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Asunder
We choose our own gods here.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch entity—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch entity—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2024
183 people are currently reading
7,075 people want to read
About the author
Kerstin Hall
11books296followersKERSTIN HALL is the author of Asunder, The Border Keeper, Second Spear, and Star Eater. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
December 1, 2024
This book gave me that good ache deep in your gut-- if you're someone who checks the "hurt/comfort" box on ao3 when you're looking for reading material, you know what I mean. It's that feeling when you read about two people who have been through some deep shit together and they finally permit themselves to have just a tiny sliver of tenderness and hope. I'm still thinking about it even though I finished awhile ago, about the lengths to which these characters (and not just the main duo, but the whole team, so to speak) will go to help each other, despite the wounds between them.
So like, I could tell you a lot about this book. I could tell you to read it if you feel like the fantasy you've been reading recently feels a bit same-y, because this one is completely different from whatever else you've read. I could tell you about the blood-soaked rituals to appease eldritch horror beings, the perils of body-sharing, the cold sea air vibes, the array of untrustworthy, unsavory individuals that our heroes have to deal with on their journey, all of whom introduce new facets of this world and how its wonders can be used for ill. I could tell you about all those things but they don't change the real reason you should read this, which is: the characters and their relationships.
I think a lot about "cozy" as a descriptor for books-- not usually my thing, but no judgment here-- and I want to suggest something different for you. Some books give you a cozy feeling because they're like a warm cottage in a sunny forest, so the entire world that they occupy feels safe and comfortable, as well as the stories inside them. But some books give you a cozy feeling because the story creates a shelter against a raging storm-- because the world of the story is harsh, cold, and unfeeling, but the characters have huddled together against it and kept a small fire alive. If a book makes me feel cozy, that's usually why-- because I don't recognize a world that isn't trying to eat me alive, that's just not something I can get my brain on board with, but what I long for and what I've loved in this hard world we live in are the moments when I, wounded by life, find solace with people who care about me imperfectly but earnestly. That's essentially what these characters do, they carry all their hurts and weaknesses and failures into this space they make together, and take care of each other. Now, does it work all the time? Does it work in the end? I'm not going to spoil it for you. But the feelings are real, and complex, and hard won.
And if I don't get a sequel I will riot I WILL RIOT
So like, I could tell you a lot about this book. I could tell you to read it if you feel like the fantasy you've been reading recently feels a bit same-y, because this one is completely different from whatever else you've read. I could tell you about the blood-soaked rituals to appease eldritch horror beings, the perils of body-sharing, the cold sea air vibes, the array of untrustworthy, unsavory individuals that our heroes have to deal with on their journey, all of whom introduce new facets of this world and how its wonders can be used for ill. I could tell you about all those things but they don't change the real reason you should read this, which is: the characters and their relationships.
I think a lot about "cozy" as a descriptor for books-- not usually my thing, but no judgment here-- and I want to suggest something different for you. Some books give you a cozy feeling because they're like a warm cottage in a sunny forest, so the entire world that they occupy feels safe and comfortable, as well as the stories inside them. But some books give you a cozy feeling because the story creates a shelter against a raging storm-- because the world of the story is harsh, cold, and unfeeling, but the characters have huddled together against it and kept a small fire alive. If a book makes me feel cozy, that's usually why-- because I don't recognize a world that isn't trying to eat me alive, that's just not something I can get my brain on board with, but what I long for and what I've loved in this hard world we live in are the moments when I, wounded by life, find solace with people who care about me imperfectly but earnestly. That's essentially what these characters do, they carry all their hurts and weaknesses and failures into this space they make together, and take care of each other. Now, does it work all the time? Does it work in the end? I'm not going to spoil it for you. But the feelings are real, and complex, and hard won.
And if I don't get a sequel I will riot I WILL RIOT
November 16, 2024
i don’t want to lose you let’s merge souls bro
don’t you hate it when the guy you bound to your body to save from a violent death ends up seeing you at your lowest alongside all your flaws and still believes that you are the best thing to happen to him and just wants to keep you near for as long as he is able
him being like: i can’t leave you. dude you physically cannot but okay i getchu
and what do you mean that ending??? i am unwell
|
don’t you hate it when the guy you bound to your body to save from a violent death ends up seeing you at your lowest alongside all your flaws and still believes that you are the best thing to happen to him and just wants to keep you near for as long as he is able
him being like: i can’t leave you. dude you physically cannot but okay i getchu
and what do you mean that ending??? i am unwell
|
February 4, 2025
Asunder is a dark, gritty fantasy story with fascinating world-building and emotional character arcs. It quickly became one of my favorite books of the year and I need more people to read it.
Asunder is a book that will make you work to understand the world-building; something I really love. I was immediately hooked by all of these small references to things I didn’t fully understand. This book will not reveal information until you absolutely need it making for a satisfying and engaging reading experience.
The world of Asunder reminds me of a horror Studio Ghibli atmosphere. Karys and her companions traverse a very unstable land, divided by years of godly conflict. Magic has integrated itself into the land in ways that are sometimes whimsical and yet often strange and unsettling.
The gods of this world are grotesque, inhuman, and selfish. Some of the scenes where Karys is interacting with her pact holder really freaked me out. But I loved how these interactions captured the violent, bloody history between the gods and the twisted forms of faith that developed as gods tried to cling to power. Lurking in the background of this story are threads of messy, complicated political turmoil related to the role of gods in the world. I would love to explore these threads further in a sequel.
There are so many raw and emotional character moments in this. Karys is a deeply jaded and untrusting character. Along her journey, she picks up people who are determined to help her and we get some amazing interactions within this found family group. These characters have really complicated histories and are likely working towards their own hidden agendas.
The forced proximity bonding between Karys and Ferain was incredible. What starts as a selfish, temporary plan becomes a relationship that changes both of their lives. The progression of their relationship as they slowly learned to trust each other was so moving.
I don't believe that any news for a sequel has been confirmed but listen� TorDotCom� YOU CANNOT LEAVE ME WITH THAT ENDING UNRESOLVED FOREVER. I need a sequel desperately. Kerstin Hall ripped my heart out and stomped on it with that ending.
Links to my |
Asunder is a book that will make you work to understand the world-building; something I really love. I was immediately hooked by all of these small references to things I didn’t fully understand. This book will not reveal information until you absolutely need it making for a satisfying and engaging reading experience.
The world of Asunder reminds me of a horror Studio Ghibli atmosphere. Karys and her companions traverse a very unstable land, divided by years of godly conflict. Magic has integrated itself into the land in ways that are sometimes whimsical and yet often strange and unsettling.
The gods of this world are grotesque, inhuman, and selfish. Some of the scenes where Karys is interacting with her pact holder really freaked me out. But I loved how these interactions captured the violent, bloody history between the gods and the twisted forms of faith that developed as gods tried to cling to power. Lurking in the background of this story are threads of messy, complicated political turmoil related to the role of gods in the world. I would love to explore these threads further in a sequel.
There are so many raw and emotional character moments in this. Karys is a deeply jaded and untrusting character. Along her journey, she picks up people who are determined to help her and we get some amazing interactions within this found family group. These characters have really complicated histories and are likely working towards their own hidden agendas.
The forced proximity bonding between Karys and Ferain was incredible. What starts as a selfish, temporary plan becomes a relationship that changes both of their lives. The progression of their relationship as they slowly learned to trust each other was so moving.
I don't believe that any news for a sequel has been confirmed but listen� TorDotCom� YOU CANNOT LEAVE ME WITH THAT ENDING UNRESOLVED FOREVER. I need a sequel desperately. Kerstin Hall ripped my heart out and stomped on it with that ending.
Links to my |
October 8, 2024
Loved this. It’s a great blend of fantasy and horror, with some parts so unique/imaginative they felt like a fever dream. What a fantastic recommendation
September 16, 2024
This review was originally published on
Well, Kerstin Hall can probably expect some of my therapy bills in her inbox soon, because I think Asunder just broke me in the best way possible. Brimming with arcane horrors, uncanny atmosphere, darkly wondrous magic, divine meddling, broken yet loveable characters, and brutal emotional gut punches, this is truly the fantasy horror adventure of my darkest dreams.
In a foolishly desperate act in her late teens, Karys Eska bargained her soul away to a terrifying eldritch being, which granted her the abilities of a Deathspeaker; she can communicate with the newly departed through touch, and uses her gifts to investigate suspicious deaths around the city. However, her latest job suddenly goes horribly wrong, leaving her with a dying stranger accidentally attached to her shadow. Haunted and hunted by horrors both internal and external, they will have to learn to trust each other and travel their faded empire to find a way to rip their bond apart, before they are both torn asunder by their looming demise.
Holy smokes, does Hall know how to open a story with an irresistible hook! Her visually and emotionally evocative prose immediately sucked me straight into this dark miasma of a story, and I was instantly obsessed with all the wondrously weird intricacies of this disturbingly haunting yet beautifully mesmerising world.
There’s almost a bit of a technologically advanced aesthetic to this fantasy world, yet it somehow never loses its darkly whimsical air of wonder and magic. Cosmic horrors, semi-sentient beastly transport systems, meddling heralds, arcane artefacts, abominable constructs, and deathspeaker magic; Asunder is truly exploding with wild imagination, and the all-consuming eerie atmosphere just immediately grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let me go until the very end.
From the moment I met my fearsome woman Karys Eska, I was honestly a lost cause. With her sharp snarkiness and well-earned ‘fuck around and find out� attitude, she reminded me of all the best parts of some of my all-time favourite characters like Mia Corvere (Nevernight), Gideon (Gideon the Ninth), and Eska (Along the Razor’s Edge), except with a less foul mouth. Life has tried to beat her down without remorse and her walls are up high, but she is still an absolute force to be reckoned with and has a heart of gold hiding behind the tough mask.
I absolutely loved exploring this dark world in all its beauty and terror through her eyes, and her strong voice and compelling emotional journey kept me rooted throughout this increasingly wild quest. Despite its addictively smooth pacing and riveting ‘ticking clock� element, Asunder almost has a bit of an episodic feel to its storytelling. Yet each little ‘side quest�, if you will, only helped organically expand the vibrant world, deepen the lore, heighten the stakes, build out the characters� backstories and strengthen the gripping emotional core of this narrative (for better or worse, my poor heart).
You see, while this is absolutely Karys� story first and foremost, I loved how each member of the motley crew that she (unintentionally and sort of begrudgingly?) picked up along the way absolutely gets their time to shine as well. Through the vivacious scholar Winola, we get such a fascinating look into the dizzyingly complex yet darkly wondrous ‘workings� magic system, while Karys� childhood friend Haeki blasted open the more mythological aspects of this world through her status as Favoured of one of the capricious heralds. Plus, we get treated to some delicious sapphic tension, so I am always here for that.
However, Karys� complicated yet amusing dynamic with her mysterious yet cheery shadow companion Ferain (who is a GEM and has now become my new standard for any future shadow daddies, just saying) was absolutely the heart of this story for me, and I never knew I needed the ‘only one head� trope until Kerstin Hall introduced me to it here; don’t get me wrong, the sloooow-burn romance is just about the most minor and least important aspect of Asunder, yet I was truly gobbling up every single scrap of the simmering tension and playful banter. The way that he slowly and gently breaks through Karys� carefully built walls was so touching to see, and I loved how Hall wove in themes of (childhood) trauma, grief, trust, redemption and healing through their tentatively developing bond.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this deeply engrossed in a story, and I am not kidding when I say that Asunder quite literally tore my soul asunder and left me physically, mentally and emotionally unwell by the end. This story truly just kept zigging whenever I expected it to zag, and I deeply admire Hall for not pulling any punches, especially with that brutally bittersweet cliffhanger of an ending; I needed book 2 yesterday already!
If my unapologetic gushing hadn’t given it away yet, Asunder has instantly become my favourite book I have read this year so far, and if it has any flaws, I sure as hell didn’t notice any of them. If you like the sound of an emotionally-driven fantasy horror that beautifully blends its darkness with a tender heart, then I can’t recommend Asunder highly enough; it’s disturbing yet beautiful, traumatic yet entertaining, epic yet intimate, and it will absolutely leave an irreversible mark on you, whether you like it or not.
Thank you to Tordotcom for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Well, Kerstin Hall can probably expect some of my therapy bills in her inbox soon, because I think Asunder just broke me in the best way possible. Brimming with arcane horrors, uncanny atmosphere, darkly wondrous magic, divine meddling, broken yet loveable characters, and brutal emotional gut punches, this is truly the fantasy horror adventure of my darkest dreams.
In a foolishly desperate act in her late teens, Karys Eska bargained her soul away to a terrifying eldritch being, which granted her the abilities of a Deathspeaker; she can communicate with the newly departed through touch, and uses her gifts to investigate suspicious deaths around the city. However, her latest job suddenly goes horribly wrong, leaving her with a dying stranger accidentally attached to her shadow. Haunted and hunted by horrors both internal and external, they will have to learn to trust each other and travel their faded empire to find a way to rip their bond apart, before they are both torn asunder by their looming demise.
Holy smokes, does Hall know how to open a story with an irresistible hook! Her visually and emotionally evocative prose immediately sucked me straight into this dark miasma of a story, and I was instantly obsessed with all the wondrously weird intricacies of this disturbingly haunting yet beautifully mesmerising world.
There’s almost a bit of a technologically advanced aesthetic to this fantasy world, yet it somehow never loses its darkly whimsical air of wonder and magic. Cosmic horrors, semi-sentient beastly transport systems, meddling heralds, arcane artefacts, abominable constructs, and deathspeaker magic; Asunder is truly exploding with wild imagination, and the all-consuming eerie atmosphere just immediately grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let me go until the very end.
From the moment I met my fearsome woman Karys Eska, I was honestly a lost cause. With her sharp snarkiness and well-earned ‘fuck around and find out� attitude, she reminded me of all the best parts of some of my all-time favourite characters like Mia Corvere (Nevernight), Gideon (Gideon the Ninth), and Eska (Along the Razor’s Edge), except with a less foul mouth. Life has tried to beat her down without remorse and her walls are up high, but she is still an absolute force to be reckoned with and has a heart of gold hiding behind the tough mask.
I absolutely loved exploring this dark world in all its beauty and terror through her eyes, and her strong voice and compelling emotional journey kept me rooted throughout this increasingly wild quest. Despite its addictively smooth pacing and riveting ‘ticking clock� element, Asunder almost has a bit of an episodic feel to its storytelling. Yet each little ‘side quest�, if you will, only helped organically expand the vibrant world, deepen the lore, heighten the stakes, build out the characters� backstories and strengthen the gripping emotional core of this narrative (for better or worse, my poor heart).
You see, while this is absolutely Karys� story first and foremost, I loved how each member of the motley crew that she (unintentionally and sort of begrudgingly?) picked up along the way absolutely gets their time to shine as well. Through the vivacious scholar Winola, we get such a fascinating look into the dizzyingly complex yet darkly wondrous ‘workings� magic system, while Karys� childhood friend Haeki blasted open the more mythological aspects of this world through her status as Favoured of one of the capricious heralds. Plus, we get treated to some delicious sapphic tension, so I am always here for that.
However, Karys� complicated yet amusing dynamic with her mysterious yet cheery shadow companion Ferain (who is a GEM and has now become my new standard for any future shadow daddies, just saying) was absolutely the heart of this story for me, and I never knew I needed the ‘only one head� trope until Kerstin Hall introduced me to it here; don’t get me wrong, the sloooow-burn romance is just about the most minor and least important aspect of Asunder, yet I was truly gobbling up every single scrap of the simmering tension and playful banter. The way that he slowly and gently breaks through Karys� carefully built walls was so touching to see, and I loved how Hall wove in themes of (childhood) trauma, grief, trust, redemption and healing through their tentatively developing bond.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this deeply engrossed in a story, and I am not kidding when I say that Asunder quite literally tore my soul asunder and left me physically, mentally and emotionally unwell by the end. This story truly just kept zigging whenever I expected it to zag, and I deeply admire Hall for not pulling any punches, especially with that brutally bittersweet cliffhanger of an ending; I needed book 2 yesterday already!
If my unapologetic gushing hadn’t given it away yet, Asunder has instantly become my favourite book I have read this year so far, and if it has any flaws, I sure as hell didn’t notice any of them. If you like the sound of an emotionally-driven fantasy horror that beautifully blends its darkness with a tender heart, then I can’t recommend Asunder highly enough; it’s disturbing yet beautiful, traumatic yet entertaining, epic yet intimate, and it will absolutely leave an irreversible mark on you, whether you like it or not.
Thank you to Tordotcom for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
March 30, 2024
you've heard of only one bed but may i suggest only one head??? forced proximity but may i offer you LIs sharing a body and needing to get split up before they both die?
dark adventure fantasy with a tender heart - this brings you through fantastical place after place with an almost ghibli-esque wonder and imagination, while never losing its characters or kirsten's other trademark of super concerning demons and doses of body horror. this is an excellent loner-reluctantly-gains-band-of-allies-and-learns-to-trust fantasy; it's learning to open a walled-off heart and want to live and live with someone; it's got scholars with magical workings, demented sea slug gods and places and creatures i'd love to visit; it crosses personal stakes with a vast world so wonderfully and the ending DEVASTATED me.
i would kill to see this as an animated series. tor give the people the sequel i'm quite literally in your walls
--
1 sept 2023:
I've read the first few early chapters of this and like. Adventure fantasy with a darker bent and a little Ghibliesque wonder? Stabby woman sworn to demon who accidentally binds a pathetic pretty quippy man to her shadow in order to save his life and must now free him to save her own?? im about to be incredibly annoying about karys x ferain let the record show i was their first shipper
dark adventure fantasy with a tender heart - this brings you through fantastical place after place with an almost ghibli-esque wonder and imagination, while never losing its characters or kirsten's other trademark of super concerning demons and doses of body horror. this is an excellent loner-reluctantly-gains-band-of-allies-and-learns-to-trust fantasy; it's learning to open a walled-off heart and want to live and live with someone; it's got scholars with magical workings, demented sea slug gods and places and creatures i'd love to visit; it crosses personal stakes with a vast world so wonderfully and the ending DEVASTATED me.
i would kill to see this as an animated series. tor give the people the sequel i'm quite literally in your walls
--
1 sept 2023:
I've read the first few early chapters of this and like. Adventure fantasy with a darker bent and a little Ghibliesque wonder? Stabby woman sworn to demon who accidentally binds a pathetic pretty quippy man to her shadow in order to save his life and must now free him to save her own?? im about to be incredibly annoying about karys x ferain let the record show i was their first shipper
August 23, 2024
This was excellent! A layered novel that blends sci-fantasy with horror elements in an expansive world. Asunder follows a deathspeaker named Karys who has bargained her soul for the ability to peer beyond the veil. While on a job, she stumbles across a dangerous secret and meets the dying heir of a wealthy family. In order to save him, she somewhat accidentally binds him to her shadow and sets off on a quest to find a way to free both of them. But this is a game with many players...
The world-building in this story is interesting and complex. Karys is a great character with a traumatic past just trying to survive. There are twists and turns that make this feel rather epic. From what I can tell, I THINK this is set in the same universe as Star Eater though following quite a different cast of characters in different places. One of my criticisms of that book was how gender essentialist the magic system was, and this seeks to correct that. We have a non-binary side character who shows up, and we get the sense that the way magic is viewed in the first book is coming from a sort of cult perspective that isn't inclusive of the entire world. I appreciate how this has complicated that narrative. Definitely worth a read! The audio narration is really good- the actors portray the characters well and it feels immersive with the right tone. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
The world-building in this story is interesting and complex. Karys is a great character with a traumatic past just trying to survive. There are twists and turns that make this feel rather epic. From what I can tell, I THINK this is set in the same universe as Star Eater though following quite a different cast of characters in different places. One of my criticisms of that book was how gender essentialist the magic system was, and this seeks to correct that. We have a non-binary side character who shows up, and we get the sense that the way magic is viewed in the first book is coming from a sort of cult perspective that isn't inclusive of the entire world. I appreciate how this has complicated that narrative. Definitely worth a read! The audio narration is really good- the actors portray the characters well and it feels immersive with the right tone. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
January 2, 2025
One of the most refreshing fantasy stories I’ve read in a while.
Nothing I love more than the one-body trope, especially when there’s yearning involved.
Every character was enjoyable. Karys was a breath of fresh air and Ferain was adorable.
I’m desperate for a sequel, I will read anything Hall writes.
Nothing I love more than the one-body trope, especially when there’s yearning involved.
Every character was enjoyable. Karys was a breath of fresh air and Ferain was adorable.
I’m desperate for a sequel, I will read anything Hall writes.
October 29, 2024
Gideon the Ninth meets Sabriel meets The Justice of Kings.
Chased by enemies, conspiracies, her past, and the debt waiting to be paid by her soul compact; this is at once a character study, slower paced yet thrilling inventive adventure.
Karys is a Deathspeaker, her soul bargained to a terrifying eldritch being.
In her latest job, an unknown creature, a Construct, attacks and she escapes alongside a dying stranger, but only by accidentally binding him to her shadow.
The stranger is Ferain, part of the Vareslian embassy. Now non-corporeal, in exchange for her help, Ferain is willing to pay her a lot of money.
I don’t even know where to start with this review.
The world-building is insanely creative. It throws you in head first and never relents. There is no hand holding, so you’re trying to wrap your head around the bizarre technology, power, and history as Karys’s entire world is turned upside down.
The characters?!
Give me more disaster bisexuals who melt your heart whilst being entirely entertaining.
The characters are not your typical brash, brave, brawling protagonists. Here, they are softer. They want to work in the shadows, remained unrecognised, try and have a normal-ish life.
“No one 'dates' deathspeakers. We aren't a good long-term investment.�
“Firstly, that isn't how attraction works. Secondly,
'investment' is a tragic way of referring to yourself."
Hall weaves a tale of darkness and trauma partnered with healing and tentative bonding.
This story is gory (blood spraying, bodies ripping apart), it is dark (caves, drowning seas, dealing with soul binding god-like beings, facing abuse), it is epic!
Sometimes the places that you love grow teeth. Sometimes, home can swallow you. And even if that hurts, losing it still seems worse because what if you let go and never find a better place? What if there's nothing else?
I do think the last 15% really decreased my overall enjoyment. The pace suddenly ramped up to the max and it felt rushed - like one non-stop, can’t breathe climax that left me feeling lost.
For this reason I am conflicted. The rest of the book was a four stars, but that last stretch (sprint) really detracted from my experience. This is despite most other reviewers saying the ending was what cemented the favourite of the year label. Maybe I misunderstood the ending. Perhaps I am a reader who prefers more rounded out endings.
I will read more from Hall again.
Chased by enemies, conspiracies, her past, and the debt waiting to be paid by her soul compact; this is at once a character study, slower paced yet thrilling inventive adventure.
Karys is a Deathspeaker, her soul bargained to a terrifying eldritch being.
In her latest job, an unknown creature, a Construct, attacks and she escapes alongside a dying stranger, but only by accidentally binding him to her shadow.
The stranger is Ferain, part of the Vareslian embassy. Now non-corporeal, in exchange for her help, Ferain is willing to pay her a lot of money.
I don’t even know where to start with this review.
The world-building is insanely creative. It throws you in head first and never relents. There is no hand holding, so you’re trying to wrap your head around the bizarre technology, power, and history as Karys’s entire world is turned upside down.
The characters?!
Give me more disaster bisexuals who melt your heart whilst being entirely entertaining.
The characters are not your typical brash, brave, brawling protagonists. Here, they are softer. They want to work in the shadows, remained unrecognised, try and have a normal-ish life.
“No one 'dates' deathspeakers. We aren't a good long-term investment.�
“Firstly, that isn't how attraction works. Secondly,
'investment' is a tragic way of referring to yourself."
Hall weaves a tale of darkness and trauma partnered with healing and tentative bonding.
This story is gory (blood spraying, bodies ripping apart), it is dark (caves, drowning seas, dealing with soul binding god-like beings, facing abuse), it is epic!
Sometimes the places that you love grow teeth. Sometimes, home can swallow you. And even if that hurts, losing it still seems worse because what if you let go and never find a better place? What if there's nothing else?
I do think the last 15% really decreased my overall enjoyment. The pace suddenly ramped up to the max and it felt rushed - like one non-stop, can’t breathe climax that left me feeling lost.
For this reason I am conflicted. The rest of the book was a four stars, but that last stretch (sprint) really detracted from my experience. This is despite most other reviewers saying the ending was what cemented the favourite of the year label. Maybe I misunderstood the ending. Perhaps I am a reader who prefers more rounded out endings.
I will read more from Hall again.
September 7, 2024
Yeah I need more people to read this
March 1, 2024
Holy FUCK
there are tears in my eyes & im in agony
I think this is already going to be one of my top 5 reads of 2024
there are tears in my eyes & im in agony
I think this is already going to be one of my top 5 reads of 2024
September 10, 2024
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Subgenre(s): Secondary World Fantasy, Cosmic Horror
Book Track: Running Away by John Butler Trio
I think there comes a point in every fantasy readers journey where we’ve consumed so many stories and adventures, that we start to feel fatigued when we open a new series or standalone and are faced with now all-too familiar characters, tropes, themes and story beats. Whether it’s grim dark you crave, or swords and sandals, or just good old high fantasy� eventually, most readers come to this barrier of disinterest and begin to pine for something new, invigorating, and bold, told by someone whose imagination offers passage to the rousing unknown.
This is where I’ve been for the last few years, and why I think Secondary World Fantasy has been the antidote for me. Not that traditional fantasy is without it’s merit or capability to amaze and surprise me still� I’ve just found that Secondary World Fantasy challenges my imagination to expand it’s boundaries in the same organic way traditional fantasy once had by focusing more on the spectacle of a unique world and it’s denizens. Instead of explaining to me how the new magic system works, again; it scoffs, then forces me to catch up and figure it out for myself. Instead of the story handing me familiar tropes and character archetypes to grasp onto, it flips the script and forces me to trust and to revel in being lost, for a time, until I've gathered my bearings through the environmental storytelling and non-conforming character work.
At it’s core, this is what Fantasy is all about, is it not? Casting us somewhere uncharted and extraordinary, forcing us to let go of any preconceived notions of what we think is up and down, retraining ourselves within this foreign plain, and stepping forth one foot after the other into the beautiful, oft times wicked, unknown. Kerstin Hall has achieved this renewed sensation of how it felt to read Fantasy for the very first time not once, not twice, but now four times for me. And I think I will forever be in her debt for it. For reminding me, every time, why I always come back and why I fell in love with this genre in the first place. Okay, perhaps I’m a little biased considering I’ve deeply enjoyed each book I’ve read from Kerstin Hall, sure. Thats fair. However, as a fan, I can and will say that Hall has not only matured as a storyteller, but as an editor and a world builder, too. You can feel the fullness and the intricacies of this universe she has created with every page, and often times in the most minuscule of ways; is that headless dog a mode of transportation? You said these lightbulbs are infused with essences of the gods? These drugs are made from whose body fluids? What do you mean some of the gods were killed by the new gods and now you work for one?
In every sense of the phrase, Hall makes you feel like a stranger in a strange land who’s clinging to the tattered knapsack of its protagonist like a sand bur. She creates a world where big ideas of convenience, equality, and prosperity amongst its denizens, is not just realized, but put into practice!
The world has so many cool and practical uses for magic and science! You can feel in every page how Kerstin sat down and thought about inventions that near-utopian societies would want to have or feature in their “perfect� country. Side note: this book is very Mkalis Cycle, Kerstin’s ongoing series of novellas, and it makes me wonder if she plans to have them be connected somehow.
Asunder’s world is definitely its own thing though. It’s a world you’d want to live in, not simply because it’s magical, but because it is progressive. It’s new and exciting, sure enough, but it bears the markings of what dreams may become. What the first phases of an ideal society might look like if science were treated as holy. But it all comes with a price, and often that price is paid with blood, willingly offered, down the throats of eldritch gods� whose acts of malice, retribution, creation, invention, and good fortune, are but a byproduct of their vessels devotion.
Uncharacteristic of my normal reviews, I don’t want to spend any time discussing the potent themes or distinct characters throughout this story, because I truly think they should all be consumed as blindly and uninfluenced as possible. I will say that our lead protagonists, Karys and Ferrain, are a much welcome change, and often reminded me of the two leads in Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, but by way of the supernatural instead of scientific. The sensual tension and connection between these two individuals, whose fate becomes the close proximity lovers ideal scenario, is compelling and excellent. The queer normatively of this world, too, is something to make note of. This is an element I’ve found that is rarely achieved, without drawing too much attention to it in the narrative, and Hall spins these threads through her tapestry with ease.
By the gods, were the gods cool as hell! It is so difficult not to spend this entire review gushing over the hauntingly beautiful and poignant imagery Hall conjures up with these sacred entities. Here's the thing... I have a soft spot for biblically accurate angels. I was raised Catholic. I grew up with all the famous renaissance paintings and sculptures of scripture, and never once connected to them until I saw a painting of what would be considered as a "biblically accurate" angel. For one reason or another, it really moved me. Not in a “Hail, Jesus—break out the Christ cookies and wine� way... but in that eerie and unsettling way� where you find something to be somehow both beautiful and horrifying.
I consider myself agnostic now and, while I don't believe in a god in the traditional sense, I do feel like IF there are gods, they would be both beautiful and horrifying... unknowable... alien. These are the kinds of gods, goddesses, and other higher powers that Hall births into existence in Asunder. These aren’t your typical heraldic or olympian men and women chiseled in stone� these gods have sharp teeth, weep blood, hunger for belief, and collect the corpses of the old gods to display as trophies. When these gods sing or speak, they pierce the mind and render the flesh immobile as such strange frequencies are incomprehensible to the mortal minds of their subjugated apostles.
This book is not your typical tale of magic and fantasy that you’d find on that table of trending titles at the bookstore. Asunder is the book you find spirited away in the darkest and dustiest corners of an old library’s restricted section. The kind of book that no one knows how, or when, it got there; but, it may or may not be cursed to steal your every waking thought should you peel back it’s (gorgeous) cover and look inside it’s pages. That enough hyperbole for you? Take everything you thought you know about fantasy, plot, theme, magic, magical deities, and strange, unusual characters, and leave them at the threshold of the front page of this book. There will be familiar elements, no doubt, but Hall will somehow make them feel alien to you� like watching strange science, or a natural phenomenon outside your window. But, trust me when I tell you, you’ve never read a book like Asunder. Full stop. Bring it back and read that again. You’ve never read a book quite like Asunder, and that’s the only mantra you should recite like a prayer as you read this book.
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Star Rating: 5/5 Stars
Score: 98/100
Review by Nick Kimball
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Subgenre(s): Secondary World Fantasy, Cosmic Horror
Book Track: Running Away by John Butler Trio
I think there comes a point in every fantasy readers journey where we’ve consumed so many stories and adventures, that we start to feel fatigued when we open a new series or standalone and are faced with now all-too familiar characters, tropes, themes and story beats. Whether it’s grim dark you crave, or swords and sandals, or just good old high fantasy� eventually, most readers come to this barrier of disinterest and begin to pine for something new, invigorating, and bold, told by someone whose imagination offers passage to the rousing unknown.
This is where I’ve been for the last few years, and why I think Secondary World Fantasy has been the antidote for me. Not that traditional fantasy is without it’s merit or capability to amaze and surprise me still� I’ve just found that Secondary World Fantasy challenges my imagination to expand it’s boundaries in the same organic way traditional fantasy once had by focusing more on the spectacle of a unique world and it’s denizens. Instead of explaining to me how the new magic system works, again; it scoffs, then forces me to catch up and figure it out for myself. Instead of the story handing me familiar tropes and character archetypes to grasp onto, it flips the script and forces me to trust and to revel in being lost, for a time, until I've gathered my bearings through the environmental storytelling and non-conforming character work.
At it’s core, this is what Fantasy is all about, is it not? Casting us somewhere uncharted and extraordinary, forcing us to let go of any preconceived notions of what we think is up and down, retraining ourselves within this foreign plain, and stepping forth one foot after the other into the beautiful, oft times wicked, unknown. Kerstin Hall has achieved this renewed sensation of how it felt to read Fantasy for the very first time not once, not twice, but now four times for me. And I think I will forever be in her debt for it. For reminding me, every time, why I always come back and why I fell in love with this genre in the first place. Okay, perhaps I’m a little biased considering I’ve deeply enjoyed each book I’ve read from Kerstin Hall, sure. Thats fair. However, as a fan, I can and will say that Hall has not only matured as a storyteller, but as an editor and a world builder, too. You can feel the fullness and the intricacies of this universe she has created with every page, and often times in the most minuscule of ways; is that headless dog a mode of transportation? You said these lightbulbs are infused with essences of the gods? These drugs are made from whose body fluids? What do you mean some of the gods were killed by the new gods and now you work for one?
In every sense of the phrase, Hall makes you feel like a stranger in a strange land who’s clinging to the tattered knapsack of its protagonist like a sand bur. She creates a world where big ideas of convenience, equality, and prosperity amongst its denizens, is not just realized, but put into practice!
The world has so many cool and practical uses for magic and science! You can feel in every page how Kerstin sat down and thought about inventions that near-utopian societies would want to have or feature in their “perfect� country. Side note: this book is very Mkalis Cycle, Kerstin’s ongoing series of novellas, and it makes me wonder if she plans to have them be connected somehow.
Asunder’s world is definitely its own thing though. It’s a world you’d want to live in, not simply because it’s magical, but because it is progressive. It’s new and exciting, sure enough, but it bears the markings of what dreams may become. What the first phases of an ideal society might look like if science were treated as holy. But it all comes with a price, and often that price is paid with blood, willingly offered, down the throats of eldritch gods� whose acts of malice, retribution, creation, invention, and good fortune, are but a byproduct of their vessels devotion.
Uncharacteristic of my normal reviews, I don’t want to spend any time discussing the potent themes or distinct characters throughout this story, because I truly think they should all be consumed as blindly and uninfluenced as possible. I will say that our lead protagonists, Karys and Ferrain, are a much welcome change, and often reminded me of the two leads in Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, but by way of the supernatural instead of scientific. The sensual tension and connection between these two individuals, whose fate becomes the close proximity lovers ideal scenario, is compelling and excellent. The queer normatively of this world, too, is something to make note of. This is an element I’ve found that is rarely achieved, without drawing too much attention to it in the narrative, and Hall spins these threads through her tapestry with ease.
By the gods, were the gods cool as hell! It is so difficult not to spend this entire review gushing over the hauntingly beautiful and poignant imagery Hall conjures up with these sacred entities. Here's the thing... I have a soft spot for biblically accurate angels. I was raised Catholic. I grew up with all the famous renaissance paintings and sculptures of scripture, and never once connected to them until I saw a painting of what would be considered as a "biblically accurate" angel. For one reason or another, it really moved me. Not in a “Hail, Jesus—break out the Christ cookies and wine� way... but in that eerie and unsettling way� where you find something to be somehow both beautiful and horrifying.
I consider myself agnostic now and, while I don't believe in a god in the traditional sense, I do feel like IF there are gods, they would be both beautiful and horrifying... unknowable... alien. These are the kinds of gods, goddesses, and other higher powers that Hall births into existence in Asunder. These aren’t your typical heraldic or olympian men and women chiseled in stone� these gods have sharp teeth, weep blood, hunger for belief, and collect the corpses of the old gods to display as trophies. When these gods sing or speak, they pierce the mind and render the flesh immobile as such strange frequencies are incomprehensible to the mortal minds of their subjugated apostles.
This book is not your typical tale of magic and fantasy that you’d find on that table of trending titles at the bookstore. Asunder is the book you find spirited away in the darkest and dustiest corners of an old library’s restricted section. The kind of book that no one knows how, or when, it got there; but, it may or may not be cursed to steal your every waking thought should you peel back it’s (gorgeous) cover and look inside it’s pages. That enough hyperbole for you? Take everything you thought you know about fantasy, plot, theme, magic, magical deities, and strange, unusual characters, and leave them at the threshold of the front page of this book. There will be familiar elements, no doubt, but Hall will somehow make them feel alien to you� like watching strange science, or a natural phenomenon outside your window. But, trust me when I tell you, you’ve never read a book like Asunder. Full stop. Bring it back and read that again. You’ve never read a book quite like Asunder, and that’s the only mantra you should recite like a prayer as you read this book.
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Star Rating: 5/5 Stars
Score: 98/100
Review by Nick Kimball
January 9, 2025
The first half of this book is so good. I don’t know what happened but after the 50% mark I was so bored and could not care less what happened to the characters. 😩 3 stars because I enjoyed half of it.
August 24, 2024
Asunder is a dark fantasy novel, written by Kerstin Hall, and published by TOR. It features an excellently built character driven plot, extremely impactful in the emotional aspect, but with a really original worldbuilding that blends together steampunk, eldritch creatures and religions, with an episodic taste that is hidden into the bigger story; definitely a candidate to be on my favourite books of the year list.
In a foolish and desperate act in her teens, Karys Eska bargained with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch creature, getting the abilities of a Deathspeaker; a gift that allows her to communicate with the recent dead, and that has been put to use to investigate mysterious death around the city. However, her whole world is put into shambles when in her last job, she ends with a dying stranger, Ferain, attached to her shadows; plagued by horror, external and internal, she will be forced to travel through a faded empire looking for a way to break their bond, before they both end torn asunder by it.
And let me tell you, during this travel, Hall will fully flesh the character of Karys; a strong woman who resorted to a desperate option in her worst moment, independent and trustworthy. We get to experience not only the struggle and horrors derived from her current situation with Ferain, but we will explore her past and the traumatic events that shaped her character. It's impossible to not end really invested in her destiny; and Ferain plays a good role in letting her open and trust somebody more. It might be a forced proximity thing, but we also see the Karys that has fissures among her impenetrable semblance. They develop a really tight bond as a consequence of their destiny, and even if Ferain can be annoying at times, you end appreciating him.
But not only Ferain and Karys shine, as with the rest of the characters that become part of their group, Hall shows her ability to create complex and well-fleshed characters; each one with a past and abilities that marked them, organically introduced through their actions. I particularly grow fond of Winola, a vivacious scholar that also helps the reader in the task of comprehending many of the intricate details of the arcane beings of this world.
The semi-episodic nature of the plot, with different encounters and situations that our characters will have to face and solve if they want to continue alive (and trust me, the Society one is absolutely chef kiss). I loved how the world blends together advanced technology similar to steampunk together with making use of some of the eldritch beings, while also each place has its unique characteristics.
Hall's prose is quite effective at transmitting those small details of the world while not losing the focus on the characters; as a result, you not only have a clear idea of where you are, but also can empathize with the cast. It's incredibly well paced, keeping you glued to the page.
Asunder is an excellent novel, one that will emotionally destroy you but will make you beg for more of this world; a read that will stay with me for a long time, and which has created a new Kerstin Hall fan.
December 23, 2024
I fell in love with this book nearly immediately and was gripped from the first page, but around the halfway mark, my WSOD faltered. I still liked it, still inhaled it in just a couple of days, but it had some shortcomings that affected my immersion.
First, the good:
The world-building is phenomenal. The place and its details were so sumptuously *other*, strange and wonder-inducing and unsettling, that I was dying to know more about the world this takes place in basically from the word "Go." The author generally doesn't lean on exposition to get you caught up, either: you buckle up and gather context clues and figure it out as you go--I love that.
The descriptions: evocative and vivid (my mouth was watering reading a food description and I had just eaten) but without indulging in James Fenimore Cooper levels of detail (you know the kind: 3 pages into a scene and you're still hearing about the type of lace at their cuffs and just want to know what happens already).
What didn't work for me:
Of course YMMV, but two of the central main characters were ostensibly roughly 30ish but were emotionally teenagers. Even granting trauma and deprivation over the years affecting one's development, it was so much seething spiky angst, unmanaged feels, and poor/absent communication skills that it felt like more of a YA book than it was. Plus plenty of "if not for me..." pathological guilt and ensuing attempts to be a noble martyr, which is a character pet peeve of mine.
Plot-wise, I had two issues. The street-wise, surly urchin with a (very) secret heart of gold, our MC, becomes absurdly less suspicious when the plot needs her to be, in order to have her make forehead-slappingly credulous, unwise choices and up the tension. Second, the romance was a relationship I found it hard to root for, to put it mildly. If Person A distrusts everyone around them, is estranged from their family, and most importantly has no friends--zero connections in their life whatsoever--and Person B has a social life and interests and seems emotionally twice the age of the first person, that is not a setup for a relationship. At best, that's Person B having a project to work on. Aside from trauma-bonding and maybe some Stockholm syndrome, there wasn't anything to make me believe that Person B had any reason *at all* to develop feelings for Person A. The end was suitably dramatic, but by that point, I really wasnt as invested as I wanted to be and it didn't resonate for me like it did for a lot of other readers.
There was SO much that I loved, though, and I think the issues are writer-honing-their-craft bumps, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for more by Hall.
First, the good:
The world-building is phenomenal. The place and its details were so sumptuously *other*, strange and wonder-inducing and unsettling, that I was dying to know more about the world this takes place in basically from the word "Go." The author generally doesn't lean on exposition to get you caught up, either: you buckle up and gather context clues and figure it out as you go--I love that.
The descriptions: evocative and vivid (my mouth was watering reading a food description and I had just eaten) but without indulging in James Fenimore Cooper levels of detail (you know the kind: 3 pages into a scene and you're still hearing about the type of lace at their cuffs and just want to know what happens already).
What didn't work for me:
Of course YMMV, but two of the central main characters were ostensibly roughly 30ish but were emotionally teenagers. Even granting trauma and deprivation over the years affecting one's development, it was so much seething spiky angst, unmanaged feels, and poor/absent communication skills that it felt like more of a YA book than it was. Plus plenty of "if not for me..." pathological guilt and ensuing attempts to be a noble martyr, which is a character pet peeve of mine.
Plot-wise, I had two issues. The street-wise, surly urchin with a (very) secret heart of gold, our MC, becomes absurdly less suspicious when the plot needs her to be, in order to have her make forehead-slappingly credulous, unwise choices and up the tension. Second, the romance was a relationship I found it hard to root for, to put it mildly. If Person A distrusts everyone around them, is estranged from their family, and most importantly has no friends--zero connections in their life whatsoever--and Person B has a social life and interests and seems emotionally twice the age of the first person, that is not a setup for a relationship. At best, that's Person B having a project to work on. Aside from trauma-bonding and maybe some Stockholm syndrome, there wasn't anything to make me believe that Person B had any reason *at all* to develop feelings for Person A. The end was suitably dramatic, but by that point, I really wasnt as invested as I wanted to be and it didn't resonate for me like it did for a lot of other readers.
There was SO much that I loved, though, and I think the issues are writer-honing-their-craft bumps, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for more by Hall.
November 25, 2024
4.5 rounded up. I loved this! Kind of picked it up on a whim, but I sure am glad that I did. I’ll be back for more!!
April 20, 2024
I desperately hope that we get another book in this world from Hall. A direct sequel, a spin off, a bunch of short stories, a one woman show on Broadway that is then published as a play, I don't care what form it takes I WANT MORE.
This is by far one of the most inventive, gut-wrenching, and compelling fantasies I have ever read. There is no hand holding, you are thrown into this strange world with eldritch creatures and strange magic. I have never felt such empathy for a main character before while reading, I cried, feeling Karys's emotions as my own as she went on this difficult journey. The cast of characters is fantastic, from the friends to the enemies Karys meets along the way. The book is fast-paced and deeply immersive. I could not pull myself away from this book.
Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is by far one of the most inventive, gut-wrenching, and compelling fantasies I have ever read. There is no hand holding, you are thrown into this strange world with eldritch creatures and strange magic. I have never felt such empathy for a main character before while reading, I cried, feeling Karys's emotions as my own as she went on this difficult journey. The cast of characters is fantastic, from the friends to the enemies Karys meets along the way. The book is fast-paced and deeply immersive. I could not pull myself away from this book.
Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 7, 2025
2.75�
I was really excited for this. I don’t know how to write this review or how I feel after reading it.
The beginning was 5� material - the world building was immaculate and the story unique.
My biggest issue with this book is that there’s one main plot that gets constantly thrown aside for smaller plot points� which didn’t seem to work for me? I just couldn’t follow the storyline because of this. I felt like I was reading plenty of *extra* materials inside the ongoing story but I only cared about the main plot.
The ending was vile. And I was kind of disgusted at some point? And the romance was ??? So unnecessary. Idk. I’m keeping this at 2.75� right now but I might lower it.
I was really excited for this. I don’t know how to write this review or how I feel after reading it.
The beginning was 5� material - the world building was immaculate and the story unique.
My biggest issue with this book is that there’s one main plot that gets constantly thrown aside for smaller plot points� which didn’t seem to work for me? I just couldn’t follow the storyline because of this. I felt like I was reading plenty of *extra* materials inside the ongoing story but I only cared about the main plot.
The ending was vile. And I was kind of disgusted at some point? And the romance was ??? So unnecessary. Idk. I’m keeping this at 2.75� right now but I might lower it.
August 31, 2024
I am going to cry an ocean with my tears before walking into it oh my fucking god
August 17, 2024
Mesmerising, breathtaking, darkly wondrous. A fucking FEAST. I am wildly ravenous and unspeakably satiated. Utter perfection.
Rtc!
*I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
Highlights
~who needs trains when you have spiders?
~sell your soul, become a saint
~falling in love with your own shadow
~there used to be not-gods, now there’s new not-gods
~you can run, but can you hide?
Asunder is velvet and dust and the softest ashes, salt and copper and crystal. It is twilit. It whispers. It has sharp edges. You must hold it very carefully as you read, or it will slice your fingers open to the bone. When you are finished, you will have its teethmarks on your heart.
It is a treasure.
The task of describing Asunder demands poetry, because mere prose can’t possibly capture the scintillant brilliance of Hall’s writing. I want this book tattooed on my skin. I want to wear it and breathe it and have it with me always; I want it wrapped around my fingers so I can punch it into people’s faces. It’s soft and brutal, clear and secretive, straightforward and intricate. It is dazzlingly original and quietly subversive, magical and horrifying, beautiful and heartbreaking. It hurts, and I want it to hurt me again.
I wanted to turn back to the first page the moment I finished the last, and the second I’m done with this review, I will.
Hall has, yet again, created an impossibly impressive world so real that you can feel its wind on your face, so strange that it feels like a dream, conveyed to us through prose both sharp and somehow delicate, a Fabergé egg with razors inside. It’s a world shaped by otherworldly conflict, but not in the way you might expect; our main character Karys doesn’t wander through a landscape bearing the scars of undivine war, but her culture, and the geopolitical history of her world, are inextricably entwined with the rise and fall of different…pantheons, families, species?…of not-gods. The once-mighty Vareslain empire has fallen, bereft of the nod-gods who once favoured it; Karys� native Mercia is currently rising in prominence as the bastion of the Ephirite, who slaughtered the not-gods who came before them. The miracles of the deceased Bhatuma linger alongside those of the newer Ephirite, both fulfilling vital services for mortals � everything from public transport to the postal system are the workings of the undivine, or derived from those workings. The result is a setting both dream-like and nightmarish to the reader, but which the characters living in it see as perfectly normal, a dissonance that adds only adds to Asunder’s lustre.
It’s also, brilliantly, a world you have to discover for yourself. I’m used to a certain amount of telling in the books I read � which is fine; it’s only when there’s too much of it, or it’s done clumsily, that it’s a problem. The ‘show don’t tell� rule is, like probably every writing rule, only applicable some of the time � it’s not a sin to ‘tell� the reader things! But Hall has taken the rare approach of barely telling us anything at all; instead it’s up to the reader to note and gather together every clue, every fragment of lore, every scrap of backstory, and piece them together � and we very rarely get clear confirmation that the picture we’ve made is the correct one. Puzzling out the history of the Bhatuma, the dead not-gods, and their relationship with different humans and countries, involved a fair bit of reading between the lines, drawing inferences from other bits of the worldbuilding � and yes, I can see some readers being a bit frustrated by this, but you know what, I loved it. It’s somehow incredible immersive, makes it feel like a real world, because in real life there are no info-dumps, you have to learn by experiencing, and that’s very much what reading Asunder is like. None of the worldbuilding feels vague; I’m absolutely convinced that Hall has all the details worked out, has thought all of it through, because everything fits together perfectly, no matter how deep you dig at it. Hand-wavey worldbuilding doesn’t do that; you only get this kind of neat precision when a storyteller knows their world inside-out and backwards, and it’s obvious that Hall really does.
Rtc!
*I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
Highlights
~who needs trains when you have spiders?
~sell your soul, become a saint
~falling in love with your own shadow
~there used to be not-gods, now there’s new not-gods
~you can run, but can you hide?
Asunder is velvet and dust and the softest ashes, salt and copper and crystal. It is twilit. It whispers. It has sharp edges. You must hold it very carefully as you read, or it will slice your fingers open to the bone. When you are finished, you will have its teethmarks on your heart.
It is a treasure.
The task of describing Asunder demands poetry, because mere prose can’t possibly capture the scintillant brilliance of Hall’s writing. I want this book tattooed on my skin. I want to wear it and breathe it and have it with me always; I want it wrapped around my fingers so I can punch it into people’s faces. It’s soft and brutal, clear and secretive, straightforward and intricate. It is dazzlingly original and quietly subversive, magical and horrifying, beautiful and heartbreaking. It hurts, and I want it to hurt me again.
I wanted to turn back to the first page the moment I finished the last, and the second I’m done with this review, I will.
Hall has, yet again, created an impossibly impressive world so real that you can feel its wind on your face, so strange that it feels like a dream, conveyed to us through prose both sharp and somehow delicate, a Fabergé egg with razors inside. It’s a world shaped by otherworldly conflict, but not in the way you might expect; our main character Karys doesn’t wander through a landscape bearing the scars of undivine war, but her culture, and the geopolitical history of her world, are inextricably entwined with the rise and fall of different…pantheons, families, species?…of not-gods. The once-mighty Vareslain empire has fallen, bereft of the nod-gods who once favoured it; Karys� native Mercia is currently rising in prominence as the bastion of the Ephirite, who slaughtered the not-gods who came before them. The miracles of the deceased Bhatuma linger alongside those of the newer Ephirite, both fulfilling vital services for mortals � everything from public transport to the postal system are the workings of the undivine, or derived from those workings. The result is a setting both dream-like and nightmarish to the reader, but which the characters living in it see as perfectly normal, a dissonance that adds only adds to Asunder’s lustre.
It’s also, brilliantly, a world you have to discover for yourself. I’m used to a certain amount of telling in the books I read � which is fine; it’s only when there’s too much of it, or it’s done clumsily, that it’s a problem. The ‘show don’t tell� rule is, like probably every writing rule, only applicable some of the time � it’s not a sin to ‘tell� the reader things! But Hall has taken the rare approach of barely telling us anything at all; instead it’s up to the reader to note and gather together every clue, every fragment of lore, every scrap of backstory, and piece them together � and we very rarely get clear confirmation that the picture we’ve made is the correct one. Puzzling out the history of the Bhatuma, the dead not-gods, and their relationship with different humans and countries, involved a fair bit of reading between the lines, drawing inferences from other bits of the worldbuilding � and yes, I can see some readers being a bit frustrated by this, but you know what, I loved it. It’s somehow incredible immersive, makes it feel like a real world, because in real life there are no info-dumps, you have to learn by experiencing, and that’s very much what reading Asunder is like. None of the worldbuilding feels vague; I’m absolutely convinced that Hall has all the details worked out, has thought all of it through, because everything fits together perfectly, no matter how deep you dig at it. Hand-wavey worldbuilding doesn’t do that; you only get this kind of neat precision when a storyteller knows their world inside-out and backwards, and it’s obvious that Hall really does.
August 16, 2024
3.5 stars
A difficult one to rate.
This book is long (a 20-hour audiobook) and takes too long to ramp up. It wasn't until 1/3 of the way in when Karys, our heroine, returns to her childhood home, that I began to care about her and some of the other characters in the story.
This novel is nearly episodic, and the book as a whole often feels comprised of side-quests. Sometimes that form of storytelling worked for me. In parts of the book, I felt like I'd been dropped into a dark, lush, beautiful anime—Hall's writing can be wonderfully descriptive and immersive. Other times I felt lost as to what the overarching point or plot of the novel was.
I do love a nice body sharing tale (Cam & Pal in and Roger & Dodger in —just to name-check a couple of other Tor titles). I requested this ARC because it features that trope and because Isabel Cañas gushed about this novel in a recent newsletter. The body sharing in this story, while not explored as deeply as in those aforementioned, more character-focused books, did not disappoint.
After Karys and Ferain bonded during Karys' trip home, I began to gobble this story up. Those two are pretty straight-forward characters, but I really adored the relationship they forged; I wish we were shown far more of it. I also enjoyed the trust, respect, and affection that Karys and Ferain grew to share with Haeki and Winola.
This is where I admit that I'm probably not the right audience for this book. I liked but did not love it. I'm always going to prefer very character-driven fantasy, and up until the last handful of chapters that's not what this book is.
Even if it wasn't quite for me, this is still a quality novel. Hall is a skilled storyteller. (Though the ending was pretty poor for a book that seems to be marketed as a standalone.)
Thanks to Tor and RBMedia for the ARC.
A difficult one to rate.
This book is long (a 20-hour audiobook) and takes too long to ramp up. It wasn't until 1/3 of the way in when Karys, our heroine, returns to her childhood home, that I began to care about her and some of the other characters in the story.
This novel is nearly episodic, and the book as a whole often feels comprised of side-quests. Sometimes that form of storytelling worked for me. In parts of the book, I felt like I'd been dropped into a dark, lush, beautiful anime—Hall's writing can be wonderfully descriptive and immersive. Other times I felt lost as to what the overarching point or plot of the novel was.
I do love a nice body sharing tale (Cam & Pal in and Roger & Dodger in —just to name-check a couple of other Tor titles). I requested this ARC because it features that trope and because Isabel Cañas gushed about this novel in a recent newsletter. The body sharing in this story, while not explored as deeply as in those aforementioned, more character-focused books, did not disappoint.
After Karys and Ferain bonded during Karys' trip home, I began to gobble this story up. Those two are pretty straight-forward characters, but I really adored the relationship they forged; I wish we were shown far more of it. I also enjoyed the trust, respect, and affection that Karys and Ferain grew to share with Haeki and Winola.
This is where I admit that I'm probably not the right audience for this book. I liked but did not love it. I'm always going to prefer very character-driven fantasy, and up until the last handful of chapters that's not what this book is.
Even if it wasn't quite for me, this is still a quality novel. Hall is a skilled storyteller. (Though the ending was pretty poor for a book that seems to be marketed as a standalone.)
Thanks to Tor and RBMedia for the ARC.
March 7, 2024
Despite the description immediately making me think of warlock pacts in D&D, I found myself immediately pulled into the novel's mythology. I was fascinated by the idea of these two sets of, essentially, gods who are neither incredibly beneficial to humankind. At least, while there are examples of benevolent seeming creations, the stories of the old gods were pretty much all rather dark with ample evidence that whatever care they had for humans was pretty callous. The new gods, however, seem less concerned with humanity overall -- except for those who make contracts with them.
The main character, Karys, is one such person. While she's able to scrape by with the power her Ephirite (and is that basically pronounced "efreet" so it's essentially a djinn?) master gave her to speak to the dead, the trade-off is that he gets to force her permanently into his realm someday. No one really knows what happens there, but her short visits indicate it will be horrific and probably involve unspeakable acts and some body horror.
After she accidentally bonds someone to her shadow in attempt to rescue him, she becomes a target for several political groups... but he promises her riches if she can figure out how to set him free. That's the main thrust of the story, but the scope gets so much bigger and there are plenty of misadventures along the way.
This kind of gives it an episodic feel, but also lends to a feeling of things not really resolving at the end. (hence why this is a four star read for me instead of a five -- if there is a sequel, then I might have to bump it up) But at the end of the novel, there are plenty of big issues that could spawn sequels or spin offs and I hope they do. Though Karys was the POV character, the greater found family aspect of the book makes me really want to learn more about where everyone else ended up. And there are minor villains I'd like to see get some comeuppance...
At any rate, overall, just a lovely, gripping writing style that usually is able to span both cosmic (Ephirite) horror and mundane (the difficulty of paying rent) ones.
The main character, Karys, is one such person. While she's able to scrape by with the power her Ephirite (and is that basically pronounced "efreet" so it's essentially a djinn?) master gave her to speak to the dead, the trade-off is that he gets to force her permanently into his realm someday. No one really knows what happens there, but her short visits indicate it will be horrific and probably involve unspeakable acts and some body horror.
After she accidentally bonds someone to her shadow in attempt to rescue him, she becomes a target for several political groups... but he promises her riches if she can figure out how to set him free. That's the main thrust of the story, but the scope gets so much bigger and there are plenty of misadventures along the way.
This kind of gives it an episodic feel, but also lends to a feeling of things not really resolving at the end. (hence why this is a four star read for me instead of a five -- if there is a sequel, then I might have to bump it up) But at the end of the novel, there are plenty of big issues that could spawn sequels or spin offs and I hope they do. Though Karys was the POV character, the greater found family aspect of the book makes me really want to learn more about where everyone else ended up. And there are minor villains I'd like to see get some comeuppance...
At any rate, overall, just a lovely, gripping writing style that usually is able to span both cosmic (Ephirite) horror and mundane (the difficulty of paying rent) ones.
January 31, 2025
Updating with full review.
WOW what a wildly unique book! I don't even have other words. Just crazy!
CAWPILE breakdown:
Characters: 4.5/5 - For the most part, I loved our characters but there are some I'm still trying to figure out fully.
Atmosphere/Setting: 5/5 - This was soo good. Atmsophere I could feel the entire time, especially when it changed - which I'm always looking for. Setting was great! I could see everything; I "knew" where we were the whole time.
Writing Style: 5/5 - This was a wild book! It was easy to read and engaging and entertaining.
Plot: 5/5 - YES! So So good! Tha tending was so wild and fast and unexpected!
Intrigue: 5/5 - I had SO Much intrigue reading this book.
Logic: 5/5 - Weirdly, it all made logical sense - even though it felt like it shouldn't.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - Yes. I loved this book so much. I want to read more by Kerstin Hall!
Total: 34.5/7 = 4.92
WOW what a wildly unique book! I don't even have other words. Just crazy!
CAWPILE breakdown:
Characters: 4.5/5 - For the most part, I loved our characters but there are some I'm still trying to figure out fully.
Atmosphere/Setting: 5/5 - This was soo good. Atmsophere I could feel the entire time, especially when it changed - which I'm always looking for. Setting was great! I could see everything; I "knew" where we were the whole time.
Writing Style: 5/5 - This was a wild book! It was easy to read and engaging and entertaining.
Plot: 5/5 - YES! So So good! Tha tending was so wild and fast and unexpected!
Intrigue: 5/5 - I had SO Much intrigue reading this book.
Logic: 5/5 - Weirdly, it all made logical sense - even though it felt like it shouldn't.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - Yes. I loved this book so much. I want to read more by Kerstin Hall!
Total: 34.5/7 = 4.92
August 31, 2024
WHY DO ALL OF HALL'S BOOKS END WITH SADNESS???!? Why can't a single story end happily with both characters alive? and happy? and not torn into shreds that not even their souls are left??? They never even got to see each other properly!
This is how you write character growth; hidden, slow, and then WHAM! you realize that they are a 180° from the beginning of the story, willing to be devoured by the same god they spent the entire novel sprinting from. It also goes to show that not every romance has to be fleshed out and full of sexy times. Heck, the main characters only touched and saw each other after running from a lava-lamp-human-dissolver-demon, and them were promptly turned into shadow and shadowed. Romance can also be shown through sacrifice!
Now, I must cry. And contemplate life. And cry again.
This is how you write character growth; hidden, slow, and then WHAM! you realize that they are a 180° from the beginning of the story, willing to be devoured by the same god they spent the entire novel sprinting from. It also goes to show that not every romance has to be fleshed out and full of sexy times. Heck, the main characters only touched and saw each other after running from a lava-lamp-human-dissolver-demon, and them were promptly turned into shadow and shadowed. Romance can also be shown through sacrifice!
Now, I must cry. And contemplate life. And cry again.
June 20, 2024
this really did not need to be as long as it was
November 18, 2024
I absolutelyloved this book! I wanted that to be the first line of my review. Karys foolishly sold her soul to an eldritch being when she was a teenager, which gave her the abilityof a Deathspeaker. This means she can talk to the newly departed and she uses these gifts to investigate suspiciousdeaths. When her latest job goes terribly wrong, it leaves her with a dying man accidentallyattached to her shadow. With an impending demise on the horizon, Karys and Ferain have to travel the empire and try to find a way to rip themselvesapart. That is the most basic synopsis of a world and story far beyond my imagination! This world is so atmospheric and dark and haunting and intricate. There is this crazy technological element to it that makes it borderline sci-fi, while still maintaining that magical, whimsical fantasy feel. I am living for this world and the whole vibe! Karys is a force to be reckoned with FMC, who hides a good heart behind a tough exterior. Experiencing this world through her eyes and emotional journey--I wouldn't have it any other way. While she is so strong and developed, the other characters play important roles as well. We get side stories and insights, characters that expand not only the world but the emotional impact, I mean everything is just so well done and so well placed. And of course, this slowly developing relationship between Karys and Ferain--which is so unusual as they are literally one body and he is attachedto her. It is definitelynot the main aspect of the story, but I loved his slow chipping away at her walls.
Since I can't write a ten page paper about it, I feel like it's so enormous that I'll just keep it here. I cannot stress how impressed I was by this book, and with that cliffhanger ending, I will be anxiously awaiting book two.
Since I can't write a ten page paper about it, I feel like it's so enormous that I'll just keep it here. I cannot stress how impressed I was by this book, and with that cliffhanger ending, I will be anxiously awaiting book two.
January 21, 2025
4.75 stars
I think I need to process how I feel about the ending before I can really say too much about this book 🥴 I don't know that I'm satisfied with the ending, but not quite sure if that's impacted my overall impression. If it's a standalone, then maybe. Of it's the start of a sequel (which I see no indication for?), then probably not.
But overall one of the most unique worlds and more importantly, most unique STORY I have ever read. I truly never could guess where we were going with the story line (outside of one element that was more hope than prediction). I'll repeat from my update, but character readers will need to give Karys until at least the 50% mark. She holds things close to the chest until then and even avoids the mysterious internal dialogue foreshadowing you may expect. Honestly, it was refreshing.
The type of world-building you need to be OK just going with and trusting in the author to get you there. The vibe shift from the every day to the lovecraftian monster/horror parts truly caught me off-guard, but in a good way... I think 😅
I think I need to process how I feel about the ending before I can really say too much about this book 🥴 I don't know that I'm satisfied with the ending, but not quite sure if that's impacted my overall impression. If it's a standalone, then maybe. Of it's the start of a sequel (which I see no indication for?), then probably not.
But overall one of the most unique worlds and more importantly, most unique STORY I have ever read. I truly never could guess where we were going with the story line (outside of one element that was more hope than prediction). I'll repeat from my update, but character readers will need to give Karys until at least the 50% mark. She holds things close to the chest until then and even avoids the mysterious internal dialogue foreshadowing you may expect. Honestly, it was refreshing.
The type of world-building you need to be OK just going with and trusting in the author to get you there. The vibe shift from the every day to the lovecraftian monster/horror parts truly caught me off-guard, but in a good way... I think 😅
December 13, 2024
what the fuck
i am a shell of a person now how am i supposed to move on???
i am a shell of a person now how am i supposed to move on???
January 20, 2025
3.5 ⭐️, I think? I may or may not write an actual review tomorrow.
July 30, 2024
Dark, atmospheric, brooding as all hell yet also hopeful and immersive, this novel tore me asunder in the best way possible.
Possession is one of my favourite sub-genres or tropes in fantasy, and this is BOGO possession! If you love this trope too, it gives you both malevolent and benevolent in the same person!
The story, like all my favourites, provides no info-dumping. We learn as we go that this rather technologically advanced fantasy (by that I mean in terms of say Belle Epoch compared to medieval - it’s not an urban fantasy) functions under the reality that gods (called heralds) are real and can provide boons to humans (like the Greek gods) but that there are also even more powerful eldritch monsters that came into the world from another dimension. I’m telling you this because it is one thing that could have used some more detail earlier on. Other than that, I found this book to be pretty much perfect.
One of the best things about the magic system is the semi-sentient transportation systems that are both fascinating and kind of horrific. It reminded me instantly of the palanquin from Beauty and the Beast; this was such a unique and cool idea. The magical aspects aren't as common as in sword and sorcery novels, and are woven into society. People kind of just accept magic stuff with passive wariness or study it as a field.
The plot is a quite basic quest narrative (sometimes simpler is better), and the different places Karys travels to are fascinating and surprising. One of my favourite places was the seaside town where they are bombarded by crashing waves constantly, and, of course, the train.
The characters are great. We have Karys, Ferein inhabiting her, a surly priestess, a quirky scholar, and the creepy Goddess of Brine and Urchins. Karys can be a bit of a wet blanket at times, but given her life and situation, this is understandable (and it's great to see her soften as the novel progresses). Ferain is easily likable, as he is a great foil to Karys in personality (think grumpy/sunshine), and the others make for a well-rounded crew. I cared about all of them and shipped them in pairs. There is a very very slow burn love story that I thought was excellent.
The action in the novel is visceral and a little gory but never gratuitous. It suits the novel’s dark and brooding atmosphere. While it's a little gloomy, it’s never depressing, as there are moments of levity and even the occasional laugh.
This book blew me away. I absolutely loved it.
Possession is one of my favourite sub-genres or tropes in fantasy, and this is BOGO possession! If you love this trope too, it gives you both malevolent and benevolent in the same person!
The story, like all my favourites, provides no info-dumping. We learn as we go that this rather technologically advanced fantasy (by that I mean in terms of say Belle Epoch compared to medieval - it’s not an urban fantasy) functions under the reality that gods (called heralds) are real and can provide boons to humans (like the Greek gods) but that there are also even more powerful eldritch monsters that came into the world from another dimension. I’m telling you this because it is one thing that could have used some more detail earlier on. Other than that, I found this book to be pretty much perfect.
One of the best things about the magic system is the semi-sentient transportation systems that are both fascinating and kind of horrific. It reminded me instantly of the palanquin from Beauty and the Beast; this was such a unique and cool idea. The magical aspects aren't as common as in sword and sorcery novels, and are woven into society. People kind of just accept magic stuff with passive wariness or study it as a field.
The plot is a quite basic quest narrative (sometimes simpler is better), and the different places Karys travels to are fascinating and surprising. One of my favourite places was the seaside town where they are bombarded by crashing waves constantly, and, of course, the train.
The characters are great. We have Karys, Ferein inhabiting her, a surly priestess, a quirky scholar, and the creepy Goddess of Brine and Urchins. Karys can be a bit of a wet blanket at times, but given her life and situation, this is understandable (and it's great to see her soften as the novel progresses). Ferain is easily likable, as he is a great foil to Karys in personality (think grumpy/sunshine), and the others make for a well-rounded crew. I cared about all of them and shipped them in pairs. There is a very very slow burn love story that I thought was excellent.
The action in the novel is visceral and a little gory but never gratuitous. It suits the novel’s dark and brooding atmosphere. While it's a little gloomy, it’s never depressing, as there are moments of levity and even the occasional laugh.
This book blew me away. I absolutely loved it.
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