The West Passage - by Jared Pechač & ek

About the Book

"When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian. No one took up the fallen blade--the West Passage went unguarded. Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer. Rats erupt from beneath the earth, fleeing that which comes. Crops fail. Hunger looms. And none stand ready to face the Beast, stirring beneath the poisoned soil"--

Book Synopsis

THE LADIES REIGN. THE PALACE ROTS. THE BEAST RISES.

Five starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, BookPage, Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness.

"The West Passage is a dangerous book of secrets." --Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes

"A weird and wonderful tale, rich with imagination and utterly unique." --Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

"One of the finest fantasies of this decade, a sweeping swarm of fiercely human creativity." --Indrapramit Das, author of The Devourers

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer, foretelling the coming of the Beast. The too-young Mother of Grey House and the Guardian's unnamed squire set out to save their people.

Their narrow shoulders bear a heavy burden. Before them lies the West Passage, home to horrors and delights that defy imagining. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for sure: the world is about to change.

Review Quotes

Winner of the Crawford Award!

"The West Passage is a dangerous book of secrets. It is the singular agony of a delicious dream half-recalled. Its shadows are colonized with the gorgeous, the grotesque, and the forgotten -- and now you are a vital link in their remembrance." --Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes

"A weird and wonderful tale, rich with imagination and utterly unique; Pechaček has crafted a literary gem of a novel." --Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

"Emotionally tender, thematically rich, and creatively stunning, The West Passage is a singular achievement in fantasy writing." --J.T. Greathouse, author of the Pact and Pattern series

"This is one of the finest fantasies of this decade, a sweeping storm of fiercely human creativity to drown the pallid temptations of our era's algorithmic storytelling." --Indra Das, author of The Devourers

"The West Passage is consistently wondrous; the reader turns each page knowing they will encounter something wholly new....Strange things, lovely things and horrific things all blend together in a fable-like narrative of deceptive simplicity." --BookPage, starred review

"Vividly depicted, decidedly peculiar...a curious, but curiously charming, allegory of a world in crisis." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Fantastical world building and mind-blowing mythos... The West Passage is a spellbinding debut that cannot be missed." --Booklist, starred review

"The West Passage is an absorbing tale of political intrigue, touching comings-of-age, and a mind-bending phantasmagoria." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Pechaček is unafraid to mix sweet whimsy with horror, which keeps readers' tension high as they're immersed in this fearsomely lovely realm." --Library Journal, starred review

"The West Passage is one of the most original and enjoyable fantasies I've encountered in ages...The world of this book is an astonishing delight." --Jake Casella Brookins for Locus

"Underneath The West Passage's pretty exterior is an utterly strange and alien landscape that is captivating, capricious, and full of dark places. Endlessly fascinating, beautifully written, and sublimely weird." --Jenn Lyons, author of the Chorus of Dragons series

"A deep and meditative fantasy that fans of the weird and wild will thoroughly enjoy." --R.R. Virdi, author of The First Binding

About the Author

Jared Pechaček is an artist and writer based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a host of the Tolkien podcast By-The-Bywater. When he's not doing any of that, he's cooking, baking, or sewing something to wear to the opera.