Description
Book Synopsis'Unique and utterly assured, I will follow this writer anywhere' – Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl
‘A wonderful new entry to Gothic science fiction, impeccably clever and atmospheric. Think Wuthering Heights . . . with worms!’ – Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth
The Times Best Sci-Fi Books 2022 and Winner of The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer at the British Fantasy Awards 2023.
In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The Interprovincial Medical Institute sends out a replacement. But when the new physician investigates the cause of death, which appears to be suicide, there’s a mystery to solve. It seems the good doctor was hosting a parasite. Yet this should have been impossible, as the physician was already possessed – by the Institute.
The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the horrors their ancestors unleashed. For hundreds of years, it has taken root in young minds and shaped them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. But now there’s competition. For in the baron’s icebound castle, already a pit of secrets and lies, the parasite is spreading . . .
These two enemies will make war within the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, will humanity lose again?
Leech by Hiron Ennes is an atmospheric Gothic triumph, perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
Trade ReviewSo much more than the horror story it may sound like. Ennes has created a world that's fully realized and disturbingly believable, a place both futuristic in its environmental disasters but Victorian in its manners and ways. This is
The Thing meets
The Alienist, and to call it merely horror is a disservice, as it's beautifully written and so strangely humane one feels empathy for a virus struggling, like all the humans about it, to survive.
So unique and utterly assured, I will follow this writer anywhere going forward -- Gillian Flynn, author of
Gone GirlA wonderful new entry to Gothic science fiction, impeccably clever and atmospheric. Think Wuthering Heights . . . with worms! -- Tamsyn Muir, author of
Gideon the NinthLeech isn’t like anything I’ve read before. Superb writing, interesting and fresh ideas, skilful execution. Highly recommended. I’ll be reading anything Hiron Ennes writes from now on -- Tade Thompson
What a unique book! Surprising turns and staggering ideas – all woven together by beautiful writing.
This is one to remember -- Tim Lebbon
I didn’t know a book could perfectly convey the concept of a distributed intelligence, alive and aware of each of its proxies, but
Leech is proof anything is possible in good hands -- Cassandra Khaw
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if David Cronenberg and Edgar Allen Poe bumped into each other at the same parasitological conference, here’s your answer -- Peter Watts
Ennes spins classic Gothic horror and fascinating science fiction into a creation that is
disturbing, horrifying, and impossible to turn away from -- Brom
Leech is wonderful, with a truly unique protagonist, a goeey, squicky post-apocalyptic setting, and a dose of Gormenghast gothic.
Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and The Traitor -- Django Wexler
A tense, disturbing work of Gothic horror that embraces difficult themes of power, abuse, agency and raw survival in an unforgettably apocalyptic setting.
Gory, shocking, raw – and utterly humane -- Kameron Hurley
Part of me admires the sheer level of craft that Ennes put into this book, but another part of me feels it must surely have been unearthed, whole and eerie and throbbing, in a box in a dark attic.
Gothically bloody, beautifully written, and sharp as a scalpel to the amygdala. I loved it -- Freya Marske
Hiron Ennes's debut is an
intricate, well-observed marooned-community thriller --
The TimesUniquely compelling --
Financial TimesFans of gothic horror will find a lot to love . . . Hiron Ennes juxtaposes cosily old-fashioned gothic imagery, such as snowy fields and cavernous castles, with genuinely shocking bouts of body horror . . . It's delightfully malignant, prompting questions about who the villain really is, and making
Leech feel
even more ambiguous and alluring --
SFX
