Dark, atmospheric, and brooding as all hell, yet also hopeful and immersive, this novel tore me asunder in the best way possible.

Possession is one of my favourite sub-genres or tropes in fantasy, and this is BOGO possession! If you love this trope too, it gives you both malevolent and benevolent in the same person!

The story, like all my favourites, provides no info-dumping. We learn as we go that this rather technologically advanced fantasy (by that I mean in terms of say Belle Epoch compared to medieval - it’s not an urban fantasy) functions under the reality that gods (called heralds) are real and can provide boons to humans (like the Greek gods) but that there are also even more powerful eldritch monsters that came into the world from another dimension. I’m telling you this because it is one thing that could have used some more detail earlier on. Other than that, I found this book to be pretty much perfect.

One of the best things about the magic system is the semi-sentient transportation systems that are both fascinating and kind of horrific. It reminded me instantly of the palanquin from Beauty and the Beast; this was such a unique and cool idea. The magical aspects aren't as common as in sword and sorcery novels, and are woven into society. People kind of just accept magic stuff with passive wariness or study it as a field.

The plot is a quite basic quest narrative (sometimes simpler is better), and the different places Karys travels to are fascinating and surprising. One of my favourite places was the seaside town where they are bombarded by crashing waves constantly, and, of course, the train.

The characters are great. We have Karys, Ferein inhabiting her, a surly priestess, a quirky scholar, and the creepy Goddess of Brine and Urchins. Karys can be a bit of a wet blanket at times, but given her life and situation, this is understandable (and it's great to see her soften as the novel progresses). Ferain is easily likable, as he is a great foil to Karys in personality (think grumpy/sunshine), and the others make for a well-rounded crew. I cared about all of them and shipped them in pairs. There is a very very slow burn love story that I thought was excellent.

The action in the novel is visceral and a little gory but never gratuitous. It suits the novel’s dark and brooding atmosphere. While it's a little gloomy, it’s never depressing, as there are moments of levity and even the occasional laugh.

This book blew me away. I absolutely loved it.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and still am unsure of how to rate it. I loved Karys as a main character and the lore and the world Kerstin Hall created, but I was so frustrated at the ending. This is billed as a standalone and that's one of the reasons I was so excited to read it, but so many threads were left dangling at the end, it left me feeling unsatisfied.

"Asunder" by Kerstin Hall is a captivating blend of dark fantasy and intricate world-building. The novel takes readers on a journey through a realm where gods and magic intertwine with human ambition and betrayal. Hall's prose is lush and evocative, painting vivid images of a world teetering on the edge of chaos. The protagonist's struggle for survival and identity amidst political intrigue and ancient powers is both gripping and poignant. The narrative is rich with complex characters and unexpected twists, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. "Asunder" is a remarkable debut that showcases Hall's talent for storytelling and world-crafting, making it a must-read for fans of the genre.

I requested this one on a bit of a whim. I was vaguely familiar with the author, knowing that she’d released at least one or two other books, but I hadn’t read any of them. This cover, while excellent, doesn’t really give many clues as to what type of fantasy novel this was. And the book description is wild with talk of various types of magical beings (death speakers), fantasy creatures (eldritch entities) and long-reaching spells (binding someone to a shadow, what?). And man, was this an instance where not knowing going in really paid off! This was a crazy ride of a book and I loved every bit of it!

There’s so much to love about this book that I don’t know where to start. But I think I’ll begin with the general type of fantasy novel that this book is. I’m not sure if this is an “official” subgenre of fantasy, but I’d label this book and books like it as “hard fantasy.” As in, the fantasy version of “hard science fiction.” For example, last year I read and loved Martha Wells’ “Witch King.” I loved it so much that I included it (or tried to? I can’t remember) in one of our “Another Take” list where we link to other reviewers who also enjoyed the same book. Problem was, I kept coming across reviewers who struggled with the book because of the complicated world-building and the fact that the reader is essentially plopped into the story with no explanations or answers in sight, left to piece it together over the course of the book. So, where “hard science fiction” leans heavily on the scientific details of it all, I’d say that “hard fantasy” is the type of fantasy that presents a very foreign world, full of totally unfamiliar elements, cultures, and religions that readers are left to piece together largely on their own.

This book is very much that, and, like “Witch King,” I loved it. For one thing, I think this style of storytelling often makes the most sense for fantasy stories like this. In this book, we’re following one main character, Karys, as she goes on a quest to various locations in various countries and, essentially, has a bunch of mini-adventures while gathering up a party of friends. But because we’re following her so closely, and she’s a member of this world, her explanations of what she sees around her are fairly straightforward and undetailed.

She blasély comments on these enchanted dog-like creatures that essentially operate as a free taxi system in her home city. She mentions the various deity-like beings that have warred over the past decades, with one now practically extinct and a new order in place with beings that are only partially understood. She casually describes cultures and customs where it is understood that one simply climbs within a ensorcelled spider-thing that operates like a train. It’s all incredibly creative, incredibly strange, and incredibly straight-forwardly presented. This is all familiar to Karys; she has no reason to go into long monologues about the how and why of it all. As such, the reader is left to piece together these elements over the course of the book, slowly filling out the broad strokes of this world and the true stakes involved. I enjoy fantasy stories that test the limits of the imagination like this one does. That said, this is definitely not an approachable fantasy story, and I can see some readers being turned off by the complexity of it all.

As I mentioned, while there is a larger mystery and quest involved (Karys’s mission to return the man she bound to her shadow to his rightful body), the plot swings through a multitude of shorter “side quests.” All of these were worked in to the larger plot in small ways, but they also felt like interesting little mini stories in their own right. And, most importantly, they gave the reader more insights into the strangeness of this world and its people.

While I like the plot and the fantasy world, none of this would have worked without a strong leading character, and Karys is exactly the sort of leading lady I enjoy. She’s fiercely independent (often to a problematic level), and much of the story follows her personal arc of coming to trust and rely on the friends she meets along the way. Her past is riddled with trauma, and yet her approach to life is a fierce will to live, even in the face of the most dire of circumstances. Her fairly tightly-wound character is balanced well by her shadow companion, Ferain, who is a more light-hearted and open individual. That said, for a character that spends almost the entire book in a shadow-like state, Ferain’s own story turned out to be more rich than I had expected. Plus, the cherry on the top, I loved the sweet, slow-burn romance that developed between them.

I’m really tempted to give this book a 10 rating. However, I will say that while I enjoyed all of the mini adventures on their own, there were a few points where I felt like these side stories broke up the overall pacing of the story. And there was one that I didn’t really understand the point of, though I may have missed some important detail (like I said, the author doesn’t spoon feed it to you, so if you missed a line, oops!). I also felt like the ending was rather abrupt and felt a bit like a cliffhanger. Normally, this wouldn’t really bother me, but as of writing this, this book seems to be being marketed as a stand-alone, which, if true, makes the ending slightly unsatisfying. That said, I still highly recommend this to fantasy readers, especially those who want to go hard into the crazier side of fantasy world-building and are happy to go along on a mildly confusing, but well worth it, ride!

Rating 9: A perfect example of hard fantasy at its best, with a world that feels completely foreign and rich to be explored, especially alongside a fantastic cast of characters.

(Link will go live on August 23 on The Library Ladies)

Wow, I LOVED this. This had excellent world building and magic systems, and I really felt attached to the characters. The plot was slower-paced with a lot of the focus being on the politics, magic, and world building of this universe. Karys and Ferain’s relationship devastated me (I love a slow burn).

The last couple chapters were super stressful and though I hate a cliffhanger-y ending, I can’t wait to read the next one.

Asunder by Kerstin Hall was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Wow. This was so good. It was so compelling, I couldn't put it down. The writing was fantastic and I loved the characters. I will definitely not be shutting up about this book any time soon.

This was a solid read and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I never fully engaged with the character; she just felt a bit young despite all her apparent lived experience. I did like the premise and the world/setting, and the action kept everything moved at a decent pace. I hated the ending though — it just didn’t feel like the type of book that needed a cliffhanger.

3.5 stars, with thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC. My opinions are my own.

This was...very long. That's really my main impression of it. The writing is okay, the plot is interesting(ish?), and the characters are just fine. It started out super promising, and I liked the idea of this person being stuck inside someone else's body, but that potential never really went anywhere. The novel's plot just meanders, with seemingly no purpose or endpoint, and the ending was very disappointing and underwhelming given how long the novel was.

I desperately hope that we get another book in this world from Hall. A direct sequel, a spin off, a bunch of short stories, a one woman show on Broadway that is then published as a play, I don't care what form it takes I WANT MORE.

This is by far one of the most inventive, gut-wrenching, and compelling fantasies I have ever read. There is no hand holding, you are thrown into this strange world with eldritch creatures and strange magic. I have never felt such empathy for a main character before while reading, I cried, feeling Karys's emotions as my own as she went on this difficult journey. The cast of characters is fantastic, from the friends to the enemies Karys meets along the way. The book is fast-paced and deeply immersive. I could not pull myself away from this book.

you've heard of only one bed but may i suggest only one head??? forced proximity but may i offer you LIs sharing a body and needing to get split up before they both die??

dark adventure fantasy with a tender heart that brings you through fantastical place after place with an almost ghibli-esque wonder and imagination, while never losing its characters or kirsten hall's other trademark of super concerning demons and doses of body horror. this is an excellent loner-reluctantly-gains-band-of-allies-and-learns-to-trust fantasy; it's learning to open a walled-off heart and want to live and live with someone; it's got scholars with magical workings, demented sea slug gods and places and creatures i'd love to visit; it crosses personal stakes with a vast world so wonderfully and the ending DEVASTATED me.

i would kill to see this as an animated series. i would also kill for the sequel.

There is no doubt in my mind that Kerstin Hall is one of the great imaginative minds writing fantasy today—Asunder is a masterful novel, one that is both intimately character-focused and layered with intrigue, eldritch horrors, and high-octane action. It is immersive, inventive, and intensely unputdownable. I was spellbound from the first pages.