Book overview
For fans of FRANKENSTEIN and THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, Tessa Barbosa's ISLE OF TEETH is a poignant dark fantasy that centers on two remarkable individuals, each labelled a monster in their own right--their destinies divided by empire, their fates intertwined by Lady Death.
Lady Death always comes to collect.
Matiu Frankel joined the imperial military to escape his childhood: his father's wretched creations, his witch-mother's loyalty to Lady Death, and the haunting voice in his own head. With no choice in assignment, however, he returns home to Song--and to a waiting nightmare. A revenant attack waylays his mission and Matiu, being part-Songi, is accused of working with native insurgents. To remove the bounty on his head, Matiu must prove his loyalty to the Lyssian Empire by infiltrating the resistance and capturing the monster they've weaponized.
But Calyx is not a monster. A revenant pieced together from animals and dead Songi, yes. Abandoned by her makers to rot on the Isle of Teeth, yes. But not a monster. At least, not yet. Without medicine, Calyx and her siblings risk losing their humanity to Lady Death's whispers.
Calyx has three weeks to find a cure. Matiu has even less time to clear his name. In their desperation to survive, they turn to each other, becoming entangled in each other's stories--and in the larger story of empire and resistance. Amidst growing tensions and the echoing calls of the goddess of death, Matiu and Calyx's relationship transforms into a dark fable about those who have spent their lives with a boot on their neck--and what they would sacrifice to stand tall once more.
Lady Death always comes to collect.
Matiu Frankel joined the imperial military to escape his childhood: his father's wretched creations, his witch-mother's loyalty to Lady Death, and the haunting voice in his own head. With no choice in assignment, however, he returns home to Song--and to a waiting nightmare. A revenant attack waylays his mission and Matiu, being part-Songi, is accused of working with native insurgents. To remove the bounty on his head, Matiu must prove his loyalty to the Lyssian Empire by infiltrating the resistance and capturing the monster they've weaponized.
But Calyx is not a monster. A revenant pieced together from animals and dead Songi, yes. Abandoned by her makers to rot on the Isle of Teeth, yes. But not a monster. At least, not yet. Without medicine, Calyx and her siblings risk losing their humanity to Lady Death's whispers.
Calyx has three weeks to find a cure. Matiu has even less time to clear his name. In their desperation to survive, they turn to each other, becoming entangled in each other's stories--and in the larger story of empire and resistance. Amidst growing tensions and the echoing calls of the goddess of death, Matiu and Calyx's relationship transforms into a dark fable about those who have spent their lives with a boot on their neck--and what they would sacrifice to stand tall once more.