Clueless whiny nepo baby Thomas Thresher, clerking at his family's London bank and living a really cushy life, starts to grow leaves from his body. Promising start to a David Liss story. We've got London, though in the early twentieth century not the eighteenth, we've got business shenanigans at the bank, and a world in which there are children with lobster claws, women giving birth to rabbits, killer fogs of supernatural origin, and a werewolf psychic. Oh, and Aleister Crowley.

Why does Walter, Thomas's brother, have such wood for Thomas's marriage to Esther, a Jewish woman with pots of money? What is driving the oddball events in the bank (seriously dodgy loans and very odd property acquisitions) that aren't in service of making money? And, last but not least, what the hell are all these leaves doing on Thomas's body?

The way Thomas sets about trying to make sense of the Peculiarities, the way he simply rolls up his sleeves, picks a few leaves off, and starts looking around for information that could help him...these are positives. They do lead, quite naturally, to a slightly off-putting disconnected style, episodes instead of one smooth narrative. That wasn't entirely to my personal liking but I got accustomed to it.

What I very much didn't get used to was Esther's being the butt of so many nasty, mean-spirited jokes not least from Thomas...the man she's set to marry. It made me very uncomfortable and was absolutely never addressed...Esther ends the way she began, a one-note anti-Jewish joke. I couldn't figure out why she was so awful, compared to Thomas's suddenly acquired love interest who was a cypher.

That, and a really cringey sexual assault scene, are the source of my lower-than-expected rating.

I was very taken by the Peculiarities themselves. The fact that we don't find out what the hell's going on here isn't a major issue for me because the verve of Author Liss's tellings of the supernatural events was the actual point. There's no need to explain strange doings if the point of them is to be strange. What Author Liss does overexplain is the world of 1899 London and its many and various restrictions on women and Others. That's really overdone.

Something that might be overdone for some readers is the pseudo-Victorian locutions of Thomas's narration. I myownself found it fun and just on the good side of stilted, but others might feel differently. If you opt to read a sample of the Kindle edition, you'll know right away if this is for you or not. What nearly scuppered my interest, and greatly slowed my reading, was the chest-pokey second-person narration parts.

I must say that, with the different historical luminaries swirling through the story, I was a little bit let down that none of them played a big role in the solution to the strange issues in the book. (Well, except Aleister Crowley.)

Not a perfect read, but a good one; a lot of stuff gets wrapped up in the last ten percent of the book but not, by any means, even close to everything. That is, for me, perfectly okay because very few things in life are wrapped up in tidy little bows. The Peculiarities remain peculiar. And most enjoyably so.

This book represents the reality of London in 1900, but also the superstitions and fantasies imbedded in the zeitgeist of that time. This bridges from his usual historical fiction into more of a fantasy novel. At first I didn't think I would like it, but it's a great story and leaves potential for sequels.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

Thomas Thresher is a Victorian gentleman who has never been asked to do much. He has lived the life of a wastrel, drinking with his friends in London pubs and dallying his life away. When his father dies, Thomas' life is changed. He is now under the supervision of his elder brother, Walter, who has never liked him. The will specifies that Thomas live with Walter and go to work in the Thresher family bank. Walter also insists that Thomas marry a woman whose father Walter wants to do business with.

But London itself is also not doing well. The Peculiarities, as they are called, have appeared. Individuals wake to find themselves turned into wolves or other animals. Women are reported to be having rabbits as babies. There are strangers walking the streets who are murdering prostitutes. Thomas is caught up in this as he has been sprouting leaves and is slowly turning into a tree.

Thomas goes to a magical society to see if they can be of help. There he meets Alastair Crowley, the renowned magician and enlists him to help. He also gets help from the woman he is to marry and a family of women turned into wolves. Thomas has also discovered that the bank is doing strange things and comes to suspect that it is connected to the Peculiarities in some fashion. Can he find out what is going on and can he reverse his condition?

David Liss is a well-known historical fiction author. His trademark is meticulous research. In this new genre for him, the story is still accurate historically while adding the fantastic elements that make the story fall more in the fantasy genre. Readers will cheer for Thomas as he grows from a feckless young man to someone ready to take on horrendous events. This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

All in all, not a terrible story. I was intrigued as I read on, but I did find the ending ambiguous and thereby somewhat unsatisfactory.

Got about halfway before I decided to dnf. There was a rape scene that I was just very squicked out about, so I threw in the towel.

The world was fascinating though, and I was very intrigued by the plot. The main character was insufferable, but I got the impression that he would grow and become better later on.

My thanks to Netgalley for allowing me an ARC of this book, which might have otherwise escaped my notice. And it was well worth the read, both in itself and as a portal to a formerly unread author; I shall certainly be delving into Mr Liss' back catalogue.

In The Peculiarities, he achieves a perfect mix of Victorian gothic, alternate history, fantasy and mystery, well glued together with great characters and atmosphere, and even some very dry and witty humour. I forced many of his quotes upon my work colleagues, and they had to agree, it was as if Liss had worked with us, so perfectly had he captured (via Thomas Thresher) the futility and absurd bureaucracy of our workplace. That alone made Thomas a sympathetic character, but the alternative London of the day was well drawn also. The secondary characters, Thomas' putative wife Esther, and the wretched but highly amusing Aleister Crowley, were excellent too, aided by Liss' faux formal Victorian language - formal enough to get the reader in the mood, and to accurately reflect the tone of the day, but not so stilted as to be off-putting or to impede the flow of the plot. And the ending was good too, giving us the ultimate showdown, but not quite the ultimate resolution that we would get with a more hackneyed author.

Recommended for fans of Susannah Clarke and Katherine Addison.

View of the World Through Fun House Mirror
Opening as historical fiction set at the turn of the century (20th), The Peculiarities portrays a young man stuck in conventions, with a career he inherited and his bride chosen for him. Then, shifting, the book begins to give hints of the Peculiarities (capital P): a fog that seems to be alive, afflictions that befall those who break contracts, and other unusual occurrences. Though these may seem like rumors, recognition of their commonplace nature begins to be apparent. No history we’ve ever heard of!

Thomas, second son in a banking family, is introduced as the family puppet, directed to marry a good connection for the bank - perhaps an infusion of money. The tedium of his work is overwhelming, yet Thomas learns of some odd business practices and is inspired to act. The mystery is slowly unfurling: What is it about the bank’s operational procedures? What is it about the Peculiarities? It’s a race against time and a series of surrealistic obstacles.

I’ve read all of David Liss’s historical and literary novels and they never fail to please. (I just don’t happen to be into his other genre of action/comics hero.) I’ve been missing him and was happy to hear of this new book. I appreciate his ability to write in the style of the time period and his tongue in cheek sense of humor!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

Thomas Thresher is the sort of person who, if I met him in real life, I would have nothing to do with. He’s a child of privilege who’s never had to work very hard in his life. He’s used to having fun and feels very put upon having to work as a junior clerk at the family bank. He feels even more put upon because his blustering older brother demands that he marry a woman he’s never met before. He struck me, at first, as the kind of useless, rich man who likes to get his way. My first impression of him was not sweetened with his casual Victorian-era anti-Semitism. But, over the course of The Peculiarities, by David Liss, Thomas started to win me over with his stubborn determination to uncover secrets and put things right.

Thomas doesn’t make a very good impression on many of the people he meets at the beginning of the novel. Miss Feldstein doesn’t like his casual sexism. His boss at the bank doesn’t like his inability to keep his mouth shut. And his brother really doesn’t like him, but we don’t really learn why until much later in The Peculiarities, when Thomas’s investigations start to bear fruit. The only people who actually seem to like Thomas are the wolfwomen he meets in the East End and the one and only Aleister Crowley…but that comes after Thomas starts poking around at the bank and finds some financial peculiarities. The financial peculiarities led Thomas to new friends, but also to a mystery involving the Peculiarities—the supernatural phenomena that have appeared around the world that have caused people to transform, women to give birth to rabbits à la Mary Toft, and strange creatures to messily kill people in the poorer districts of London.

All of those plot threads—plus Thomas’s attempts to stop his own transformation and not marry Miss Feldstein—take Thomas to the East End, to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and to a trio of mysterious women (including Miss Feldstein) who might be able to help him unravel all the threads. All of these threads (and the women) push Thomas to grow into something more than a young man with a big allowance and too much time on his hands. He also started to shed his Victorian notions of proper behavior for women and the stereotypes about Jewish people. Thank goodness.

Because of my initial reaction to Thomas, I wasn’t sure I would like The Peculiarities all that much. I’m not averse to unlikeable characters, not as long as they have some kind of redeeming features or are interesting in some other way. But I’m glad I stuck with the novel. Liss’s supernatural reinvention of London was highly original and very entertaining. Crowley had me laughing every time the egotistical pervert showed up. Most of all, I love that The Peculiarities never went where I expected. I appreciate a story that never makes anything simple.

Set in 1899 London, Thomas Thresher has been forced to work a clerical job in the bank owned by his family, in an arranged marriage, and well, leaves began sprouting out of his body.

The Peculiarities is an original and peculiar (see what I did there?) novel. It's a historical fantasy that combines occult, Greek myth, and horror. And as the book progresses, things keep on getting bizarre, I love it!

The Victorian London setting was vividly detailed, refreshing, and atmospheric. The writing style emulates the period it was set and a bit modernized. The plot started slow, and hit its stride upon hitting 25%. It has plenty of surprises and ridiculously good!

My only issue is that the readers are kept at a distance from the main character. It made it reading a bit of a struggle.

Overall, The Peculiarities is an enjoyable read. It's refreshing, humorous, thought-provoking, and intriguing.

Big thanks to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for my review copy. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

In London in 1899, Thomas has been ripped from his carefree life and forced to work in the family bank as a cleric after his father passed away. As prominent people in London study mysticism, strange things are happening called peculiarities. Women are giving birth to litters of rabbits, the fog is acting strange, children have lobster claws for hands and Thomas has his own problem. Thomas's older brother, Walter, is forcing him to marry a woman in order to help the bank, and Thomas decides to find out what is really going on. This is a fun and different story.

Before reading his The Peculiarities, I was unfamiliar with David Liss' work. But recently, my GoodReads friends have been talking a lot about both this book in particular and Liss' work in general, so I requested this title for review—and I'm quite glad I did.

The Peculiarities is a sort of historical mystery-fantasy novel. At the turn of the 20th Century strange things have been happening—the transformation of people into wolves or trees, women giving birth to litters of rabbits, elegent, faceless dead people attacking the poorer classes of London—and all these happenings have been accompanied by strange mists that linger for days, sometimes growing tentacles and attempting to murder people. Liss takes his readers on a wild ride.

I was absolutely fascinated by the first half of this novel. Events got stranger and stranger. I kept asking myself somewhat stunned questions. What is Liss going to throw in next? How are all these disparate elements going to merge into a coherent story?

In the second half of the novel these many elements do come together, though I was almost disappointed that they did. I could have spent hundreds of pages more following Liss into his bizarre alternative London. The fully realized story line was interesting, but somewhat less original than the events leading up to it.

If you like fantasy novels or alternative histories, you're going to love this title. If you've had little experience with these genres, The Peculiarities is a good place to start. Liss will keep you thinking and keep dealing out surprises.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title; the opinions are my own.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this historical fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I have never read anything by this author before.  This be the story of Thomas Thresher, a layabout second son from a rich banking family in London.  He has problems including finally being forced to work at the family business, an arranged marriage, and the fact that leaves are spouting out of his body.  Of course weird Peculiarities like evil fog and women giving birth to rabbits are happening to other folk.  But those people are poor.  The rich believe that magic doesn't really exist.  The leaves on Thomas suggest otherwise.  Does the bank have something to do with these Peculiarities?  Thomas has to find out.

I really enjoyed the world set up by the author.  It takes place in 1899 and deals with the idea that magic is popping up in the major cities in unusual ways.  The idea of what these Peculiarities are and how they manifest that was the highlight of the book for me.  I also enjoyed the changes the author made in terms of how he incorporates the alternate history.

The downside of this book was that I never really enjoyed the main character.  Thomas was rather insufferable and has very little agency.  Even though he improves in the book, his upper class viewpoints and self-centeredness did grate.  The anti-Semitism in the book was revolting even while Thomas changes his mind about the Jewish love interest.   I know why the anti-Semitism was there but I didn't like it.  There was also an attempted rape scene that was icky.

I don't have regrets about reading this but it is by no means a favorite.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Tachyon!

3.5 stars

We follow Thomas, a bank worker, who lives in a London beset by magical problems which manifest as thick fogs, people growing fur, women giving birth to rabbits and other such Peculiarities. Thomas is becoming a tree. Faced with his impending wooden life, he wants to make sure his family’s bank has a stable future. But it turns out that the bank’s secrets and his own leafy limbs may be connected.
This book is weird, and quite a different experience compared to Liss’ Benjamin Weaver series (which I love and adore). Its weirdness is so close to being bad that at the start I wasn’t sure I’d like it.
I think the plot could’ve been tighter. Maybe if it had a smaller cast or took place in a shorter time frame the wrinkles would’ve smoothed out. I do like it though; it’s got a nice blend of mystery, magic, intrigue, and adventure. The bank, the magical shenanigans, and Thomas fighting against becoming a tree sound like a strange combination but it’s a decent result. However, there is something…off about it. I don’t know what it is, but there’s a persistent blemish on the periphery that tarnishes the whole thing.
One obvious oddity is that it’s written in present tense. I’ve read a lot of books but rarely do I come across anything written in present tense. I don’t dislike that style but I don’t think the book is better because of that choice.
The tone is kinda devil-may-care, so I didn’t feel the danger or urgency. I prefer lighter stories but this crust of levity doesn’t quite mesh with the dangerous London streets and it feels like I’m being pulled in different directions.
Blending historical fiction and fantasy—my two favorite story elements—is a great idea. The history here isn’t at the forefront but it makes for a nice background along the lines of Sherlock Holmes (particularly Robert Downey Jr.’s iteration of Holmes). The use of magic isn’t flashy; it takes the mystical and cultish angle, relying on drawn symbols, talismans, and incantations.
Thomas is very vanilla, but I like him. I don’t think he’s all that charming, interesting or memorable, but he’s determined, not a quitter and at times humorous. He’s a normal guy put in extraordinary circumstances and he makes it fly.
The rest of the cast is what I’ve grown to expect from Liss: a solid collection of foes and friends, but they seem a little less full than his previous books. The women are strong without being overbearing and yet they lack real substance. I learned a few surface traits about them but their voices aren’t distinct nor do they have presence on the page. They’re there, and that’s it.
I love Liss’ description, dialogue and prose in the Weaver series, and it’s slightly watered down here. Maybe it’s because I read an early copy but it doesn’t feel as lush and striking as his other books, though I can still see everything clearly and there are some great lines.


Thomas believes he has done a fine job of remaining sane the past weeks, but it has been a taxing day, and surely no one would blame him if he simply went mad.

He does not want to start talking about maths, however. There is nothing that makes a man sound less heroic.

There are swords and spears and wands, some displayed as though museum pieces, others simply lying about as though Crowley might have need to grab a spear at any moment and—who can say?—hurl it at an astral antelope. Anything is possible.

As often happens when a man discusses mathematics, the room remains silent.

Thomas sets aside his outrage and shock and disgust. It is time to panic.


I wanted it to be more like the Weaver books and since it’s quite dissimilar, I am a bit disappointed. However, I still think it’s a good, entertaining story, one I may even revisit. I will certainly continue to read his books, both past and future.

This author usually writes historical fiction, but in this case he has written a fantasy set in 1899 London. About a decade earlier, certain peculiarities began to appear. Women are giving birth to rabbits, there is an outbreak of lycanthropy, children have lobster claws instead of hands, a killer fog enters homes, etc. Thomas Thresher has been forced to work at the boring job of clerk in the bank founded by his grandfather. If he doesn’t work there, he won’t receive the inheritance left to him by his father, and he needs the money since he had been leading a pretty feckless life. Secretly, Thomas has his own peculiarity. He has begun to sprout leaves.

The book uses a very light touch to combine magic, the occult, astral projection, Greek mythology, complicated family dynamics, mild romance and mathematics. Thomas develops a backbone as he tries to save the bank, find the source of the peculiarities and discover why his brother William is forcing him to marry Esther Feldstein. Thomas is charming, the book has both humor and action and the plot kept me interested. Hannibal Hills was an excellent narrator of the audiobook. The voices he used for both the male and female characters were wonderful.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Where have the books by David Liss been all my life?

I like books that are different, odd, and peculiar and The Peculiarities certainly is. You want creepy, murderous monsters? Liss gives us The Elegants. We have some kindly werewolves, people who turn into trees, mathematical solutions, and the infamous Aleister Crowley, a real person (though odd) borrowed from history. Holding the story together is the protagonist, Thomas, who responds to the bizarre goings-on as a proper Victorian gentleman. When asked by a man married to a werewolf what he thinks of that, Thomas replies, "I celebrate your domestic happiness." He always has the right, though often baffled, reply.

Thomas grows as a character. At the beginning, when his brother demands he marry a certain woman, Thomas can't imagine marrying a Jewish woman. As the novel goes on, Thomas realizes how narrow his rich white man Victorian view has been. A new world, and worlds, open to him.

The Peculiarities is strange and humorous, gory and startling, and thought-provoking while being lots of fun to read.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an eARC in return for an honest review.

Crowley and several other notable Victorians appear in The Peculiarities, and alternate history crowded with dark magic. The storyline has much of a Victorian potboiler about it, with an evil scheming brother, unknown motivations, a banking empire and beautiful strangers who bring death. Can Thomas find out why he is being targeted? For those who enjoy a Victorian setting, somewhat like the TV show The Irregulars.

I enjoyed this, but the plot felt overbalanced — very slow and plodding during the first half of the book, with too much happening in the last twenty pages or so. It also felt a little predictable, inasmuch as a novel with human-rabbit parthenogenesis, wolf people, and magic portals can be predictable; I mean in the emotional beats the narrative took the protagonist through. Also, a lot of “period-appropriate” but alienating sleaziness from Aleister Crowley and some anti-Semitism that seemed to exist mostly so that Thresher could knock it off later as a sign of personal growth.

This book was somewhat of a challenge for me. The first fourth of the book was extremely slow and wasn’t capturing my attention as much as I usually prefer a book to do in the beginning. Thomas the main character fell a tad flat for me. The secondary characters and creatures however made up for it in a big way. The magic and fantasy in this book is where my heart connected to the story. The Peculiarities were fascinating and once the story line picked up it really picked up. The blend of history and fantasy was fantastic. I appreciated the world building and the attention to the authenticity of the time period. Even in the bits that are a little worded down nothing is written that doesn’t lend its self to every bit of the plot. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to be rewarded for their patience through a slow burn beginning. Especially recommended for fans of Victorian writing styles and the incorporation of mathematics and financing with fantasy.

4 stars--I really liked it.

This book wanders a bit at the beginning, much as the protagonist wanders in indecision and inaction. The last quarter of the book, however, makes up for this with a riot of action. This is a strange book full of whimsy--but also horror. It combines a Victorian novel of manners with magic and even a Lovecraftian monster. I enjoyed the characters and the depth of imagination.