Honor & Heresy - by Max Francis (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Instagram sensation Max Francis makes his highly anticipated debut with this atmospheric, gothic, dark academic fantasy of two scholars racing each other to find answers to an invasion in a haunted library, perfect for fans of Katabasis and A Study in Drowning.

Roy Dawnseve, the prospective heir to Dawnseve Manor, cares more for philosophy than battle. However, in a society that shuns literature and promotes violence, his fate is compromised. But Roy is given a choice: he can either brave the front lines and fight the Old Ones, the mysterious, black-armored soldiers invading Northgard--or he can investigate their identity in the Orphic Basilica, an ancient, abandoned library.

When Roy chooses to unravel the mystery, it soon becomes clear that the Orphic Basilica isn't without its own horrors. Strange voices echo down the halls, ghosts with burning red eyes roam the bookshelves, and those who stepped foot in the library have either emerged insane or were driven to their own demise.

Roy's only companion--and his partner in the investigation--is Percival Atherton, a manipulative, enigmatic and distractingly charming scholar who has no qualms about belittling Roy. As a fierce snowstorm sinks its claws into the city, isolating them from civilization, Roy and Percival must grapple with their tormented pasts, an unexpected romance, and an age-old conspiracy whose secrets are certain to wipe Northgard from history.

Filled with all the yearning of a rivals-to-lovers romance, the intrigue and fear of a dark academia, and the wonder and discovery of an epic fantasy, Honor & Heresy is ultimately a story of self-discovery amidst the chaos of war and a long, cold winter.

Review Quotes

A deeply moving tale of love, redemption, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge, wrapped in ink-stained pages and steeped in the dreamy depths of winter. A stunning debut with all the lush, gothic atmosphere that I adore. - Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning
Outlaw scholars. A library haunted by atrocities of the past. Six months to defeat an unknowable enemy, or certain death. In this slow burn academic mystery teeming with ghosts and dark magic, Max Francis tells a story of two brilliant young philosophers grieving the loss of their persecuted community and grappling with how far they'll go to heal the scars of their past. As twisting and turning as the shelves in an ancient library, Honor & Heresy will keep readers turning the pages to watch the mystery, and the tender romance, unfold. - S. M. Hallow, author of The Halls of the Dead