The Bloodless Queen

Johnson (The Endless Song) builds a robust and bizarre world in this wildly original and wholly transportive fantasy. During the Reagan presidency, a strange mathematical text circulated among world leaders, persuading them to set aside half of all land on Earth for natural “Harbors” to preserve the planet’s biodiversity. Upon completion of this massive project, however, it was revealed to have a far more sinister aim: 132,329 died that day only to transform into grotesque faeries. Every year since, anyone who dies on the autumnal equinox similarly transforms, becoming magical, mischievous, and often murderous, and disappearing into the nearest Harbor to join their kind. Meanwhile, “Fencers,” humans upon whom prime number tattoos have mysteriously appeared, also develop magical abilities and may be humanity’s only defense against the fae. In the present day, two such fencers, couple Calidore and Evangeline, prepare for the equinox at the Midwest Harbor. The process is complicated when their team is assigned to raid the local Sylvan Church, human worshippers of the fae. There, they find evidence that the Sylvans are surveilling the local fencing agency for purposes unknown. Balancing the dizzyingly high-concept worldbuilding are the very human relationships at the story’s center. Johnson’s writing perfectly fits his unfettered tale, lyrical and lilting at moments and skittering wildly at others. This is magical stuff. (July)