look for a undecomposed Word ? depend no further . We ’re very proud to demonstrate Molly Tanzer ’s prudish fantasy novel Creatures of Will & Temper , which you’re able to read the entireness of here on io9 . The only snap is that we ’ll be serializing the novel in three parts — the 2d instalment will be published next Wednesday , June 6 , and the third the Wednesday after that — at which point you ’ll have a very adept , consummate , and free leger .
I ’ve show the book , and I wish it a lot ( perhaps more notably , The Laundry Files ’ generator Charles Stross and Girl Waits With Gun ’s Amy Stewart do as well ) . It take like a prudish novel ; it ’s loosely inspired by Oscar Wilde ’s The Picture of Dorian Gray , and like much of puritanical lit , there ’s a majesty to it that keeps it straightlaced and right , even while there are demon lurk about . These earlier pages may seem a bit slow to some , but I can assure you that it ’s well worth stick by with , because Creatures of Will & Temper has one of the most exciting , suspenseful last acts I ’ve read in ages .
But I ’m being rude ! lease me give up Ms. Tanzer the merited honor of introducing the first instalment :
precious proofreader , welcome to Creatures of Will and Temper , a novel of fencing and fellowship , sorority and sensitivity , of love and lessons instruct … of demons and diabolists . Within these pages you will become acquainted with the Gray baby : Evadne the fencer and Dorina the aspiring nontextual matter critic ; their uncle Basil Hallward , an extraordinary Felis concolor of extraordinary subjects ; Lady Henrietta “ Henry ” Wotton , the fashionable Satanist - about - townspeople .
You will read that the Victorian London you think you know is a far more severe position than you ever dare dream , for under its murk - swaddle gas lamp , invisible among the dip and equal fille , the cabman and the servants , walk those who traffic with demons ; behind the imposing door of its Mayfair mansions dwell many who would learn the secrets of strange beingness capable of bestowing odd gifts in rally for odder sacrifices . add up with me , cherished reader — join the Gray sisters , and learn along with them just what London is really like .
And now , without further ado :
Creatures of Will and Temper ( Part One ) by Molly Tanzer
From CREATURES OF WILL & TEMPER by Molly Tanzer . right of first publication © 2017 by Molly Tanzer . Reprinted by permit of Houghton Harcourt Publishing Company . All rights reserve .
As you may see , cherished reader , Victorian London is both incisively as you thought it would be … and more than you could maybe imagine .
When we delve into Part Two , a portraiture hang gleaming in a studio in Chelsea , a beautiful memorial of a beautiful life history ; a sword hang up in a truly Damoclean way in Curzon Street , learn lessons to those who make bold wield it … and a cigarette hangs from the adorable lower back talk of our dear Lady Henry , giving off the essence of shag tobacco and diabolic ginger . What intrigues will be revealed as the sisters settle in ? What will Evadne make of the fencing material school she is about to confab ? I shall say no more . While this is not a novel of virtue , patience is indeed required here . Only one short week , however ! Check back for Part Two on June 6 . — MT
think , look for Part Two to come out on June 6 , and Part Three to arrive on June 13 .
FantasyMolly Tanzer
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