A superb, mystic fantasy debut
Everything has a price, and those who deal with the devil pay dearly in this enthralling dark fantasy about redemption, sacrifice, and a Hell-bound battle between good and evil.
Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru made a choice that has haunted him for years. He abandoned his lover, Rachael, to Hell to save the damned soul of his sister, Catarina. But Catarina doesn’t want to be saved. Now a prisoner in his reviled sister’s home, Lucian is being used as a tool to help fulfill Catarina’s wicked dreams: unleash the demons of the underworld to wage a war above.
Lucian’s first step in thwarting Catarina’s plan is to make amends with the past. Escaping captivity, he is determined to find Rachael even if it means entering the gates of Hell itself. Only then does he cross paths with a young girl fleeing from her own terrors. With the frightened foundling in tow, Lucian embarks on a journey to right a terrible wrong, to protect the innocent, and to rescue the woman he loves.
But no one escapes Catarina’s wrath. She’s just as driven in her pursuit: to track down her brother wherever it leads. And when she finds him, and she will, she vows to turn his heart to glass, grind it to powder, and crush the souls of everyone he loves.
I read Teresa Frohock’s excellent debut novel, Miserere, back in 2011, and I’ve been a fan of the author’s work ever since. In January 2025, JABberwocky are going to released a revised edition of the novel, so I thought this would be a good time to re-post my original review — with only some typos fixed. (I loved it then, so I imagine the new version will be even better.) Since the original publisher (Nightshade) is no more, this book has become very difficult to track down, so I’m very glad it’s getting another lease of life, and that new readers will have a chance to read it.
[2011 Review starts now.]
It took me a little while to get to Miserere, but after hearing quite a few good things about the novel, I decided it was high time that I gave it a try. Another of Night Shade Books’ New Voices releases, this is a dark, brooding tale of redemption with an original setting and engaging characters.
Lucian has been kept as an effective prisoner by his sister, as she slowly consolidates her hold on their city. One day, he meets a priest who helps him escape. What follows is a tour of the different regions of the Woerld, as Lucian evades his sister’s operatives. On his journey, he stumbles across Lindsay, a young lost girl brought to Woerld through the veil. Through Lindsay’s eyes, we learn a little more about how the Woerld and its magic works, what the faiths mean, and so forth. This is very skilfully done, never feeling like an info-dump or excessive exposition – her perspective is a perfect device to introduce us fully to the setting, as the novel progresses.
Frohock has drawn on a broad range of Christian and other religious mythology to create her ‘Woerld’ and its relation to Earth. They are parallel universes, of sorts.
“Heaven, Earth, Woerld, and Hell – [all] interrelated with one another. The four realms were like four lakes joined by tiny streams; toss a pebble into Hell and the ripples would extend to the farthermost reaches of Heaven.”
In Woerld, the religions of our reality are “bastions” that work together (and learn from each other) to prevent the Fallen from getting to Earth. It is an eternal struggle, and if war breaks out in Woerld, the repercussions and violence can spill over into Earth.
It took me a little while to get settled into the story, because I wasn’t sure how it all fit together. Nevertheless, it is clear from very early on that Frohock has created a very interesting world – drawing on religious mysticism, the occult and other supernatural elements (with a dash of horror, too), to create something very original and engaging. There’s a little bit of dimension-jumping near the beginning, which I hadn’t expected, but things settle down and we’re presented with a tale of classic themes: palace intrigue, Machiavellian agendas, a damaged hero seeking redemption or punishment, a sinister plot of epic proportions and apocalyptic potential. It’s good-vs.-evil, but writ across a great, original landscape.
The characters are engaging, well-crafted, realistic, and diverse. They all have their own identities and voices, even the minor ones. The three main characters are quite broken, dealing with their own inner demons and tragic pasts – Lucian wallows in it, Rachael endures it, Catarina revels in it. Catarina, the “darkling”, is sinister and wonderfully twisted, ambitious in the extreme, and seeks the power of a goddess. I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t feature that much in the second half of the novel. Rachael is proud and determined to maintain control over herself, to not give in to the Wyrm that has possessed her, slowly eating away at her self. Lucian merely seems to endure, spreading what little dissent and warning he can against his sister’s activities and emerging dark regime. When Lindsay appears, Lucian finds a new purpose – one that should be closed to him, but one he embraces nonetheless, hoping it holds the keys to his redemption.
Miserere is deftly and tightly written, and I quickly came to care for all the (“good”) characters, and became invested in their survival. The pacing was not fast, but neither was it slow – it moved steadily, and Frohock’s prose pulled me on through the story. I found myself frustrated when life demanded I do something other than read. It’s a fascinating world, populated by interesting characters. There’s also more action as Catarina’s minions hunt for Lucian, and that, too, is well-written.
There’s been a lot of confusion as to what sort of novel this is meant to be, due to the “religious” content. Yes, it’s true that the author has been influenced by religious imagery, mythology, and even the language of faith and prayer. But, this is not a “religious fantasy”. It is no more religious than the TV show Supernatural is. It draws on religious mysticism and the occult (sort of), but does not preach any religious message. It’s an aesthetic, and a sub-genre that I’ve always found interesting, and Frohock has taken it and given it a whole new spin, making it feel new and fresh. I really enjoyed this.
Highly recommended, this is a superb debut. I’ll be keeping an eye open for more of the author’s work, and I’m very keen to find out how this series develops.
*
Teresa Frohock’s Miserere will be re-issued by JABberwocky in North America and in the UK, on January 21st, 2025.
Civilian Reader 