Chris Haigh takes a look a two April Titan Books releases.
Nothing can be quite as monstrous as motherhood, or so posits Polly Hall in her latest release Myrrh, a dizzying specimen of hallucinogenic literary horror that follows multiple perspectives – or perhaps they’re all one and the same? – as they grapple with obsession, motherhood, and sanity.
The very initial premise is the split between the eponymous 1980s, South-coast-set Myrrh who searches for her biological family along a string of dying seaside towns, and Cayenne, a woman who has just married a single father and finds herself being pushed by her toxic stepdaughter and enabling husband, towards an obsession with a child of her own.
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Hall is a talented scribe, so that even when the novel spreads its woozy wings, it largely manages to tell a coherent, if vacillating narrative, replete with potent symbolism. Myrrh, for the uninitiated, is the gift of the Magi most commonly associated with death and mourning, the prescribe of Jesus’ mortal fate in the New Testament, as well as a gum-resin associated with healing. Its name comes from the Arabic root ‘murr’ meaning ‘bitter’ – appropriate then that Hall chooses this as the title of her bittersweet work, a novel that strives to heal old wounds, even if it takes the sour approach.
Myrhh is out now from Titan Books.
The work of Judy I. Lin is not unknown to the discerning YA fantasy reader – her popular Book of Tea duology was prevalent over the past couple of years – and so the news of her standalone novel, Song of the Six Realms, is sure to make ripples in the right ponds.
Its pitch is fun enough. Xue, our heroine, is talented and quietly beautiful (because of course) and soon finds herself pulled out of her adrift, amnesiac life by a mysterious Duke who soon needs her help in preventing an all-out war amongst gods, monsters, and every flavour of creature in between.
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Lin is no stranger to gorgeous worldbuilding, and her particular blend of Chinese mythology and mysticism never fails to be easily, enjoyably digestible, particularly as she pulls in everything from numerology to astrology (to maybe even a slight Cupid and Psyche parallel) to tell her tale. The characters themselves are cookie-cutter, but that is no real flaw, particularly when Lin keeps the pace moving and unfurls an entertaining yarn.
Song of the Six Realms improves upon some of Lin’s weaknesses in the Book of Tea duology, and manages to construct a labyrinthian supernatural world and a compelling war narrative that wraps up the story in a satisfying manner while also leaving room for further exploration in Lin’s world. Much like Xue’s music, the possibility of spending more time there sounds very sweet indeed.
Song of the Six Realms is out on 23rd April from Titan Books.