Item: Bacchanal
Rating: 4
Author: Mary

The publisher Publisher of the media / book has provided me with a review copy at no cost. Opinions are my own. Bacchanal by Veronica Henry
ISBN: 1542027810
Published by 47North on May 25, 2021
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher
Goodreads

Publisher : 47North (June 1, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 1542027810
ISBN-13 : 978-1542027816

Praise for BACCHANAL

“Henry skillfully layers historical realism with fantastic elements to explore the way times of desperation test the ethics of oppressed communities. Henry is a writer to watch.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Henry’s debut draws on a rich history of folklore from various African traditions, as well as African history and Black American history, and almost the entire main cast is Black. The carnival setting works perfectly for bringing together various strange and magical people who aren’t at home anywhere else…Come one, come all, this magical carnival has all the delightful dangers a reader could wish for.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“[Bacchanal is] gorgeous while somehow never losing sight of the need to unsettle. It captures a sense of wonder and reminds you that too much curiosity can lead to danger. And most importantly, it’s Black and never lets you forget it. If you want endearing characters, a charming setting, and characters that refuse to bend to the world’s injustices then Bacchanal is the book for you.” ―FIYAH Magazine

“With a powerful voice that grips you from its very first pages, Bacchanal casts a spell on readers…Eliza is a wonderful character…Not a traditional superhero, Eliza’s special power is a highlight of this work, and readers will root for the young conjurer and for Henry as she explores the limits of her gifts.” ―Sheree Renée Thomas, Editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, award-winning author of Nine Bar Blues, and featured in Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda

“Writer Veronica Henry pulls on a mix of African folklore, Black histories, and carnival culture to weave a story of mesmerizing, bizarre, and dangerous magic. With a heroine of unique powers and a cast as colorful as any sideshow, this story offers up its share of delights, adventure, and frights! Welcome to Bacchanal. Enjoy the sights. Hope you make it out alive!” ―P. Djèlí Clark, author of Ring Shout, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and The Black God’s Drums

“Readers won’t want their travels with the seductive and dangerous Bacchanal Carnival to end. Veronica Henry’s debut impeccably conjures the 1930s and marks the bold entrance of a vital new voice in modern fantasy.” ―Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds

“If you took The Night Circus and viewed it through the gaze of a young Black woman in the Great Depression, you might get Veronica Henry’s Bacchanal. Demons, lies, and secrets.” ―Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo award-winning author of The Calculating Stars

REVIEW

This story reminded me a bit of The Night Circus mixed with the TV show Carnaval in that it is deep, dark, and twisted with elements of magic and the underworld. Eliza has drifted from job to job since being abandoned by her family. Using her skill as an animal whisperer, she joins the Bacchanal and finds a place among the misfits and strange. She hopes to find her long-lost little sister during her travels The story has multiple viewpoints but always comes around to the mysterious red trailer that only the owner can enter and has a sinister reputation. As Eliza travels and develops her animal act, she must face the realistic depiction of what it is like being Black in America during the 1930s. Overall, this was a wonderful read by a great new author.

Evil lives in a traveling carnival roaming the Depression-era South. But the carnival’s newest act, a peculiar young woman with latent magical powers, may hold the key to defeating it. Her time has come.

Abandoned by her family, alone on the wrong side of the color line with little to call her own, Eliza Meeks is coming to terms with what she does have. It’s a gift for communicating with animals. To some, she’s a magical tender. To others, a she-devil. To a talent prospector, she’s a crowd-drawing oddity. And the Bacchanal Carnival is Eliza’s ticket out of the swamp trap of Baton Rouge.

Among fortune-tellers, carnies, barkers, and folks even stranger than herself, Eliza finds a new home. But the Bacchanal is no ordinary carnival. An ancient demon has a home there too. She hides behind an iridescent disguise. She feeds on innocent souls. And she’s met her match in Eliza, who’s only beginning to understand the purpose of her own burgeoning powers.

Only then can Eliza save her friends, find her family, and fight the sway of a primordial demon preying upon the human world. Rolling across a consuming dust bowl landscape, Eliza may have found her destiny.

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Photo Content from Veronica G. Henry

Veronica G. Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has been a bit of a rolling stone ever since. Her work has appeared in various online publications. She is a graduate of the Viable Paradise Workshop and a member of SFWA.

Veronica is proud to be of Sierra Leonean ancestry and counts her trip home as the most important of her life. She now writes from North Carolina, where she eschews rollerballs for fountain pens and fine paper. Other untreated addictions include chocolate and cupcakes.

Veronica’s debut novel, Bacchanal, will be published in the Spring of 2021.

INTERVIEW

What is on your nightstand?

I’m often juggling multiple books. Right now, I’m reading: The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, and The UnBroken by C.L. Clark. All outstanding,

What author would you totally fan?

This is such a difficult question because there are too many to name. But today, my answer would be: living – Ted Chiang, deceased – Toni Morrison

What makes you cringe?

In no particular order: ignorance, prejudice, and hate.

Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?

In my early writing days, I was definitely more of the go with the flow type, but all that netted were messy, unstructured drafts that needed a boatload of rework. Today, it’s plotting all the way.