The Splendid City
A genre-blending story of modern witchcraft, a police state and WTF characters, for fans of Alice Hoffman and Madeline Miller.
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In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor – a young woman eagerly learning about the gifts of her magic through the support of her coven.
But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she’s already been placed under ‘house arrest’ with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, and duping and ‘shooting’ people.
Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch which she thinks is mysteriously linked to the shortage of water in Liberty.
File Under: Fantasy [ Liberty for All | Water is Beautiful | Eyes Everywhere | Stanning for Stan ]
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In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor – a young woman eagerly learning about the gifts of her magic through the support of her coven.
But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she’s already been placed under ‘house arrest’ with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, and duping and ‘shooting’ people.
Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch which she thinks is mysteriously linked to the shortage of water in Liberty.
File Under: Fantasy [ Liberty for All | Water is Beautiful | Eyes Everywhere | Stanning for Stan ]
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Community Reviews
THE SPLENDID CITY by Karen Heuler is a standalone novel about modern practices of witchcraft, Texas becoming its own country and a talking cat who came to drink beer, eat fish tacos, shoot people and chew bubblegum.
Except he's all out of bubblegum.
I must be honest with you, my friends. I saw that one line about the cat in the blurb for this book and it is 100% the reason I requested the ARC. I felt that while it explored some tricky societal topics, I just knew the cat would deliver on the comedic relief. I WAS NOT WRONG! I wasn't even a full page in and the cat (Stan) had already shot someone. I laughed and laughed and laughed reading this novel. Between Stan the Cat, Eleanor the White-Witch-In-Training and the zany way Texas, now known as Liberty, was conducting government practices, I had a great time.
So what IS this book about? Eleanor, a young witch...well half-witch, has been sent to Liberty to investigate the disappearance of another witch, Daria. Stan the Cat accompanies Eleanor, not because he wants to, you understand, because he HAS to. Stan is a man whom Eleanor transformed into a cat and they are both to remain together until they've learned their lessons about why what they did to each other was wrong that led to the transformation. Basically, they're 5 year olds being made to hug it out. (I am laughing as I write this - it is too funny!!)
Liberty is full of paranoia. The president has taken to rationing water by charging high prices, that keep rising with almost each passing day. There's no such thing as free speech with all the animatronic heads stationed throughout, either. With this paranoia, people would rather judge you than help you, so the landscape is a tricky one for our Eleanor.
I am a huge fan of this story, as well as a new fan of Heuler. I was happy to see she has several other pieces available to read, so I look forward to reading more of her work and her easy flowing writing style. I love the way she developed and shaped her characters and crafted their personalities!
Except he's all out of bubblegum.
I must be honest with you, my friends. I saw that one line about the cat in the blurb for this book and it is 100% the reason I requested the ARC. I felt that while it explored some tricky societal topics, I just knew the cat would deliver on the comedic relief. I WAS NOT WRONG! I wasn't even a full page in and the cat (Stan) had already shot someone. I laughed and laughed and laughed reading this novel. Between Stan the Cat, Eleanor the White-Witch-In-Training and the zany way Texas, now known as Liberty, was conducting government practices, I had a great time.
So what IS this book about? Eleanor, a young witch...well half-witch, has been sent to Liberty to investigate the disappearance of another witch, Daria. Stan the Cat accompanies Eleanor, not because he wants to, you understand, because he HAS to. Stan is a man whom Eleanor transformed into a cat and they are both to remain together until they've learned their lessons about why what they did to each other was wrong that led to the transformation. Basically, they're 5 year olds being made to hug it out. (I am laughing as I write this - it is too funny!!)
Liberty is full of paranoia. The president has taken to rationing water by charging high prices, that keep rising with almost each passing day. There's no such thing as free speech with all the animatronic heads stationed throughout, either. With this paranoia, people would rather judge you than help you, so the landscape is a tricky one for our Eleanor.
I am a huge fan of this story, as well as a new fan of Heuler. I was happy to see she has several other pieces available to read, so I look forward to reading more of her work and her easy flowing writing style. I love the way she developed and shaped her characters and crafted their personalities!
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