Emily Tesh won my heart with her Greenhollow Duology though I never got around to her first novel. That was clearly a mistake, because The Incandescent is one of the most lovely, heart-wrenching and original fantasy novels I have read in ages! Walden is a glorious character, flawed yet unyieldingly competent. I loved how she talks herself through interactions with the teenagers in her care and seeing how that translates into her relationships with adults. The teenagers themselves absolutely broke my heart at times. But really, I knew I was in as soon as the demon in the photocopier went on strike. Dark academia has felt stale for so long and though this is in a completely different direction from Babel, it feels like an equally welcome new direction!

This is a magnificent book. A magic boarding school, seen from the teacher's lounge, is already my jam. The exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. About a quarter of the way in, there is a sequence that in any other book would be the climax. I was wondering how exactly it was going to top that. But it did.

Highly recommended.

4/5

Enter a magical academy seemingly like no other, one where modern technology presents a problem for the staff trained to wrangle students against a host of demonic entities seeking to gain entry to the mortal plane. Tesh flips the script for the magical school setting bringing focus on its professors and the director of magic, whose job is to keep the school running smoothly, especially against the powerful demon who has set its sights on the school. The humor lies in the absurdity – from the risk assessment forms teachers are required to fill out ahead of term, the imp possessing the copier with a taste for digestive biscuits, to the students suffering through coursework (summoning demons). The Incandescent examines all the ways in which a person can become tied to a place and whether or not centering identity around a place so strongly can have detrimental effects. Witnessing Walden shouldering her pain and the burden of the expectations attached to the place she loves so much was overwhelmingly poignant. Tesh voices the weight of magic and the costs of harnessing such power no matter the intention. Complete with a hot butch who runs into the fire after her idiot crush the Incandescent is a startling & fresh take on a classic setting and a standalone few will regret venturing into!

This review will be featured on my blog closer to publication!