King of Dead Things

Author(s): Nevin Holness

Young Adult

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Legendborn, this contemporary young adult fantasy steeped in Afro-Caribbean folklore follows two Black teens searching for a powerful artifact in the hidden magical side of London.Eli doesn't know who he is or who he came from. Three years ago, he was found by his now-best friends, Sunny and Max, who gave him a home in a magical sanctuary doubling as a Caribbean restaurant. What Eli does know is that he can heal a wound with just a touch and pluck magic from a soul like a petal from a flower--and there is nothing he wouldn't do to survive and keep his new family together. Malcolm would do anything to forget where he comes from. Desperate to escape his estranged father's shadow and plagued with an inherited magic he doesn't fully understand, Malcolm has just one priority: save his mother, no matter the cost. Malcolm and Eli's paths collide when Eli and his friends are sent to track down the fang of the leopard god Osebo, a deadly weapon that can eat magic. In a job filled with enigmatic nine nights and Caribbean legends, the teens must face their own demons as they race through the magical underbelly of London to retrieve the fang...before an ancient and malevolent power comes back to life.


Product Information

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 * Eden Royce * The magic in this book is so alive. It snaps, crackles and pops, sometimes threaded into the everyday - as small as a wink - and at other times pounding through the streets - 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 * Cari Thomas * 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 * Natasha Bowen *

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 Write Now Programme that has produced acclaimed writers such as Manjeet Mann, winner of the Costa Children's Book award and Emma Smith Barton, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. When she's not writing, Nevin spends most of her time listening to Beyonce.

General Fields

  • : 9780241635452
  • : Penguin Books, Limited
  • : Penguin UK
  • : 266.0
  • : 01 March 2024
  • : h198mm x w129mm x s23mm
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Nevin Holness
  • : Paperback
  • : English
  • : 823.92
  • : 384