The Saint of Bright Doors

Hardcover, 368 pages

English language

Published July 11, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.

ISBN:
978-1-250-84738-6
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(1 review)

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.

2 editions

An Asian urban fantasy

I'm not surprised that this won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2023 and was nominated for the 2024 Hugo (Except that they're in different years).

I particularly enjoyed seeing how a Sri Lankan has imagined a world that is different from ours.

I see that Chandrasekera's second novel, Rakesfall, is out and it's not a sequel to this one, but I won't be surprised if there is a followup to The Saint of Bright Doors and I'll be eager to read it.