The House of Binding Thorns (Dominion of the Fallen 2)

Review an intriguing mystery, elegantly written... with carefully crafted characters both with layers and depth, De Bodard reflects the best and worst of human nature in her novel ― The Guardian One of the most influential voice in fantasy today. ― STARBURST I strongly urge you to get House of Shattered Wings: it offers something a little different; a superb blend of intrigue, mystery and magic and urban fantasy; it's brilliantly written; and the story is gripping. I can't wait for the sequel. Very highly recommended. ― CIVILIAN READER Truly beautifully balanced: between new and old, birth and death, beauty and ugliness, inside and outside, beginning and, yes, ending. It walks the line, and walks it fine. ― TOR.COM Reading this novel felt like a very intimate experience, the characters and landscape are so well developed with such detail that one feels as if they are walking alongside them as the story unfolds... Ambience abounds in this novel. ― Geek Syndicate There's so much going on here: social commentary, myths and fairy tales that often feel under-represented in genre fiction, a gripping adventure and an affecting love story. The author has gone from strength to strength. ― SciFiNow Aliette de Bodard has made a name for herself imagining futures and alternate histories that showcase non-Western cultural landscapes and characters...this is smart and nuanced storytelling ― SFX I have rarely read such a brilliantly executed piece of work... This is a must read for everyone who enjoys complex fantasies with well-developed characters and sophisticated worldbuilding. ― INTERZONE If you like fantasy which is intelligent and definitely non-formulaic, then I would absolutely recommend this book. ― BSFG Fascinating, moving and hugely readable ― SCI-FI NOW This book is wreathed in mythology, magic and mysticism and it is such a compelling read that maybe the book itself is magic ― Fantasy Book Review There's an intelligence-and, yes, an elegance-to The House of Shattered Wings that is as rare and precious as angel essence. ― TOR.COM The devastated Paris of Aliette de Bodard's novel is especially haunting. This is partly because de Bodard, a Nebula Award-winning French-Vietnamese writer, lives in Paris and can convey a visceral sense of immediacy to a ruined Notre Dame or the remains of the grand department stores, and partly it's because of the sheer lyricism of her prose...A series of mysterious deaths turns the novel into a surprising but compelling murder mystery, which plays out according to the supernatural terms de Bodard has laid out so evocatively. ― The Chicago Tribune De Bodard aptly mixes moral conflicts and the desperate need to survive in a fantastical spy thriller that reads like a hybrid of le Carré and Milton, all tinged with the melancholy of golden ages lost. ― Publishers Weekly In the end, de Bodard manages to weave together the backstories and fates of the various characters...into a novel that is both haunting and original, its sense of loss almost palpable, and it setting not quite like anything else in modern fantasy. ― Locus Aliette de Bodard presents a gritty, otherworldly Paris in her fast-paced, fantastical thriller. ― The Washington Post It's a grim story with high-flown conventions, but by finding so much ugliness even in supernatural beauty, de Bodard makes both seem more compelling, and more concrete. ― NPR.com A fascinating Paris of decay and cruelty. Phillippe is a marvel of a character. ― Library Journal French-Vietnamese author Aliette de Bodard ventures into the realm of gothic fantasy and manages to create - despite the hoary premise of fallen angels and ancient curses - something startlingly and creepily original. ― The Guardian The House of Shattered Wings is an enthralling and fully submerging read with an intriguing power structure and a setting that has both an unknown and yet familiarly gothic feel to it. ― WE LOVE THIS BOOK I have said previously in a review of her wo