King of Dead Things

Two lives are about to collide. A journey of self-discovery. 
 
For fans of dark fantasy like Cemetery Boys, Noughts and Crosses and Threads that Bind from major new YA talent Jamaican British author Nevin Holness 
 
 
The first time Eli had tried taking magic that wasn&rsquo;t his, it had wrapped around his palms like razor wire, tight enough that he&rsquo;d needed stitches. Since then, Eli had bled magic from a soul enough times that he knew the rhythm of it. He knew what kinds of magic to stay away from and which he could upsell, which would get stuck beneath his fingernails and which would crumble and turn to ash if he held on too tightly. 
 
Eli doesn't know who he is or where he came from. What he does know is that he can pluck the magic from a soul like a petal from a flower. And he knows there is nothing he wouldn't borrow, steal or destroy in order to discover his past. 
 
Malcolm knows he can raise the dead with a wave of his hand but all he really wants is to be able to save his mother. 
 
When Eli is sent to track down the legendary fang of the leopard god Osebo, he finds himself entangled with an old and ancient power. Forced to team up, Malcolm and Eli must weave through the cracks of London, unearthing magic that should have stayed buried. 
 
Until finally, they face a power greater than either of them could have imagined: the daughter of Death herself . . . 
 
Raising the dead is easy, living is harder.

An immersive, adventurous debut. 
 
Holness has created a fantasy London that feels incredibly real. Richly peppered with Caribbean folklore, creatures from African diasporic mythology, death and life magic, wrapped up in a high stakes plot that impacts friendships, found family, and preservation of culture.

Author of the Walter Award Honoree Root Magic

The magic in this book is so alive. It snaps, crackles and pops, sometimes threaded into the everyday &ndash; as small as a wink &ndash; and at other times pounding through the streets &ndash; vast, deadly and godly. An entrancing debut with heartfelt, laugh out loud characters and big questions of identity, belonging and how to hold onto the stories that matter.

Author of The Sunday Times Bestseller Thread Needle

King Of Dead Things is a delicious tale of magic and sacrifice set in a modern London that blends the real and the fantastical. The ingenuity shown in combining Caribbean spirituality and creatures with teenagers lives today make it a perfect blend of dangerous adventure, high stakes, and exploration of friendship. Both flawed and tangibly real, I loved every character. There had better be a sequel!

Author of New York Times Bestseller Skin of the Sea and Soul of the Deep

Nevin Holness writes stories that explore magic within the Jamaican diaspora and she is passionate about creating complex and fantastical narratives that young Black readers can see themselves reflected in. She is a graduate of the Penguin Random House WriteNow Programme that has produced acclaimed writers such as Manjeet Mann, winner of the Costa Children&rsquo;s Book award and Emma Smith Barton, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children&rsquo;s Book Prize. 
 
When she's not writing, Nevin spends most of her time listening to Beyoncé.

Two lives are about to collide. 
 
For fans of dark fantasy like Cemetery Boys, Noughts and Crosses and Threads that Bind from major new YA talent Jamaican British author Nevin Holness 
 
The first time Eli had tried taking magic that wasn&rsquo;t his, it had wrapped around his palms like razor wire, tight enough that he&rsquo;d needed stitches. Since then, Eli had bled magic from a soul enough times that he knew the rhythm of it. He knew what kinds of magic to stay away from and which he could upsell, which would get stuck beneath his fingernails and which would crumble and turn to ash if he held on too tightly. 
 
Eli doesn't know who he is or where he came from. What he does know is that he can pluck the magic from a soul like a petal from a flower. And he knows there is nothing he wouldn't borrow, steal or destroy in order to discover his past. 
 
Malcolm knows he can raise the dead with a wave of his hand but all he really wants is to be able to save his mother. 
 
When Eli is sent to track down the legendary fang of the leopard god Osebo, he finds himself entangled with an old and ancient power. Forced to team up, Malcolm and Eli must weave through the cracks of London, unearthing magic that should have stayed buried. 
 
Until finally, they face a power greater than either of them could have imagined: the daughter of Death herself . . . 
 
Raising the dead is easy, living is harder.

Nevin Holness

Eli's search to retrace his past continues... in the second book in the King of Dead Things Duology. 
 
For fans of dark fantasy like Cemetery Boys, Noughts & Crosses and Threads that Bind from major new YA talent Jamaican British author Nevin Holness 
 
It was getting increasingly difficult to differentiate dreams from reality. Dreams, of course, didn’t have teeth, and memories didn’t have claws. But something had torn into him; whatever it was, it was hungry. 
 
It had been three months since Sunny left. 
 
To anyone who asks, Eli is fine. Sure, the last time he’d seen his sister, they’d both narrowly avoided their deaths, and yes, he hadn’t known she was his sister at the time. 
 
It was also fine that she wouldn’t tell him who he was or where he came from or, more importantly, why she had been lying to his face since the first day they’d supposedly met. 
 
He doesn’t remember his family anyway, so it’s easy to force himself to forget she ever existed. But then something begins hunting him down in his sleep. It starts small: a scratch on the wrist, a burn on the chest, but then his dreams become more vivid and begin to draw blood. 
 
Each night, when things get dire, he senses Sunny and wakes up just before whatever is chasing him can finish the job…. Eli vows to avoid sleep altogether. But can he stay awake and alive, long enough to reunite with his sister and finally get the answers he’s been agonising over?

Nevin Holness

Books by Nevin Holness

Series by Nevin Holness

King of

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