Tessa Gratton Newsletter #41: It's Mercy Maker's Week!
It’s THE MERCY MAKERS week!!!
"A wondrous lucid dream...laced with a vivid sensuality." —Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of Kushiel's Dart
A talented heretic must decide between the pursuit of forbidden magic, or the ecstasy of forbidden love, in the start of a sweeping, romantic epic fantasy trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.
Can an empire trip and fall on a mere strand of silk?
Iriset is a prodigy and an outlaw. The daughter of a powerful criminal, she dons her alter ego Silk to create magical disguises for those in her father’s organization, but she longs to do more with her talent: to enhance what it means to be human by giving people wings, night-sight, and other abilities; to unlock the possibilities of gender and parenthood; to cure disease and even to end mortality itself.
Everything changes when her father is captured and sentenced to death. To save him, Iriset must infiltrate the palace and the empire’s fanatical ruling family. There, she realizes she has a chance—and an obligation—to bring down the entire corrupt system. She'll have to entangle herself in the lives of the emperor and his sister, getting them to trust and even to love her. But love is a two-way street, and Iriset’s own heart holds the most mysterious and impenetrable magic of all.
That’s the official copy, and it’s pretty accurate, however, a round up I saw today from Geek Girl Authority ended their description this way: “When the empire condemns her father to death, Iriset must infiltrate the palace and manipulate the imperial family from within. Yet as she earns their trust, she faces a choice between vengeance and transformation.”
And oh, I really like that. I think of the book as being about radicalization, but transformation is also true, and in many ways the same. I’m going to borrow that line!
Speaking of borrowing, author and friend Becca Coffindaffer introduced a section to their newsletter that I’m also going to borrow: “Favorite Lines I’ve Written This Month, with as little context as possible.”
I’ll try to stick within the month, or since my previous newsletter which is almost never merely one month, ha ha. But this time I’m going to share from THE MERCY MAKERS, of course!
Also, a tiny, little bit of context, but only that for like 4 drafts this was the opening of the whole book! And now…it’s the beginning of chapter 13. O_O That’s a demotion of 156 pages! I like it because it was one of the first times I let myself relax about some rules and just play.
Actually the creature chained behind the throne of the Vertex Seal had not come to kill the Moon-Eater’s Mistress a hundred years ago. It came for the Moon-Eater.
The creature, a numen, has been called many things —fairy, angel, ghost, she, he, es, xe, ah and an, alushad, they— but among a people like the miran who name the sky it and a mountain it and the moon it, so it wished to be known, too. Its own people have no such words. They hardly have words at all anymore, because words confirm and conform, they create meanings and enforce the patterns of the universe instead of dancing between.
A word enslaves, much like the collar snapped around its neck, binding the numen into a single pattern, an exclusive form.
But no matter: It can hunt from any cage.
I’ll try to find a funny one for next time.
Look at all the people who already love THE MERCY MAKERS!!!
“Sinking into the pages of The Mercy Makers is like being immersed in a wondrous lucid dream. The atmosphere is a tantalizing blend of the familiar and the strange, laced with a vivid sensuality that invites the reader to forge new connections at every turn.” ―Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of Kushiel's Dart
“With deftness, nuance, and sensuality, The Mercy Makers unfolds the vast intricate structures that uphold religion and empire—expertly balancing one of the coolest magic systems of the decade, twists that had me gasping out loud, gloriously messy relationships, and the soaring ambition of the architectural genius at its heart. Immersive, riveting, and sexy as hell.” ―P. H. Low, Locus- and Rhysling-nominated author of These Deathless Shores
“A lush story of dangerous intrigue in an intricate and utterly unique world.” - C.S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author of DARK RISE
"Simultaneously intricate and emotional, The Mercy Makers is a deeply intriguing story that highlights Gratton's exceptional talent for world building. I fell in love with Iriset and her complexities, and I can't wait for the next installment in this epic romantasy trilogy!" —Rebecca Robinson, author of The Serpent and The Wolf
“Gratton’s novels have both style and substance, pure delight and profound depths. This new work is no exception. Taut with barely-balanced tensions, and alight with glorious epiphanies, every part of The Mercy Makers shows that God is in the detail.” – Karen Lord, author of The Blue Beautiful World
“THE MERCY MAKERS is a glorious web of political intrigue, stunning world building, and sharp plotting that combines a merciless empire built upon the pain of the prisoned, love, ambition, sacrifice, truth, and magic—the start of a series truly intricate in its design and meticulously woven.” –Ai Jiang, author of A Palace Near the Wind
"Tessa Gratton has crafted a most elegant design in THE MERCY MAKERS. The intricate world, the uniquely original magic system, a turbulent history, and a flawed but deeply sympathetic protagonist--Gratton weaves them all together, and you can't help but watch in awe as all the threads all unravel." – C. L. Clark, author of The Unbroken
"The Mercy Makers is a beautiful, elegant, passionate novel—as intricate and beguiling as a spider’s web. And just like a spider’s web, I was trapped in its immaculate design—happily so. Tessa Gratton kept me guessing, kept me hooked… and kept me wanting more. I can’t wait for book two! A triumph and a delight from start to finish." ―Antonia Hodgson, author of The Raven Scholar
"Luminous, sexy, and delicately imagined."- Jared Pechaček, author of The West Passage
“Gratton always writes with such marvelous intention. The Mercy Makers is a must read for fantasy fans who love expansive worlds crafted with care and precision.” – Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
AND THE MERCY MAKERS has two starred reviews!
“In this sensual and suspenseful fantasy, Gratton spins a web of intrigue, mistaken identity, and simmering sexual tension from which the reader will not want to escape. With a beautifully constructed world and enthralling characters.” — Publishers Weekly starred review
"Sexy and tense, Tessa Gratton’s The Mercy Makers is the modern heir to sweeping, intricate fantasy classics like Kushiel’s Dart." - BookPage starred review
WHEW! But if you’re thinking, wow, that’s a lot of people who love it, what if I’m the only one that doesn’t love it…don’t worry, I still haven’t heard from Kirkus. ;)
All the buy links can be found here!
Of course if you want your copy signed, go through The Raven!
Tomorrow, on Actual Launch Day, I will be on an airplane, and then working on Mercy Makers 2 revisions in a hotel lobby probably, and then at Books, Inc in San Fransisco for the launch of TRIALS OF THE JEDI, the final book of Phase III of The High Republic. The fun starts at 7pm, and a whole handful of Project Luminous authors will be there!
And on Wednesday I am going to Skywalker Ranch! To hang out with Ewoks, I think. That’s what’s there, right? I would promise to tell you all about it, and take a million pictures, but no joke there’s an NDA about pictures.
Before I head out to pack and try to relax about launch week, I wanted to mention that there have been more mass arrests of BL authors in China. I know long-time readers are aware that I fell hard into Chinese webnovels and C-Dramas during the pandemic—that’s where all the gifs at the end of my newsletters come from.
There are so many things to worry about right now, as humans, not to mention as readers and writers. This doesn’t get a lot of reporting here, for obviously reasons, but it’s part of my fandom and writing life. More broadly, it’s is censorship, and related to book banning and fascist opposition to knowledge and stories. It’s overtly anti-queer and anti-women’s work and joy. And we aren’t that far away from it.
And after that, I’ll leave you with this song that I found through the author’s note of a fic I was really enjoying, and it is on THE MERCY MAKERS playlist because it’s weird and sexy, just like my book.
“Demons Banquet” by Tomonari Sora
Thanks for reading! Buy my book!
Tessa
