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Published Sep 2020
336 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
From the New York Times bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.
Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I'm concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I'm not joining his pack of adoring fans.
I don't need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I'm probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I'll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.
At least, that's what the world expects me to do. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that's crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school itself certainly does.
But the Scholomance isn't getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone's idea of the shining hero, but I'm going to make it out of this place alive, and I'm not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.
Although I'm giving serious consideration to just one.
With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.
"[A] refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school setting...Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion's relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body. This is a must-read for fantasy fans." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This latest from Novik launches a new series that should appeal to aficionados of fantastical fiction as well as to those who have felt they never quite fit in and don't understand why. The magic and mystery of this chillingly lovely novel will appeal to both YA and adult fans of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Although the conclusion makes space for a promising sequel, getting there requires readers to give El more grace than they may be willing to part with. A perilous, magic-school adventure that falls short of its potential." - Kirkus Reviews
"The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere—even into a school full of monsters." - Katherine Arden, New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
"At the Scholomance, monsters are everywhere and the breakfast might kill you, but the wonderful cast of characters will grab ahold of your heart and you'll never want to leave this deadly school. Naomi Novik skillfully combines sharp humor with layers of imagination to build a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book." - Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series
"Eyeball-meltingly brilliant...Novik is, quite simply, a genius." - Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken
"Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun." - N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The City We Became
This information about A Deadly Education was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Naomi Novik is the acclaimed author of the Temeraire series and the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver. She is a founder of the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own. She lives in New York City with her family and six computers.
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