The House of Shattered Wings: An epic fantasy murder mystery set in the ruins of fallen Paris
Aug 2015 · Hachette UK
4.1star
8 reviewsreport
eBook
416
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About this eBook
An epic murder mystery set on the crumbling streets of a Paris torn apart by a magical war . . .
'Lyrical, sophisticated, lush, suspenseful' Ken Liu
Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France's once grand capital.
House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.
Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires' salvation; or the architects of its last, irreversible fall . . .
Readers can't put down The House of Shattered Wings:
'An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership' Kate Elliot
'I was absolutely gripped by this novel the whole way. It is such a beautiful, powerful, genuinely haunting fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Incredibly atmospheric: you can almost see yourself walking the streets of Paris, seeing the polluted, black Seine for yourself, surrounding Notre Dame and Des Magasins' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'A fascinating take on fallen angels in 1930s Paris . . . I was quite taken by the prose and the world building in this as well as rich and complex characters' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'A suspenseful supernatural narrative focusing on fallen angels as they fight for power in a post-apocalyptic Paris that boasts brilliant worldbuilding, powerful prose and a cast of terrifically conflicted characters' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Lyrical, sophisticated, lush, suspenseful' Ken Liu
Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France's once grand capital.
House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.
Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires' salvation; or the architects of its last, irreversible fall . . .
Readers can't put down The House of Shattered Wings:
'An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership' Kate Elliot
'I was absolutely gripped by this novel the whole way. It is such a beautiful, powerful, genuinely haunting fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Incredibly atmospheric: you can almost see yourself walking the streets of Paris, seeing the polluted, black Seine for yourself, surrounding Notre Dame and Des Magasins' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'A fascinating take on fallen angels in 1930s Paris . . . I was quite taken by the prose and the world building in this as well as rich and complex characters' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'A suspenseful supernatural narrative focusing on fallen angels as they fight for power in a post-apocalyptic Paris that boasts brilliant worldbuilding, powerful prose and a cast of terrifically conflicted characters' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Ratings and reviews
4.1
8 reviews
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22 June 2018
A very interesting blend of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, historical fiction and mystery, set in a Paris as fallen as the angels who inhabit it, and with some influences from Vietnamese mythology. Everything about this book gives such a sense of rot, and it's actually a fascinating tone for the story. There's something deeply wrong with this city and everyone who lives in it, and the shadows of the past are - quite literally - still affecting the present. This book can be seen as a murder mystery, but I find it's mostly about political intrigue between fallen angels and their Houses, with murderous magic and old grudges around. There's also commentary on colonialism from the point of view of one of the PoV characters, Philippe, who is Annamite (Vietnamese). The ending wasn't completely satisfying but now I really want to read the sequel.
About the author
Aliette de Bodard is one of the Writers of the Future, has won two Nebula Awards, a Locus Award and a BSFA Award. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, Sturgeon, and Tiptree Awards, making her one of our most-lauded contemporary fiction writers. A writer by night, by day she is a qualified engineer, specialising in Applied Mathematics. She lives in Paris, in a flat with more computers than she really needs. You can learn more at www.aliettedebodard.com or by following @aliettedb on twitter.
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