I’ve been a fan of Daryl Gregory‘s books for quite some time, now. I believe the first novel by him that I read was Afterparty, which was partially set in the first neighbourhood in Toronto I got to know. Ever since, I’ve been a keen reader of his new novels and short stories — each has been engaging, original, and offers imaginative twists on new and classic SFF ideas and tropes. In October, Tachyon Publications are due to publish his latest speculative mystery: The Porcelain Sisters. Check out the synopsis:
A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses.
Ruth Winslow is trying to save up enough money to finish college while looking after her sister, Isabel―who happens to be a haunted doll. When an accident severely damages Isabel’s porcelain body, the sisters have to find the only woman who can fix her, the fearsome witch known as La Fabricante: the Dollmaker.
The sisters head to Marseille, where they take on Le Clan: Chiffon, a red-headed, unkillable assassin; a collection of angry, haunted dolls; plus a pair of demons―one a cigarette-smoking crow, the other a black cat―and their human familiars.
Along the way, the sisters learn that they’ve been lied to their entire lives. Their mother wasn’t just a homemaker who died in a car accident, she was a legendary enforcer in the Le Clan des Sorcières.
While Ruth has to come out of her shell and deal with her own latent powers, Isabel has to grow up in a body that can’t grow. Together they’ll have to outwit and outfight everyone to claim their birthright.
I’m really looking forward to this!
Daryl Gregory’s The Porcelain Sisters is due to be published by Tachyon Publications, on October 26th.
Also on CR: Interview with Daryl Gregory (2017); Review of The Album of Dr. Moreau
Civilian Reader 