Cassandra Khaw's explosive, evocative prose is a treat to read. Khaw's ability to transform the mundane into the deeply phantasmagorical is nothing short of magical. Prepare to take a long leap into the gory, the weird, and the fantastic in the hands of a fresh new voice in fiction. --Kameron Hurley, Hugo Award-winning author of Mirror Empire and The Geek Feminist Revolution
Khaw brilliantly combines the self-aware, on-point tone of their gumshoe narrator with the invasive rhythm of the language of pulsing terrors. The drearily everyday is infused with Lovecraftian dread in a marvelously horrifying, tightly built novella that spins a satisfying tale while doing honor to both of its core sources. --
Publishers Weekly, starred review
A glorious fusion of the classic noir detective thriller with Lovecraftian horror, like the squamous tentacular lovechild of Raymond Chandler and H. P. Lovecraft hatching from a five-dimensional egg to slouch down these dark streets in search of human minds to flay. Seriously? Possibly the most promising horror debut of 2016, a suitable light in these dark times. --Charles Stross
Hammers on Bone is sly and amusing and sharp and I wound up digging the hell out of it. --Scott Lynch
Khaw has a definite flair for the grotesque. --
RT Book Reviews
[An] incredible novella... Hammers on Bone transcends its genre - thanks in no small part to its private-investigatorand-monster protagonist and its very London setting - to become a timeless (and disturbing) parable about monsters. --
Locus Khaw paints a bleak yet potent alternate reality in which monsters--friend or foe--are devastatingly real. Persons strikes a perfect antihero stance that is emotionally fragile despite his supernatural power.
Hammers on Bone is a brilliant blend of two venerable genres as well as a deeply affecting tale on its own. --Shelf Awareness, starred review
Hammers on Bone is an easy read on a hard subject. --BleedingCool
Khaw mixes noir tropes straight out of a Dashiell Hammett novel with lush, atmospheric horror making for a vibrant, visceral read. --
The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog Sizzling prose over a steamy noir beat with horrific monstrosities throughout. A helluva read. --Daniel Jose Older,
New York Times bestselling author of
Shadowshaper and
Midnight Taxi Tango Hammers on Bone is a delectable surprise, a discomfiting nightmare in novella shape, its eyes looking back at you to ask: who are the real monsters, little reader? --Book Smugglers
Absolutely fantastic monsters-meet-gritty-noir story. --Mike Laidlaw, creative director for Dragon Age
"Atmospheric Lovecraftian noir with a really tremendous eye for detail... If you like Dashiel Hammett and Lovecraft, this is a very effective blend." --Aliette de Bodard, Nebula Award-winning author of
The House of Shattered Wings This is jolly good. You really ought to read this. --Jonathan L. Howard, author of the Johannes Cabal and Carter & Lovecraft series
So hardboiled you could crack demon heads with it, this twisting and turning Lovecraftian PI mystery is a delight. Cassandra Khaw -- fast becoming one of the hottest names in fantasy fiction -- has a light, assured touch and an inimitable style. I'll read anything they write. --Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning author of
A Man Lies Dreaming and
The Violent Century Cassandra Khaw blows the dust off Lovecraft's prose to resurrect the Elder Gods in a white-hot, eyeball-popping adventure. --Ferrett Steinmetz, author of
Flex Khaw is one of the most exciting writers I've seen emerge in the past two years. [
Hammers on Bone] is Lovecraftian in all the best ways. --Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of
Certain Dark Things One hell of a delicious, hardbitten, unflinching experience. --Alyssa Wong, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers
