First published 2023
The city of Gelethel sits trapped behind walls of ice that no one can cross. Fourteen angels govern every aspect of life within these barriers. They feed their subjects and shelter them, but they also deliver savage punishments to anyone who commits blasphemy. Attempting to escape ranks among the most terrible sins a citizen can commit. The angels watch everything and judge harshly. Their subjects must navigate daily life under this divine tyranny, where comfort comes paired with the constant threat of angelic wrath. C. S. E. Cooney crafts a story that moves between wonder and terror as characters struggle within this frozen prison. The novel explores how people survive when their protectors are also their greatest threat, and what happens when divine rule becomes indistinguishable from oppression.
Genres: dystopia, literary-fiction, fantasy, magical-realism
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: divine-tyranny, found-family
Setting: Gelethel
244 pages · Kindle Edition · Mythic Delerium Books
Content warnings: violence