''Nevernight'' is a 2016 adult,
dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
novel by
Jay Kristoff
Jay Kristoff (born 11 November 1973) is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction. He writes both for adult readers and young adults. He lives in Melbourne.
Biography
Kristoff was born in Perth, Australia in 1973. As a child, Kristo ...
. It is the first installment in the ''
Nevernight Chronicle''. Set in the Republic of Itreya, it follows fledgling assassin Mia Corvere seeking revenge for her family.
Synopsis
The book follows assassin Mia Corvere as she seeks revenge against the most powerful people in the Republic of Itreya for destroying her family. After training under the tutelage of former assassin Mercurio, she trains at the Red Church to become an assassin, while also learning to master her abilities as a Darkin, a mysterious being who can control shadows. Her powers are limited by the fact that the world has three suns, and night only occurs every two and a half years.
Characters
*Mia Corvere: The main protagonist, the last daughter of House Corvere who seeks to avenge her family, also a Darkin accompanied by her familiar Mister Kindly.
*Tric: A Dweymeri
bastard
Bastard may refer to:
Parentage
* Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents
** Bastard (law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law
People People with the name
* Bastard (surname), including a list of people with that na ...
, acolyte of the Red Church and Mia's love interest.
*Ashlin Jarnheim: An acolyte of the Red Church and a daughter of a former assassin who befriends Mia and Tric.
*Mercurio: A former assassin of the Red Church, Mia's mentor and adopted father.
*The Ministry: Mother Drusilla, Solis, Mouser, SpiderKiller, and Aelea, the leaders and teachers of the Red Church.
*Hush: A
mute
Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak.
Mute or the Mute may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart
* ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...
acolyte of the Red Church.
*Marius and Marielle:
Twin albino sorcerers employed by the Red Church.
*Lord Cassius: Head of the Red Church and a Darkin accompanied by his familiar Eclipse.
*Chronicler Aelius: The centuries old librarian of the Red Church.
*Markus Remus: Commanding officer for the Illuminati legionnaires who Mia seeks to kill.
Reception
''Nevernight'' received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for its worldbuilding, heroine and writing style. The book earned Kristoff his second
David Gemmell Awards nomination, and won the 2016
Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
Publishers Weekly gave the book a positive review, writing that it balanced "beauty and decay" and "the ancient and the magical" as the story unfolded. The book received four out of five stars from Becky Vosburg of ''Seattle Book Review''.
Adaptation
In 2019, an adaptation of the book was created with funding assistance from
Screen Australia. A three-part mini-series based on the first several chapters of Nevernight was released on
YouTube in 2019.
External links
Author's website
References
{{reflist
2016 fantasy novels
Dark fantasy novels
Thomas Dunne Books books
Aurealis Award-winning works
2016 Australian novels
Australian fantasy novels
Novels by Jay Kristoff