Synopses & Reviews
A compelling debut by a new voice in fantasy fiction, The Conductors features the magic and mystery of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files written with the sensibility and historical setting of Octavia Butler's Kindred Introducing Hetty Rhodes, a magic-user and former conductor on the Underground Railroad who now solves crimes in post-Civil War Philadelphia.
As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Hetty Rhodes helped usher dozens of people North with her wits and magic. Now that the Civil War is over, Hetty and her husband Benjy have settled in Philadelphia, solving murders and mysteries that the white authorities won't touch. When they find one of their friends slain in an alley, Hetty and Benjy bury the body and set off to find answers. But the secrets and intricate lies of the elites of Black Philadelphia only serve to dredge up more questions. To solve this mystery, they will have to face ugly truths all around them, including the ones about each other.
In this vibrant and original novel, Nicole Glover joins a roster of contemporary writers within fantasy, such as Victor LaValle and Zen Cho, who use speculative fiction to delve into important historical and cultural threads.
Review
"The Conductors is a seamless blending of magic, mystery, and history, creating power and wonder with its rarefied glimpse of Black life in the late 1800s. The Vigilance Society and the magic-wielding couple at the core of this story are a welcome addition to the growing chorus of voices in Black speculative fiction. Glover's worldbuilding, characters, and attention to historical detail create a delightfully genre-bending debut!" Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, author of Ghost Summer: Stories
Review
"An Underground Railroad — but with magic. With compelling characters and wondrous worldbuilding, Glover weaves a tangled mystery of murder, spellwork, and freedom amid the remnants of slavery's lingering memories." P. Djèlí Clark, Nebula Award - winning author of Ring Shout
Review
"Inventively mixing mystery, magic, and alternate history, Glover's nail-biting debut takes readers to Reconstruction era Philadelphia...Glover is a writer to watch." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Nicole Glover works as a UX researcher in Virginia. She believes that libraries are magical places and that problems seem smaller with a cup of tea in hand. Her life outside of books includes bicycles, video games, and baking the perfect banana bread. The Conductors is her debut novel. She can be found at nicole-glover.com.