Demon Song
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A young woman discovers the terrifying secrets lurking within the walls of a Beijing opera house, in this addictive Gothic horror novella inspired by Chinese mythology about the price of fame, and the bonds between mothers and daughters. Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Cassandra Khaw.
Places like this have a history. Desires. And this one is famished.
Megan and her mom are on the run after narrowly escaping the clutches of an abusive man who dragged them from Portland to Beijing. With few options, Megan’s mom turns to an old friend who offers them room and board in Huihuang Opera Theater in exchange for cleaning the ancient building.
Between her rusty Mandarin and constant reminders that she’s an outsider, Megan struggles with loneliness—until she meets Kristy, the glamorous young lead in the operatic adaptation of “The Monkey King and the White Bone Demon”. Soon, Megan’s free time is split between reading a battered copy of the Chinese classic that inspired the opera and her budding new friendship; Kristy’s love of singing brings out Megan’s long-buried ambitions.
But the opera house has its secrets. There are passages within the walls that shouldn’t be there, and the more Megan delves into that old book, the more the myths begin to bleed into real life. As Megan finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from folklore, she must uncover a decades-old mystery to discover the true, horrifying secret of the opera house before it casts its hungry eyes on her.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Phantom of the Opera gets a grisly body horror makeover in Yu's gripping debut fantasy. Sixteen-year-old Megan and her mother, Jia, find refuge at the Huihuang Opera House in Beijing after fleeing from her mother's latest in a string of abusive boyfriends. Megan also finds a friend in Kristy, a glamorous and immensely talented opera singer, who awakens and supports Megan's musical ambitions but also warns her to be careful: the old opera house has a long and violent history and preys on the young and the desperate. Though Jia insists this is a new start, the literal demons of the past are hungry for fresh meat, and it seems that Jia's own history with the opera house is longer and more complex than Megan realized. Megan must determine exactly what she would sacrifice not merely for the security she's always wanted but for a spot in the opera troupe. Fans of updated gothic horror will find much to enjoy in this gritty take on the sacrifices artists are willing to make for fame and fortune. Yu's off to a promising start.
