Publishers Weekly Top-10 SF/F/H 2021 upcoming title

[STARRED REVIEW] “Liu (the Monstress series) charms with this spellbinding collection of six short stories and one novella. The standouts are “The Briar and the Rose,” a darkly fascinating retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” in which a female duelist discovers her witch employer is living in the stolen body of Princess Rose, and helps Rose to regain it; and “Call Her Savage,” a steampunk western set during the Opium Wars and following half-Chinese antiheroine Lady Marshal as she struggles to be the hero others need her to be. Also of note are the haunting and eerie, “Sympathy for the Bones”; “The Last Dignity of Man,” about a would-be supervillain who realizes he must be his own superman; and two stories set in the world of Liu’s Dirk & Steele paranormal romance series: the atmospheric historical fantasy, “Where the Heart Lives,” which serves as a prequel to the series, and the dystopian “After the Blood,” about Amish vampires, set in the series’s future. The title novella offers a more standard secondary world fantasy, about a runaway princess drawn to an enchanted forest, but uses this familiar plot to probe the character’s feelings of being trapped. Liu’s mastery of so many different subgenres astounds, and her ear for language carries each story forward on gorgeously crafted sentences. This is a must-read.”
—Publishers Weekly

[STARRED REVIEW] “A collection of short stories exploring the emotional complexity, diverse physicality, and layered sexuality of resourceful women. In ‘Sympathy for the Bones,’ Clora is old Ruth’s unwilling apprentice witch in Kentucky, forced to murder men with hoodoo magic or surrender her soul. Having lost her family, Clora longs to know what it feels like to love and be loved, even as she plans her escape. Another kind of escape is brewing in ‘The Briar and the Rose,’ a retelling of ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ only this time the charming prince is a brown warrior-woman who must walk the dangerous line between freeing the woman she’s come to love and her duty to her mistress¬—the sorceress who inhabits Rose’s body six days out of seven. In ‘Call Her Savage,’ a striking magical alternate history, ex–Lady Marshall Xīng MacNamara—who comes from New China, on the Pacifica coast of an America allied with its Native peoples—must kill her former lover Maude in order to stop the Redcoats from colonizing the world. Rounding out the collection are a story about Amish vampires and a secret marriage in a plague-ridden future that gingerly explores trauma and strength; a gay wannabe-supervillain looking for a superhero to love him in a story that asks what true vulnerability can awaken; and a princess, determined to forge her own path through sentient trees and evil queens, who wrestles with how to remain true to duty, heart, and mind. Within each tale, author Liu gives a masterclass in the art of storytelling. She doesn’t waste a word or a comma, nor does she miss an opportunity to dive into what makes us human, no matter who we are or who we love. In the title novella, the protagonist learns that “some trees are bark and root, and some trees have soul and teeth.” So, too, will readers find that Liu’s writing is all ‘soul and teeth.’ Neither will release them quickly. The only drawback to these seven stories is that readers will want far more time in each world.”
—Kirkus

[STARRED REVIEW] “In The Tangleroot Palace, Marjorie Liu gathers six previously published short stories and an original novella in a powerful collection of speculative fiction, showcasing the talent that's won her several Eisner and Hugo awards. With a range of themes and settings, the stories in The Tangleroot Palace showcase immersive world building and emotionally evocative prose.”
—Shelf Awareness

[STARRED REVIEW] “Marjorie Liu gathers six previously published short stories and an original novella in a powerful collection of speculative fiction, showcasing the talent that's won her several Eisner and Hugo awards. With a range of themes and settings, the stories in The Tangleroot Palace showcase immersive world building and emotionally evocative prose, the same writing that has made her so successful in her paranormal romance novels and in powerhouse comics like Monstress (with Sana Takeda).”
—Shelf Awareness

“This is a superb collection from start to finish. Mysterious, beautiful and strange, harsh and charming, it fires the emotional palate.”
—Charles de Lint, author of the Newford series

“A spellbinding collection.”
—Book Riot

5/5 stars. “The Tangleroot Palace was, as I expected, brilliant. Each story was unique, wonderful and magical.”
—Just Geeking By

“Beautifully written, deeply engaging, and full of wonder and strong female characters.”
—Grimdark Magazine

“Vivid writing that lights up my brain. Evocative settings. Memorable characters engaged in dark struggles. When I read Marjorie Liu’s stories, I know I’m in the hands of a master.”
—Carrie Vaughn, author of the Kitty Norville series

“The Tangleroot Palace is charming and ruthless. Tales that feel new yet grounded in the infinitely ancient, a mythology for the coming age.”
—Angela Slatter, author of The Bitterwood Bible

“Rich and evocative tales with just the right amount of bite.”
—Kelley Armstrong, author of Bitten

“Liu’s astonishing range reaches stunning heights of savagery and tenderness, with groundbreaking visions of fairy tales, alternate history, and high fantasy, even challenging the conventions of feminism itself. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be swept away by the tragic romance, nail-biting adventure, and dread-inducing terror found within these boundary-pushing texts, where representation is the key ingredient to supremely engaging storylines, accessible to all. . . . Liu flourishes as a transformative storyteller committed to inclusivity. Her effort to emphasize overlooked or ignored perspectives is integral to the ongoing evolution of fantasy literature. The Tangleroot Palace is just a small sample of her formidable skills, a multi-dimensional talent whose voice resounds with breathtaking force.”
—Cemetery Dance

“A spellbinding collection.”
—Book Riot

“Ferociously inventive, deliciously eerie, The Tangleroot Palace both chills and enchants. Don’t be afraid: Liu’s elegantly artful stories will coil around you, devour you, and you won’t even mind being consumed.”
 —Shana Abé, New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author

“Marjorie Liu captivates with her evocative language an instinct for adjusting the story’s tone according to its content and the ideal narrative perspective . . . Liu provides this collection with the understanding that happiness as well as power and strength are highly individual, and that personal things and the outcome of one’s personal identity is unpredictable. These are journeys to strength and self-discovery, and where better to start than in a fantastical world full of magic and mysteries.”
—Ancillary Review of Books

“Some authors excel at one thing; others can do it all. Whether it’s fairy tales or superheroes or the post-apocalypse, Liu always delivers, and with her own unique spin.”
—Marie Brennan, author of Driftwood

“Excellent.”
—Book Lover’s Boudoir

5/5 Stars. “Each tale brought something beautiful and totally original to the table and I truly felt completely immersed in every sentence Liu wrote.”
—A Series of Various Events

*Review copy mailings to leading newspaper, magazine, and fiction reviewers, and specialty science fiction, pop culture, and graphic novel-oriented outlets
*Digital ARCs available via NetGalley, Edelweiss, and Goodreads; additional print available upon request
*Online promotional rollout to include blog tour, interviews, radio, and podcasts
*Social media push by the author and publisher via Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Goodreads
*Author appearances at bookstores, trade shows, genre-themed conventions, and virtual events TBD