The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

At least not when it comes to this particular city. In other words, the concept that New Orleans has either managed to split itself or has been split into two cities, the “real” New Orleans we know and the “realer than real” Nola is not so farfetched. While it seems likely that every city whose biggest industry is attracting tourists has two sides, the carefully curated tourist destination and the place where real people live, there is something about New Orleans that has made it a liminal place in more ways than that usual, particularly in fantasy and magical realism.Īfter all, New Orleans, with its historical transformations from French to Spanish to American, and its equally subversive retentions of everything it wants to hold dear from each iteration, whether on the literal surface, the figurative underground, or its signature combination of the two in its haunting but necessary above ground cities of the dead is just ripe – if not a bit too much so – for stories where the past and present collide, where the dead visit the living and where one version of the city lies on top of, underneath, or side by side any or all of the others. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Unwilling to watch his home be destroyed, Perry will sacrifice everything to save it. Nine songs of power have escaped from the piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. So when the city’s Great Magician starts appearing in odd places and essential songs are forgotten, Perry realizes trouble is afoot. In a world of everyday miracles, Perry might not have a talent for magic, but he does know Nola’s rhythm as intimately as his own heartbeat. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women help keep the order. Music is magic in this novel set in a fantastical version of New Orleans where a battle for the city's soul brews between two young mages, a vengeful wraith, and one powerful song. Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo,, Better World Books Genres: fantasy, magical realism, urban fantasy Source: purchased from Audible, supplied by publisher via Edelweissįormats available: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings