The Monster of Elendhaven

by Jennifer Giesbrecht

Overview

Debut author Jennifer Giesbrecht paints a darkly compelling fantasy of revenge in The Monster of Elendhaven, a dark fantasy about murder, a monster, and the magician who loves both.

Set against the backdrop of the plague-ridden city of Elendhaven, clinging to the edge of the ocean and stripped of all hope, you’ll find a tale of retribution, magic, and the monstrous.

The city isn't the only one fighting against demise; lurking in the shadows dwells a monster. With a soul as icy as it is cunning, it weaves itself around throats, immune from the grips of death. A puppet to its fragile master who sends it on perilous errands, it becomes a weapon in a scheme too monstrous to name. As the bond between the master and the monster tightens, a catastrophic revenge plan is formed.

These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.

“A tight, perfectly crafted story about retribution and what monsters deserve; stylish, quirky, and weirdly sexy? I’m into it.” —R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250225689
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	117,493
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

JENNIFER GIESBRECHT is a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia where she earned an undergraduate degree in History, spent her formative years as a professional street performer, and developed a deep and reverent respect for the ocean. She currently works as a game writer for What Pumpkin Studios. In 2013 she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop. Her work has appeared in Nightmare Magazine, XIII: ‘Stories of Resurrection’, Apex, and Imaginarium: The Best of Canadian Speculative Fiction. She lives in a quaint, historic neighbourhood with two of her best friends and five cats. The Monster of Elendhaven is her first book.

Editorial Reviews

06/03/2019

Full of foul, intoxicating odors and fouler characters, this disquieting short novel employs serial suicide and multiple homicides to offer criticism of its decadent setting. In vaguely Victorian, coal-grimed Elendhaven, Johann, a supernatural companion mistakenly summoned by sorcerer Florian Leickenbloom, becomes Florian’s assistant in crafting a plan to reintroduce a deadly plague. Florian, last heir of the fallen Leickenbloom fortune, schemes to collapse Elendhaven’s nouveau riche elites and take vengeance on the neighboring countries who profited on the devastation wrought by the previous plague outbreak. Opposing him and Johann is a Mage Hunter who’s charged with removing either Florian’s magic or his life. Giesbrecht tries for a sardonic tone in showing how societies deserve the monsters that they produce, but the imagery of pestilence and splattered bodily fluids tips the balance from picaresque to grotesque. Her work goes beyond grimdark to something more like grimglum, and few readers will be able to stick it out even for the brief length of this misery-marinated story. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is a black tide of perversity, violence, and lush writing. I loved it.” —Joe Hill, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Fireman, N0S4A2, and Horns

“A tight, perfectly crafted story about retribution and what monsters deserve; stylish, quirky, and weirdly sexy? I’m into it.” —R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel

“Pitch dark, whimsical, topical, wild, and lushly written, Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is the most reading fun you'll have this year.” —Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts

“I read The Monster of Elendhaven in a single vicious, delightful bite. What a dark gem of a book.” —Kiersten White, New York Times Bestselling Author

“Elendhaven is as fully formed as Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" series with truly repellent characters who don't possess a shred of moral fiber. Yet the right readers will still love them, as newcomer Giesbrecht is a fantasy writer to watch with a sure command of her world.” —Library Journal Starred Review

“Gorily gothic, darkly baroque, rotten with magic and shot with shafts of wicked humor, The Monster of Elendhaven is a perfect nightmare.” —Margo Lanagan, author of The Bridges of Rollrock Island

“Giesbrecht's words don't ask, they don't wonder, they don't hope or plead or bargain. They command you to have the experience that she knows you will have, to see what she knows you will see.” —Andrew Hussie, creator of Homestuck

“Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is a gothic delight, dark as an oil-slick and iridescent with feral humour, bruise-violet prose, and a fascinatingly depraved tragic romance.” —Indra Das, author of The Devourers

“Delicate, jagged, and unrepentant, The Monster of Elendhaven has the linguistic febrility of Peake and the brutal sentiment of a gothic, perfectly framed in a secondary-world Hanseatic League setting that is as unusual as it is compelling.” —Arkady Martine, author of A Memory Called Empire

“Horror fans will want to grab this one — Giesbrecht has an extremely compelling voice.” —Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians

“The Monster of Elendhaven is so much more than it seems. In Giesbrecht's deft hands, it's a compelling, psychologically gripping tale of lust and revenge, told in parallel, twisting narratives that ingeniously leave the reader sympathizing with the most horrible people imaginable.” —Grimdark Magazine

From the Publisher

Daniel Henning gives a compelling narration of this dark fantasy novella. The story follows Johann, a supernatural human-like monster who kills people for his own pleasure and education. Johann plans to murder Herr Leikenbloom, but they wind up unlikely cohorts in a revenge scheme against those who wronged them. Henning fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters. Squeamish listeners should look elsewhere, though. This audiobook verges on the grotesque and is a difficult listen, despite its relatively short length. Those willing to stick around will find that the story is well served by Henning’s theatrical performance. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile

Daniel Henning gives a compelling narration of this dark fantasy novella. The story follows Johann, a supernatural human-like monster who kills people for his own pleasure and education. Johann plans to murder Herr Leikenbloom, but they wind up unlikely cohorts in a revenge scheme against those who wronged them. Henning fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters. Squeamish listeners should look elsewhere, though. This audiobook verges on the grotesque and is a difficult listen, despite its relatively short length. Those willing to stick around will find that the story is well served by Henning’s theatrical performance. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile