Books › New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
272 pages
A gaslit, world-weary magical procedural where a formidable sorceress and an immortal exile seek justice in a shadowy alternate America.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a fog-drenched, gaslit alternate history where magic and murder intertwine. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, driven less by frantic action and more by the rich, world-weary dynamic between its two deeply flawed, aging protagonists. The atmosphere is shadowy and melancholic, steeped in the grit of a sprawling empire and the cynical edge of a hardboiled detective novel. The prose is elegant yet sharp, perfectly capturing the wry, formidable nature of a forensic sorceress who has seen too much. It is a deeply atmospheric experience that will delight readers who love gaslamp fantasy, intricate alternate histories, and the profound, quiet camaraderie of exiles seeking justice in a corrupt world.
- Mood
- gaslit
- shadowy
- melancholic
- gritty
- Tone
- wry
- world-weary
- cynical
- atmospheric
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the burden of immortality · loyalty versus duty · unlikely partnerships · aging and regret · corrupt institutions
- The writing
- Elegant and sharp, steeped in atmospheric period detail with a distinctly hardboiled edge.
- The arc
- Moves from jaded isolation to a reluctant, profound camaraderie forged in the pursuit of dark truths.
- Who it's for
- Fans of alternate history and gaslamp fantasy who crave flawed, formidable older protagonists solving gritty magical mysteries.
Content notes
- alcoholism
- murder
- violence
- substance abuse
About the book
Abigail Irene Garrett drinks too much. She makes scandalous liaisons with inappropriate men, and if in her youth she was a famous beauty, now she is both formidable and notorious! She is a forensic sorceress, and a dedicated officer of a Crown that does not deserve her loyalty. Sebastien de Ulloa is the oldest creature she has ever known. He has forgotten his birth-name, his birth-place, and even the year in which he was born, if he ever knew it. But he still remembers the woman who made him immortal. In a world where the sun never sets on the British Empire, where Holland finally ceded New Amsterdam to the English only during the Napoleonic wars, and where the expansion of the American colonies was halted by the war magic of the Iroquois, they are exiles in the new world - and its only hope for justice!
Description from Open Library.
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