Kajal gets sentenced to death for her sister’s rampage. There seems little hope of escape until two strangers offer to free her. The catch: She must resurrect the kingdom’s fallen crown prince to aid a growing rebellion against a tyrannical usurper. Desperate, Kajal rushes to complete her end of the deal . . . only to discover that the boy she’s resurrected, Tav, is not the crown prince.
Now Kajal—prickly, proud, admirer of the scientific method—must team up with Tav—stubborn, reticent, and fonder of swords than of books—to find the real crown prince. With only a scalpel and her undead dog, Kutaa, at her side, Kajal must work fast before her mistake is exposed or Lasya’s bhuta turns its murderous fury on the person truly responsible for her death: Kajal herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hoping to gain the yakshas', or nature spirits', favor to end the mysterious blight poisoning Dharati, the country's leaders routinely hang single women and girls for suspected connection to malevolent beings called rakshasas. In Dharati, teens Kajal and her sister Lasya lead a hardscrabble life as itinerant workers and petty thieves. After Lasya dies in an accident, Kajal embarks on an obsessive search for a way to resurrect her. Her already seemingly impossible quest is further jeopardized by Lasya's spirit warping into a bhuta, a hostile specter that kills indiscriminately until it's put to rest. Then, Kajal is blackmailed by insurrectionists into reviving the crown prince, who died in battle to the Usurper King almost 20 years prior. As political plots thicken and her sister's bhuta grows stronger, Kajal must face the consequences of her actions and decide what she's willing to lose to reach her goals. Borrowing liberally from Hindu folklore and utilizing evocative, moody prose alongside gruesome depictions of body horror, Sim (Ravage the Dark) explores themes of systemic misogyny, superstition, and morality. Though pacing occasionally flags, Sim delivers a twisted work of fantasy horror teeming with fascinating creatures and long-buried secrets. Age 12–up.
