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The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world's elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor's edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
"Both heartbreaking and action-packed: an immense achievement." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Lu builds a rich alternate present that pulls tropes from both magic school and crime drama literary traditions to tell an addictive double 'chosen one' story...It's truly enthralling." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[F]antastic storytelling. Fans of fantasy and romantasy will thoroughly enjoy this book." ―Booklist (starred review)
"Marie Lu stuns with this dark contemporary fantasy that probes the true cost of perfection...Sure to leave readers clamoring for more." ―Shelf Awareness
"Like power itself, Red City is equal parts seduction and carnage—sexy, brutal, and laced with doom. Lu stages her tale of star-crossed love against a glittering world of ambition and greed, and the result is as devastating as it is spellbinding. I loved it." ―Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six
"Powerfully written, Marie Lu's spellbinding novel of rival magicians and impossible choices will break your heart." ―Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Book of Night
This information about Red City 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.
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 15 novels, including Legend, The Young Elites, Warcross, Skyhunter, and Stars and Smoke. Her adult debut, Red City, was released in October 2025. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing games, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
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