Ninth House

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Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut is an immersive, heart-pounding, brain-twisting read set in an alternate New Haven. Alex Stern’s connection to Yale’s secret societies may be more dangerous than she bargained for. Drenched in magic and darkness, this world will clench you between its bony fingers until the end. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com

The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite

Galaxy "Alex" Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she's thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world's most prestigious universities on a full ride. What's the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale's secret societies. Their eight windowless "tombs" are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street's biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

"A riot of quirkiness and eccentricity, and the mood of the book, which shifts from droll humor to melancholy to gentle vulnerability, is unclassifiable — and just right." –Kirkus

"Ellis' beautiful gouache paintings depict a world that is pushing against the dark with candles and dance and song....The tale is one of hope, anticipation, love, joy and spiritual happiness, culminating with Yule." –Kirkus Reviews, ★ Starred Review

"[T]his cyclical volume offers an alluringly haunting alternative to more familiar seasonal fare — one that is sure to serve as "lights of hope" on a dark season's stage." –Publishers Weekly, ★ Starred Review

"Ninth House is the best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people. Bardugo's imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story — full of shocks and twists — is impossible to put down." Stephen King

"Genuinely terrific....The worldbuilding is rock solid, the plot is propulsive, and readers will be clamoring for a sequel as soon as they read the last page." Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Atmospheric...Part mystery, part story of a young woman finding purpose in a dark world." Booklist (Starred Review)

"Excellent....Bardugo gives [her protagonist] a thoroughly engaging mix of rough edge, courage and cynicism." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over three million copies sold worldwide, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars — with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including The Best of Tor.com and the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and the forthcoming Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, and graduated from Yale University. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles