Masters of Death: A witty and queer found family fantasy from the internationally bestselling author of The Atlas Six
£17.10£19.00 (-10%)
A tale of vampires, ghosts and death himself. From the bestselling author of The Atlas Six, Masters of Death by Olivie Blake is a spellbinding, page-turning and queer fantasy.
‘Olivie Blake is a mind-blowing talent’ – Chloe Gong, author ofThese Violent Delights
This book is about an estate agent. Only she’s a vampire, the house on sale is haunted, and its ghost was murdered.
When Viola Marek hires Fox D’Mora to deal with a ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Viola, Fox is not a medium at all. He’s a fraud – and the godson of Death.
As the mystery of the mansion unfolds, Viola and Fox are drawn into an unlikely quest that neither wants nor expects. They’ll need the help of a demonic personal trainer, a steadfast reaper, and an angel with her own secrets. It transpires that an inconvenient dead body and a lost love are intrinsically linked. Can this coalition of unwilling allies solve this conundrum and un-haunt a house – by winning a devious immortal game?
This edition features beautiful interior illustrations from Little Chmura.
If you enjoyed Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, you will adore this book – Starburst Magazine
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Tor, Main Market edition (17 Aug. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 416 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1035011522 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1035011520 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
| Dimensions | 16.3 x 4.1 x 24.2 cm |
by Emma’s Biblio Treasures
When you play the immortal game there is only one rule: don’t lose.
Masters of Death is a brilliantly bizarre and cryptic caper that had me spellbound. It begins as a simple story of a haunted mansion and an estate agent who hires a medium to get rid of the ghost, and then morphs into an epic quest to save humanity from a demon king.
Despite the fact I have all of her books on my shelves, this was my first time actually reading a book by Olivie Blake. And I’m kicking myself for waiting for so long. Blake has artfully crafted a multifaceted and complex story that is told like a riddle. She combines mystery, humour, folklore, and mythology with lyrical prose and engaging dialogue to create something truly remarkable and memorable that was nothing like I expected. I loved the beautiful artwork and small details such as naming the chapters that added to the overall experience of reading this book. The plot of the book, particularly the immortal game, is a unique concept that is partly deliberately enigmatic to add to the intrigue, but there is also a philosophical element that I didn’t quite understand and I had no idea what was going on in the scenes where the game was being played. But I loved the concept and could feel the draw of the game that the immortals did and the tension that came with its high stakes.
The book features an array of mythical creatures including vampires, ghosts, demons, reapers, angels, gods, and demigods, as well as some mortals for good measure. The characters are richly drawn, sassy, witty, and compelling. They had depth and felt real despite the fact that most of them were not human. I had a particular soft spot for Viola and loved her banter with Tom. And while the archangels Gabriel and Raphael only made a relatively brief appearance in the story, they were hilarious and stole every scene. I’d have loved more of them and would definitely buy a book with them at the centre (hint, hint). Another aspect I really enjoyed was the narration from Death that opens the book. It gave things a sinister, forbidding vibe that captured my imagination and I would have liked to have seen more of this, too.
Darkly funny, offbeat, moving, and addictive, Masters of Death is an entertaining and ambitious fantasy from a true storyteller.
by Eirlys Ianova
I really liked the unusual story which sometimes for me got slightly complicated hopping back and forth in time but it all made sense in the end. I’ll definitely read more of her books on the strength of this one.
by Elle
This was a lot of fun! I really liked the lore and all the creatures and the system of the afterlife. It was unique and entertaining and pulled me in. All the characters were interesting with their own complicated stories and goals. They dialogue was funny and there was a lot of talking in circles – which got a little tiresome but overall was entertaining.
The concept of the tables was really cool. I really enjoyed seeing the the secrets of the tables revealed. We get a lot of insights into the past and this was intriguing and allowed us to slowly piece it all together.
Fox was the main character though Vi was also important and I really loved her story and plot with Tom Parker IV. She gave us an intro into creatures and her bickering with Tom was hilarious.
Fox grew on me once I learnt more of his history and heartache. He was reluctant and sulky and I was here for it. His relationship with Brandt was really well crafted and delivered.
Everything came together expertly and I enjoyed how the tables and their consequences ran through the whole story. The antagonist was great and I liked seeing how he got there. As always with Olivie’s books there’s a lot of philosophising and rambling but I’m here for it. Overall a really well put together story with a lot of different elements. All the characters brought something interesting to the story. It was fun and unique and heartfelt.
by Emma’s Biblio Treasures
I have read some of Olivie Blake’s works before, but finding out that she had written full-length novels made me so excited that I bought two of them straight away. Master of Death is the first story I read and honestly, IT IS AMAZING. Olivie Blake has a style of writing that seduces you and puts you in a trance, and when you finish reading the world seems so much less than before. Key quotes will stick with you due to the beautiful and lyrical way they are presented to you. My favourite characters were Archangels Gabriel and Micheal, alongside the supernatural Alcoholics Anonymous pysedo affair going on (they NEED their own book!!!) and I keep rereading the sections they’re in. Folklore and mythology and artfully woven in, and has made me extremely curious about the other forms of supernatural creatures there are in the world which differ from the mainstream ones. This is a book which is both heartbreaking and hilarious simultaneously – though I would say I was not invested in the main two pairings, that is more my preference than anything else – and the Immortal Game just… blew me away. Once I understood completely that is (a quibble which I address shall address now.
The Immortal Game. An amazing conception, almost well executed. It makes totally sense why it was conceptualised, and why Immortals would play. And now, I understand why the only rule is “Not to lose”.
After reading the end section a few times, I mostly understand it. MOSTLY. I believe Blake has a background in philosophy, which really enhances her writing, but I think it would have been nice to have one precise down-to-earth (see what I did there) explanation that wasn’t so artfully said that it was hard to fully comprehend. In other words, have one dumbed down explanation so us mortals understand! I love philosophical debates as much as the next person, and I totally get being very excited about your passion (I do the same with mine which is linguistics) but it slightly detracted from the amazing finale of the book where I STILL wasn’t sure what exactly was happening. But tbf, I also was extremely stressed at the time with little sleep, so it is equally possible that I was just being stupid. Still.
Another “criticism” (although this is more personal preference) is that (no spoilers) that one of the pairings seems a tad forced for me. I understand how it’s nice to have a happily ever after ending (as that’ll be a nod to the fairytale stereotypes) but I felt that two particular characters would be better off as friends. Perhaps if their relationship was expanded upon, the book was longer or there was a sequel (I don’t think a direct sequel is needed, but one set in the same world with some of the background characters like Micheal and Gabriel, or the full story of the angel and the reaper? HELL YEAH!!!!!) then I would be okay with it, but I felt it was a tad too matchy-matchy. Male and females can be besties without romance!
But honestly, disregarding those slight quibbles, this book was extremely good fun to read, and one that will stick with you for a while. Blake’s humour is infectious, and it was full of laugh out loud moments whilst not diminishing the emotional rollercoaster characters will embark on. Also, whilst the front cover art confuses me (I’m not too sure what it depicts and I would have like to have a bit more cover) the character art inside is AMAZING. Seriously. And the way the key character had a portrait at the end of each chapter really did help for me to imagine the character, so thank you Little Chmura!
In conclusion BUY THIS BOOK! You will NOT regret it 🙂
by Yorkie
I adore Olivie’s writing – her characters feel so real and incredible, and I flew threw this book so quickly!