Hiron Ennes: Pióca
On the northern edge of human civilization, in a castle cut off from the world, the baron’s doctor dies unexpectedly. His successor must unravel the mystery of how the Institute could lose one of its many bodies.
Over the centuries, the Interprovincial Medical Institute ensured its growth by settling in young minds and carving doctors out of them, eventually replacing all human healers. The Institute exists to help humanity: to heal and heal, to reconcile and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed upon the world.
Now, however, in the frozen north, the host body of the Institute finds a rival at the very top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading in the baron’s castle, which is already a dark heap full of secrets, lies, violence and fear. And their meeting threatens to break out into a terrible war, in which whichever one of them wins, humanity will lose.
Hiron Ennes’ debut novel is a crazy gothic horror, in which the surreal style of China Miéville meets the eerie visual world of Gerald Brom.
“It’s like mixing The Thing with The Angel of Death…beautifully written and in a particularly human style.” Gillian Flynn writes about the book.
“An extremely innovative book conveying mixed emotional states, full of twisting horror. We recommend it to horror fanatics who want something really new.” – this is how the review of Publishers Weekly recommends the book.
“Killer prose. Such grotesque biological concepts as I have never encountered before. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if David Cronenberg and Edgar Allan Poe bumped into each other at a parasitology conference, here’s the answer.” – writes Peter Watts in his introduction.
The book is the winner of the 2023 British Fantasy Award in the best debut category. (Source: Moly)
