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Someone You Can Build a Nest In

Nebula Award

Someone You Can Build a Nest In

John Wiswell

Shesheshen, a shapeshifting monster, is pushed by hostile humans into an unexpected romance. Keeping its body-horror edge, the novel treats chosen family and the difficulty of being loved with humor and warmth.

monstersromancefamilybody horrorhumor

Work Information

Can a monster's life make room for love?

Published by DAW, this novel combines romance and survival from the monster's point of view. It keeps the urgency of being different while sustaining the warmth of a story moving toward repair.

Book Information

Publisher
DAW
Published
2024-04-02
Pages
320 pages
Language
英語
Size
14.43 x 3.18 x 21.62 cm
ISBN-13
9780756418854
ISBN-10
0756418852
Price
4714 JPY
Category
洋書/Science Fiction & Fantasy/Fantasy

Nebula and Locus Award Winner! Hugo Award Nominee An NPR, Washington Post , Book Riot, Library Journal and Audible Best Book of 2024! "This novel is monstrously perfect, in every way" —P. Djèlí Clark for The New York Times “This unusual queer romance is a heartfelt fable about disability and the possibility of reconciling conflicting needs through love and understanding.” — The Guardian " Sweetly furious, darkly funny, and gruesomely wholesome . It's a love story for the unloved, a happily-ever-after with a higher-than-average body count. I just adored it." —Alix E. Harrow, New York Times -bestselling author of Starling House Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love. Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by impolite monster hunters, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. Badly hurt by the hunters, Shesheshen’s nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human. Homily is kind and would make a great co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young can devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, Shesheshen realizes that eating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Just as Shesheshen’s about to confess her identity, Homily reveals something else: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere? Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, so now she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As Shesheshen’s hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, the bigger challenge remains: learning how to build a life with , rather than in , the woman she loves. “ A stealthily funny, slyly smart, and remarkably touching story . Its wisdom will creep up on you as surely as your affection for its monstrous main character.”—Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of When Among Crows

John Wiswell is a disabled writer who lives where New York keeps all its trees. He won the 2021 Nebula Award for Short Fiction for his story, "Open House on Haunted Hill," and the 2022 Locus Award for Best Novelette for "That Story Isn't The Story." He has also been a finalist for the Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, and World Fantasy Award. His fiction has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Tor.com , the LeVar Burton Reads podcast, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Diabolical Plots, and other fine venues. His debut novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In , will be published by DAW Books in April 2024. He can be found making too many puns and discussing craft on his Substack, johnwiswell.substack.com.

Reviews

  • Imaginative and unique

    Very different from anything I have read before. Imaginative and exciting.

  • Great book

    -

  • Wonderful. A must-read.

    A moving tale of families, monsters, love, offspring, care and abuse. Quite a few laughs, a lot of tears (at least for me). I won't spoil the experience by giving specific hints, but the latest chapters were really intense.

  • Very good

    Very good

  • wonderfully crafted piece of fiction

    I loved everything about it! I knew I wouldn't be let down because I'm familiar with Wiswell's short stories. This one exceeds all expectations!

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