Description
NOMINATED FOR BEST HORROR NOVEL in the GOODREADS READERS CHOICE AWARDS...
'A lurid, luscious debauch of a book.' Guardian
'An unforgettable feast of decadence and depravity, House of Hunger cements Henderson's place as one of the great gothic writers of our generation.' S T GIBSON, author of A Dowry of Blood
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.
WANTED: A bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life's finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.
Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a strange advertisement in the newspaper, seeking a 'bloodmaid'.
Though she knows little about the far north - where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service - Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery - and there, at the centre of it all is her.
Her name is Countess Lisavet. Loved and feared in equal measure, she presides over this hedonistic court. And she takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, charismatic, seductive - and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home - and fast - or its halls will soon become her grave.
About the Author
Alexis Henderson is a speculative fiction writer with a penchant for dark fantasy, witchcraft, and horror. She grew up in one of America's most haunted cities, Savannah, which instilled in her a life-long love of ghost stories. When she doesn't have her nose buried in a book, you can find her painting or watching horror movies with her feline familiar. Her debut novel, the acclaimed and bestselling The Year of the Witching, was shortlisted for two Good Reads Awards. Her second, House of Hunger, confirmed her place as one of the best new writers of Gothic fiction and was also Good Reads Awards shortlisted.
Alexis lives in DeWitt, Michigan.
Reviews
An unforgettable feast of decadence and depravity, House of Hunger cements Henderson's place as one of the great gothic writers of our generation. Readers will be absolutely spellbound by this sinister, scintillating tale.
The kind of book that deserves to be devoured. Deliciously brutal, hypnotic, and brimming with ravenous malice, Alexis Henderson has crafted a bloody, sapphic fever dream of a novel and I can't wait to read it again.
Has something of the grotesque novelty of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, tinged red by a Clive Barker-esque blending of blood and sex . . . a lurid, luscious debauch of a book. * GUARDIAN *
A gory gem of a story that sinks in its teeth and won't let up, House of Hunger proves that Alexis Henderson is one of the best Gothic writers out there.
A dark, blood-filled fantasy that's dripping in gothic vibes . . . dread and desire simmer from the pages of this unsettling and lushly written horror. It'll have you simulatenously wanting to look away and keep reading. * METRO *
Book Information
ISBN 9781804992999
Author Alexis Henderson
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Penguin (Transworld)
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 220g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 126mm * 24mm