Enter the library of an enigmatic collector, where occult books are guarded and researched at a fatal cost, with this uncanny eldritch horror novel from Nebula Award–winning author Premee Mohamed and The Magnus Archives’ Jonathan Sims.Fear comes before the fall.In the winding, perilous corridors of Jurgen Leitner’s private library, you never know what you’ll find. A starving cookbook. An ancient scroll that casts cool, predatory breezes. A cloth-bound hardback that compels you to DIG, DIG, DIG, DIG. Free, these books are more than simply unnerving—they’re deadly. But the library keeps their dangers in check and their would-be readers safe. . . .Or so Leitner claims. For two of his employees, the risks are worth it. Hugh Franklin, research assistant, has finally found a place he belongs, where his skill in translation is valued, even if his employer is a bit odd. Sebastian Everett, acquisition specialist, can indulge his arcane ambitions, even if it means pretending to care about Leitner’s mission. Though their tenures at the library were years apart, Hugh and Sebastian’s stories unfold in parallel, and their footsteps echo down the same eerie aisles, caught in a web spun long before either ever heard the name “Jurgen Leitner.” Will they find a way out . . . or will the library consume them before it’s too late?
Contributors: (W) Premee Mohamed; Jonathan Sims; Rusty Quill
Premee Mohamed is a Nebula, World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, British Fantasy, British Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Crawford awards. In 2024, she was the Edmonton Public Library writer-in-residence, and she has taught at establishments including the Banff Institute for the Arts, the Clarion Workshop, and the Carl Brandon Society. She has judged short fiction contests for CBC and Alberta Views Magazine.Jonathan Sims is the mind and voice behind horror audio fiction sensation The Magnus Archives, which won a British Fantasy award, This is Horror award, Discover Pod award and multiple Audioverse awards, as well as the author of Thirteen Storeys and Family Business. He has also done voice work as the narrator of the multi-award winning Slay the Princess and writes UK Games Expo Award-winning TTRPGs as part of roleplay-design duo MacGuffin & Co. He lives in Stockport with his spouse and a pair of very distinguished (if not desperately bright) cats.