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Wickhills
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26In the dangerous magical city of Wickhills, a streetwise secret agent is tasked with protecting a foreign defector from his pursuers... even at the threat of war.
Looking after a defecting scientist should have been Ferec's easiest mission. But now he's on the run from the intelligence agency she works for, dodging a handler who might have gone rogue, and relying on a secret patchwork of illicit resources and dodgy contacts. Turns out his defector might be carrying an apocalypse-level magical weapon ― and protecting it requires Ferec and his team to go underground, literally. Down here, the rules are very different... and the tense peace between every city in the world will shatter unless Ferec can drag their darkest secrets into the light.
Looking after a defecting scientist should have been Ferec's easiest mission. But now he's on the run from the intelligence agency she works for, dodging a handler who might have gone rogue, and relying on a secret patchwork of illicit resources and dodgy contacts. Turns out his defector might be carrying an apocalypse-level magical weapon ― and protecting it requires Ferec and his team to go underground, literally. Down here, the rules are very different... and the tense peace between every city in the world will shatter unless Ferec can drag their darkest secrets into the light.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Premee Mohamed
85 books881 followersPremee Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is an Assistant Editor at the short fiction audio venue Escape Pod and the author of the 'Beneath the Rising' series of novels as well as several novellas. Her short fiction has appeared in many venues and she can be found on Twitter at @premeesaurus and on her website at www.premeemohamed.com.
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August 13, 2026** THE VERSION OF THIS BOOK THAT I READ WAS AN ARC **
August 6, 2026
I went into this expecting an urban fantasy, and that’s exactly what I got… with a healthy dose of spy thriller mixed in. As someone who has a weakness for spy thrillers, this combination was right up my alley.
The worldbuilding was easily my favorite part. Wickhills feels like a place with secrets tucked into every corner, and I loved discovering more about the city as the story unfolded. The atmosphere is strange, immersive, and unlike anything else I’ve read recently.
The espionage elements kept the plot moving while the fantasy gave the world its own unique identity. It made for a fun, fast-paced read that constantly had me wondering who could be trusted.
If you’re looking for an urban fantasy that does something a little different, blending magic with espionage and conspiracy, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.
The worldbuilding was easily my favorite part. Wickhills feels like a place with secrets tucked into every corner, and I loved discovering more about the city as the story unfolded. The atmosphere is strange, immersive, and unlike anything else I’ve read recently.
The espionage elements kept the plot moving while the fantasy gave the world its own unique identity. It made for a fun, fast-paced read that constantly had me wondering who could be trusted.
If you’re looking for an urban fantasy that does something a little different, blending magic with espionage and conspiracy, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.
August 17, 2026
This was such a fun spy thriller mixed with fantasy!
Ferec is sent on what should be a pretty simple mission along the riverfront to retrieve a “package.” Except the package turns out to be a scientist with a device that could threaten the safety of the entire world. And suddenly, Ferec is on the run from the very intelligence agency they work for!
I really enjoyed the world-building in this one. There are six major cities left after a catastrophic event. Ferec is constantly being chased, we get to see so much of this strange and fascinating world.
And the city itself?! So cool and weird. Buildings that grow, something lurking in the water, and all kinds of unique details that made the setting feel alive. This book was a fun adventure/read.
Ferec is sent on what should be a pretty simple mission along the riverfront to retrieve a “package.” Except the package turns out to be a scientist with a device that could threaten the safety of the entire world. And suddenly, Ferec is on the run from the very intelligence agency they work for!
I really enjoyed the world-building in this one. There are six major cities left after a catastrophic event. Ferec is constantly being chased, we get to see so much of this strange and fascinating world.
And the city itself?! So cool and weird. Buildings that grow, something lurking in the water, and all kinds of unique details that made the setting feel alive. This book was a fun adventure/read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wickhills is a spy thriller in the guise of an urban fantasy novel, or maybe an urban fantasy novel in the guise of a spy thriller. You know the type: an agent for an internal security agency has a normal job go awry, plunging him into a web of conspiracy that leaves him unsure of who to trust and unsteady in his deepest convictions. He’ll have to rely on an unlikely assemblage of contacts and associates to survive and contain the threat from engulfing the world. After Premee Mohamed’s excellent The Siege of Burning Grass, a melancholic exploration of war and pacifism without easy answers and set in an evocative if obscured fantasy world, I was eager to dive into her newest one. While Wickhills contains the same inventive worldbuilding, I unfortunately found the story to be far more generic than what I know Mohamed is capable of. Mild spoilers below.
The strongest element of Wickhills is its setting. The eponymous city of Wickhills is one of six major cities in the world; a mysterious event in history has apparently left the world outside cities largely uninhabitable, forcing the entire world populace to flee towards the nearest city and settle in for good. The city itself is clearly meant to invoke London, from the Victorian era to the Cold War, though it thankfully spruces up that conventional setting with lots of small, fantastic details, such as unstable and shifting architecture, sleeping wyrms coiled around clocktowers, and a host of weird fantasy peoples that are never fully sketched out or categorized. There’s plenty more, but the most fun I had reading this was discovering them as I read, so I’ll hold off from writing more.
The story follows Ferec, an agent for the secretive government agency known as Seaborne, as he retrieves a package in a routine job. Turns out that the package contains a person; a refugee scientist from a rival city with a discovery that could destabilize the entire balance of power and threaten the world. When Ferec’s long-lived and imposing manticore handler Bardanes informs him that mission is not on the books, it leaves him paranoid, looking everywhere for enemies, even amongst his allies. Ferec assembles a crew as the novel goes on, though the plot machinations happen so quickly that they’re rarely given time to breathe and develop as anything more than rough archetypes. And the plot machinations themselves are lacking. Each beat roughly follows the same structure: Ferec & co. find themselves in a new part of the city, looking for info, when they’re attacked by mysterious enemies and forced to flee to the next location.
The spy thriller is a fun genre, and it’s clear that Mohamed wanted to try her hand at one, played relatively straight aside from the fantasy setting. It’s a solid book and a fun read, but I was let down by expecting more, especially as I know the author is capable of it. I don’t begrudge her wanting to play around in this more formulaic genre, but it leaves me wishing it was a more unique twist on the formula, or else expanded into something more ambitious.
If a propulsive thriller in a cool fantasy city is what you’re looking for, Wickhills is a good read and worth picking up. Despite my criticisms I did overall enjoy the read, and I’ll probably check out any sequels, hoping to see more glimpses of its interesting world. But if you’re quite familiar with the Cold War-ish spy thriller, don’t expect particularly compelling takes on that structure.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.
Read this review and many more at my Substack, Terra Somni: https://substack.com/terrasomni
The strongest element of Wickhills is its setting. The eponymous city of Wickhills is one of six major cities in the world; a mysterious event in history has apparently left the world outside cities largely uninhabitable, forcing the entire world populace to flee towards the nearest city and settle in for good. The city itself is clearly meant to invoke London, from the Victorian era to the Cold War, though it thankfully spruces up that conventional setting with lots of small, fantastic details, such as unstable and shifting architecture, sleeping wyrms coiled around clocktowers, and a host of weird fantasy peoples that are never fully sketched out or categorized. There’s plenty more, but the most fun I had reading this was discovering them as I read, so I’ll hold off from writing more.
The story follows Ferec, an agent for the secretive government agency known as Seaborne, as he retrieves a package in a routine job. Turns out that the package contains a person; a refugee scientist from a rival city with a discovery that could destabilize the entire balance of power and threaten the world. When Ferec’s long-lived and imposing manticore handler Bardanes informs him that mission is not on the books, it leaves him paranoid, looking everywhere for enemies, even amongst his allies. Ferec assembles a crew as the novel goes on, though the plot machinations happen so quickly that they’re rarely given time to breathe and develop as anything more than rough archetypes. And the plot machinations themselves are lacking. Each beat roughly follows the same structure: Ferec & co. find themselves in a new part of the city, looking for info, when they’re attacked by mysterious enemies and forced to flee to the next location.
The spy thriller is a fun genre, and it’s clear that Mohamed wanted to try her hand at one, played relatively straight aside from the fantasy setting. It’s a solid book and a fun read, but I was let down by expecting more, especially as I know the author is capable of it. I don’t begrudge her wanting to play around in this more formulaic genre, but it leaves me wishing it was a more unique twist on the formula, or else expanded into something more ambitious.
If a propulsive thriller in a cool fantasy city is what you’re looking for, Wickhills is a good read and worth picking up. Despite my criticisms I did overall enjoy the read, and I’ll probably check out any sequels, hoping to see more glimpses of its interesting world. But if you’re quite familiar with the Cold War-ish spy thriller, don’t expect particularly compelling takes on that structure.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.
Read this review and many more at my Substack, Terra Somni: https://substack.com/terrasomni
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this on NetGalley because Premee Mohamed was the author. Her novella Butcher of the Forest blew me away, so I leapt at the chance to read something else written by her. Unfortunately, Wickhills didn't have the same effect on me Butcher of the Forest did, but I think I just wasn't the right audience.
To be fair, it's simply a different genre than Butcher of the Forest. While still fantasy, Wickhills is a cloak-and-dagger spy novel, with a "Who watches the Watchmen?" motif running through it. That's not really my usual genre, so someone more into secret agent type stories would likely enjoy it more. It did a good job creating a high level of suspense and mystery. The main character Ferec still comes off as an excellent agent, despite the fact that the shadowy enemies seem to consistently catch up to him and the defector he's protecting, despite him using every trick in his playbook, heightening the tension even more. How "they" are finding him becomes equal to the mystery of why "they" are searching for him so intensely and who "they" are.
The city of Wickhills is a great setting. It's magical in the true sense of the word - magic moves its streets around, makes walls appear at random, causes strange and dangerous creatures to live in its various environs. The different districts of the city are as varied and crazy as you'd want them to be. However, it's magical, not whimsical. It has dangers and slums and crime and pollution and homelessness just like any contemporary city would, so it feels gritty and more realistic than a typical fantasy city would.
That said, I really need to get attached to the characters to love a book, and the very qualities that make Ferec good at his job make him a rather unappealing main character for me. His job requires him to be detached, amoral, and have no priorities beyond his mission. He does an excellent job at this, but his professional detachment and unwillingness to reveal any details about himself make him a tough character to get attached to or care much about. There are many points in the story where it seems he might die and at one of these points I realized that I wouldn't have been that upset if he did. I'm not even sure Ferec would be that upset if he did. To be clear, I didn't want him to die; he just doesn't inspire much affection from the reader, so you aren't as emotionally invested in his journey, more frustrated by the mystery and obstacles he has to deal with.
Additionally, the cryptic nature of everything felt forced at times. There are numerous times where characters withhold vital information because "it's not time yet" or "you don't need to know" or even just "I'm annoyed and don't want to tell you." Some of it felt natural; some of it felt like it was just happening to drag out the mystery. The reveal of the overall danger to the city also just felt a little clunky to me. I can't really say more than that or I'll spoil a major aspect of the story.
Overall, if you think you'd like a fantasy spy story and you are ok with an emotionally detached main character, give this a shot. It's well written, but I much prefer the style of Butcher of the Forest to this.
I requested this on NetGalley because Premee Mohamed was the author. Her novella Butcher of the Forest blew me away, so I leapt at the chance to read something else written by her. Unfortunately, Wickhills didn't have the same effect on me Butcher of the Forest did, but I think I just wasn't the right audience.
To be fair, it's simply a different genre than Butcher of the Forest. While still fantasy, Wickhills is a cloak-and-dagger spy novel, with a "Who watches the Watchmen?" motif running through it. That's not really my usual genre, so someone more into secret agent type stories would likely enjoy it more. It did a good job creating a high level of suspense and mystery. The main character Ferec still comes off as an excellent agent, despite the fact that the shadowy enemies seem to consistently catch up to him and the defector he's protecting, despite him using every trick in his playbook, heightening the tension even more. How "they" are finding him becomes equal to the mystery of why "they" are searching for him so intensely and who "they" are.
The city of Wickhills is a great setting. It's magical in the true sense of the word - magic moves its streets around, makes walls appear at random, causes strange and dangerous creatures to live in its various environs. The different districts of the city are as varied and crazy as you'd want them to be. However, it's magical, not whimsical. It has dangers and slums and crime and pollution and homelessness just like any contemporary city would, so it feels gritty and more realistic than a typical fantasy city would.
That said, I really need to get attached to the characters to love a book, and the very qualities that make Ferec good at his job make him a rather unappealing main character for me. His job requires him to be detached, amoral, and have no priorities beyond his mission. He does an excellent job at this, but his professional detachment and unwillingness to reveal any details about himself make him a tough character to get attached to or care much about. There are many points in the story where it seems he might die and at one of these points I realized that I wouldn't have been that upset if he did. I'm not even sure Ferec would be that upset if he did. To be clear, I didn't want him to die; he just doesn't inspire much affection from the reader, so you aren't as emotionally invested in his journey, more frustrated by the mystery and obstacles he has to deal with.
Additionally, the cryptic nature of everything felt forced at times. There are numerous times where characters withhold vital information because "it's not time yet" or "you don't need to know" or even just "I'm annoyed and don't want to tell you." Some of it felt natural; some of it felt like it was just happening to drag out the mystery. The reveal of the overall danger to the city also just felt a little clunky to me. I can't really say more than that or I'll spoil a major aspect of the story.
Overall, if you think you'd like a fantasy spy story and you are ok with an emotionally detached main character, give this a shot. It's well written, but I much prefer the style of Butcher of the Forest to this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm bummed to say I'm pretty torn about this one. I was immediately drawn in by the evocative, dripped-wax-inspired(?) cover, and I do love me a good familiar-genre-in-a-fantastical-city narrative... but in this case, my enjoyment of the genre was heavily dampened by the setting.
I'll start with the good. I greatly enjoyed the twisty spycraft that the main character, Fenec, is drawn into—mysterious foes, uncertain allies, untrustworthy scientists who are possibly spies, and all the trimmings. I also appreciated that Fenec is not your run-of-the-mill member of a city Secret Police force; his secrets have secrets, and he has hidden depths, self-aggregated resources, and an in-depth knowledge and love of his city that even his colleagues would only scratch the surface of. That said, and probably because the story is a spiral of ever-deepening conspiracies and who-can-we-really-trust, we don't really get any such insight into any other characters; this is definitely a one-man show.
Where this book unfortunately fell flat to me seems to be an area I've seen other reviewers praise—the worldbuilding. The city of Wickhills is a magical place, with all kinds of strange creatures, strange neighborhoods, strange architecture, and so on and so forth. Sadly, I personally never got a good feel of how the city actually works... there are markets and bars and docks, your standard fantasy-city locations, but no sense of how it all interacts, how the people generally spend their day-to-day lives, etc. Every new, quirky locale felt like a setpiece to me, not a part of an actual living, breathing community. This isn't even going into the (as far as I could tell) arbitrary nonhuman races that also apparently call Wickhills home; there are certainly your standard ogres and manticores and vampyres, and others that I was completely unfamiliar with (not sure if they were invented for the book or if it's just my personal lack of knowledge), but I only rarely got a sense of them belonging to any sort of community, instead of being one-off "hey, look at that unusual fella!" passers-by. Worldbuilding by adding novelties, not integrating them.
I'm afraid the resolution of the mystery plot also fell flat for me. I suppose we kind of get some answers, but they are kind of vague and handwavey; I feel like they'll have greater repercussions for the world in the future, as well as leading into a longer book series. But they didn't seem to have much impact on the resolution of this story, and that's not very satisfactory. I also have some questions about how/why some of this stuff is actually secret, or unknown, based on certain revelations, but that's venturing into spoiler territory.
To sum up: I feel like I'm being pretty negative in this write-up, but I actually liked the story! It had suspense, it had twists & turns, it had intrigue, it had a lot of creativity, and I enjoyed it. Sadly, my personal nitpicks with the world it occurs in ended up distracting me way too much... but I'm glad I appear to be in the minority in that respect so far.
My thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I'll start with the good. I greatly enjoyed the twisty spycraft that the main character, Fenec, is drawn into—mysterious foes, uncertain allies, untrustworthy scientists who are possibly spies, and all the trimmings. I also appreciated that Fenec is not your run-of-the-mill member of a city Secret Police force; his secrets have secrets, and he has hidden depths, self-aggregated resources, and an in-depth knowledge and love of his city that even his colleagues would only scratch the surface of. That said, and probably because the story is a spiral of ever-deepening conspiracies and who-can-we-really-trust, we don't really get any such insight into any other characters; this is definitely a one-man show.
Where this book unfortunately fell flat to me seems to be an area I've seen other reviewers praise—the worldbuilding. The city of Wickhills is a magical place, with all kinds of strange creatures, strange neighborhoods, strange architecture, and so on and so forth. Sadly, I personally never got a good feel of how the city actually works... there are markets and bars and docks, your standard fantasy-city locations, but no sense of how it all interacts, how the people generally spend their day-to-day lives, etc. Every new, quirky locale felt like a setpiece to me, not a part of an actual living, breathing community. This isn't even going into the (as far as I could tell) arbitrary nonhuman races that also apparently call Wickhills home; there are certainly your standard ogres and manticores and vampyres, and others that I was completely unfamiliar with (not sure if they were invented for the book or if it's just my personal lack of knowledge), but I only rarely got a sense of them belonging to any sort of community, instead of being one-off "hey, look at that unusual fella!" passers-by. Worldbuilding by adding novelties, not integrating them.
I'm afraid the resolution of the mystery plot also fell flat for me. I suppose we kind of get some answers, but they are kind of vague and handwavey; I feel like they'll have greater repercussions for the world in the future, as well as leading into a longer book series. But they didn't seem to have much impact on the resolution of this story, and that's not very satisfactory. I also have some questions about how/why some of this stuff is actually secret, or unknown, based on certain revelations, but that's venturing into spoiler territory.
To sum up: I feel like I'm being pretty negative in this write-up, but I actually liked the story! It had suspense, it had twists & turns, it had intrigue, it had a lot of creativity, and I enjoyed it. Sadly, my personal nitpicks with the world it occurs in ended up distracting me way too much... but I'm glad I appear to be in the minority in that respect so far.
My thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free copy from Tor Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date September 8th, 2026.
I adored Mohamed's Siege of Burning Grass, but the widely praised Butcher of the Forest did nothing for me, so I was interested to see where her latest would land. In Wickhills, Ferec is an agent for the city-state of Wickhills, helping the secret police round up traitors and dissuade potential rebels. When a mission goes badly wrong, Ferec suspects that there's a mole somewhere within the Seaborne—and the resulting investigation will embroil him in a battle over the fate of the city itself.
Wickhills is, as the title might suggest, a setting-first book where the city is a main character. The worldbuilding is spectacular, featuring a city that's a little bit of Ankh-Morpork and a little bit of Ennes' Works of Vermin but mostly very much itself. Mohamad has a talent for sneaking in unsettling little tidbits about the worldbuilding: the building in downtown keeps growing new pillars, the streetlights are some kind of creature, don't look into the six inches of water that floods this district or something will Get you. The worryingly organic architecture is paired with the city's tempestuous history and constant undercurrent of revolution barely held in check by the Seaborne, the secret police.
Ferec, our main character, holds sway over the plot by virtue of knowing the city better than anyone else. He's deeply amoral and apolitical, and is governed solely by a strongly held code of professional competence. He's worked for the Seaborne since he was a teen in a high mortality career, and he thinks he ought to feel something when he kills someone, but he never does. However, his complete emotional distance from other human beings makes the narration a little cold. Excellent characterization for Ferec, but it lacks the underlying melodrama that I'm fond of. Ultimately, this is a story about smashing convictionless Ferec against the truth of the Seaborne and the City, and what he will do if his blind loyalty to his profession is shaken. The bittersweet ending is the perfect conclusion to a truly excellent fantasy novel and its morally grey protagonist—it's not the sort of plot to be tied off in a happy bow.
A tautly plotted spy versus spy novel with a creeping atmosphere of paranoia set against the backdrop of first-class worldbuilding. The characterization is a little bit too cold for me to make it a standout favorite, but it's an excellent work of craft. Reminded me very strongly of Hiron Ennes' Works of Vermin from last fall.
I adored Mohamed's Siege of Burning Grass, but the widely praised Butcher of the Forest did nothing for me, so I was interested to see where her latest would land. In Wickhills, Ferec is an agent for the city-state of Wickhills, helping the secret police round up traitors and dissuade potential rebels. When a mission goes badly wrong, Ferec suspects that there's a mole somewhere within the Seaborne—and the resulting investigation will embroil him in a battle over the fate of the city itself.
Wickhills is, as the title might suggest, a setting-first book where the city is a main character. The worldbuilding is spectacular, featuring a city that's a little bit of Ankh-Morpork and a little bit of Ennes' Works of Vermin but mostly very much itself. Mohamad has a talent for sneaking in unsettling little tidbits about the worldbuilding: the building in downtown keeps growing new pillars, the streetlights are some kind of creature, don't look into the six inches of water that floods this district or something will Get you. The worryingly organic architecture is paired with the city's tempestuous history and constant undercurrent of revolution barely held in check by the Seaborne, the secret police.
Ferec, our main character, holds sway over the plot by virtue of knowing the city better than anyone else. He's deeply amoral and apolitical, and is governed solely by a strongly held code of professional competence. He's worked for the Seaborne since he was a teen in a high mortality career, and he thinks he ought to feel something when he kills someone, but he never does. However, his complete emotional distance from other human beings makes the narration a little cold. Excellent characterization for Ferec, but it lacks the underlying melodrama that I'm fond of. Ultimately, this is a story about smashing convictionless Ferec against the truth of the Seaborne and the City, and what he will do if his blind loyalty to his profession is shaken. The bittersweet ending is the perfect conclusion to a truly excellent fantasy novel and its morally grey protagonist—it's not the sort of plot to be tied off in a happy bow.
A tautly plotted spy versus spy novel with a creeping atmosphere of paranoia set against the backdrop of first-class worldbuilding. The characterization is a little bit too cold for me to make it a standout favorite, but it's an excellent work of craft. Reminded me very strongly of Hiron Ennes' Works of Vermin from last fall.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Premee Mohamed’s Wickhills has all the things I expect in a great spy novel: the requisite cast of misfits with varying skills and aptitudes, acts of betrayal and misdirection, shady government agencies, and convincing spycraft. Paired with beautiful, layered prose and atmospheric, fantasy world-building, it has unexpectedly become a top read for me this year.
Feric is one of my favourite kinds of protagonists, delightfully flawed but highly competent at his job, with a brusque exterior and hints of gooey center. I was drawn in by Mohamed’s writing style, which I found evocative and rewarding to unravel. Wickhills felt like a novel that wants to be read slowly, gnawed on. I was so hungry to untangle the mystery that I sometimes felt like I left things on the table - I think I would get even more from a reread at a slower pace.
The world-building, on which I’ve seen divided opinions, really worked for me. The city of Wickhills feels alive in more ways than one, teeming with a massive population of humans and otherworldly creatures. It is also has a history and secrets that many have forgotten. Much is shown, and not told, and not every element is satisfyingly fleshed out: sometimes creatures of other races are encountered and described only briefly, and events occur that the characters can’t or don’t always explain. It’s a stylistic choice that sometimes left me feeling a little untethered in the story, and that’s also precisely why it worked for me. The city of Wickhills is too complex for a single being to ever truly know it, even for Feric, who has grasped more of its secrets than most.
TLDR: A tense and complex fantasy spy novel, set in a “strange and willful” city. It kept me guessing until the very end, I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for providing this ARC for review.
Feric is one of my favourite kinds of protagonists, delightfully flawed but highly competent at his job, with a brusque exterior and hints of gooey center. I was drawn in by Mohamed’s writing style, which I found evocative and rewarding to unravel. Wickhills felt like a novel that wants to be read slowly, gnawed on. I was so hungry to untangle the mystery that I sometimes felt like I left things on the table - I think I would get even more from a reread at a slower pace.
The world-building, on which I’ve seen divided opinions, really worked for me. The city of Wickhills feels alive in more ways than one, teeming with a massive population of humans and otherworldly creatures. It is also has a history and secrets that many have forgotten. Much is shown, and not told, and not every element is satisfyingly fleshed out: sometimes creatures of other races are encountered and described only briefly, and events occur that the characters can’t or don’t always explain. It’s a stylistic choice that sometimes left me feeling a little untethered in the story, and that’s also precisely why it worked for me. The city of Wickhills is too complex for a single being to ever truly know it, even for Feric, who has grasped more of its secrets than most.
TLDR: A tense and complex fantasy spy novel, set in a “strange and willful” city. It kept me guessing until the very end, I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for providing this ARC for review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A fantasy spy thriller?? Sign me up!! This one does not disappoint!! It reminded me a lot of a fantasy Watchman, or a bit like The Wolf Among Us.
The world building in this book is so rich, especially involving the city. The way the author weaves this setting, packing it full of details really makes it feel alive. It is super immersive!!
The characters also felt very real to me, especially in the dialogue, everyone’s voices were unique and there were these interesting interludes where the characters get to talk and explain things/plot elements/background. I think that although short, Ferec was my favourite cause leading up to this point there wasn’t a lot you knew about where he came from. Bardanes was also a standout character for me. I love me a manticore!
The plot is very exciting. I was enthralled by the premise of Ferec pursuing a mission that he was told is completely off the books, gathering a team, exploring new parts of the city to look for clues. The whole plot with the apocalypse-level magical weapon gets very good. I never felt like the plot was slow, rather it was very tense cause you never knew what was going to happen next, who they could trust, who was after them.
I think the only downside is that its very wordy, as in there are long, long paragraphs of details about the city, that can feel like the book is slowing to a halt, personally I just found it so interesting it did not bother me. But I could see it being slow some readers. I also think the different fantasy species could be a bit more fully realized, like while the city itself feels rich, the fact that there are vampires and wyrms and manticores is never truly fleshed out.
Either way, I look forward to more!
The world building in this book is so rich, especially involving the city. The way the author weaves this setting, packing it full of details really makes it feel alive. It is super immersive!!
The characters also felt very real to me, especially in the dialogue, everyone’s voices were unique and there were these interesting interludes where the characters get to talk and explain things/plot elements/background. I think that although short, Ferec was my favourite cause leading up to this point there wasn’t a lot you knew about where he came from. Bardanes was also a standout character for me. I love me a manticore!
The plot is very exciting. I was enthralled by the premise of Ferec pursuing a mission that he was told is completely off the books, gathering a team, exploring new parts of the city to look for clues. The whole plot with the apocalypse-level magical weapon gets very good. I never felt like the plot was slow, rather it was very tense cause you never knew what was going to happen next, who they could trust, who was after them.
I think the only downside is that its very wordy, as in there are long, long paragraphs of details about the city, that can feel like the book is slowing to a halt, personally I just found it so interesting it did not bother me. But I could see it being slow some readers. I also think the different fantasy species could be a bit more fully realized, like while the city itself feels rich, the fact that there are vampires and wyrms and manticores is never truly fleshed out.
Either way, I look forward to more!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
When I write these reviews, I’m generally trying to answer two questions for a reader--first, what is this book about, and two, what is the experience of reading this book like. Wickhills poses a problem for me on both axes. What is Wickhills about? It’s about a city, it’s about a flawed man on a difficult mission. It’s about a dangerous weapon and secret agents. It’s about an archivist and a refugee. It’s about what happens to them when they can trust no one. But if you read Wickhills for a plot, you’re going to be very disappointed. It’s a meandering plot that feels more like a rambling story told by an old man at a dingy old pub than like a crisp novel.
And what is the experience of reading Wickhills like? It’s a slow book. It’s a book that rewards attention and careful reading. Give it space and time. There are characters but it’s more a book of ideas. The sentences and ideas are good--my major complaint was that the main character was (in my opinion) the least interesting character on the pages. I should have known better than to expect a typical reading experience from Premee Mohamed, but this is one of her more experimental efforts, and it was right on the edge of what I like. (And I’m pretty tolerant of weird experimental fiction.)
Recommended for fans of Charles Dickens, The Spear Cuts Through Water, and Alexander Chee.
I received an ARC in exchange for this honest review.
And what is the experience of reading Wickhills like? It’s a slow book. It’s a book that rewards attention and careful reading. Give it space and time. There are characters but it’s more a book of ideas. The sentences and ideas are good--my major complaint was that the main character was (in my opinion) the least interesting character on the pages. I should have known better than to expect a typical reading experience from Premee Mohamed, but this is one of her more experimental efforts, and it was right on the edge of what I like. (And I’m pretty tolerant of weird experimental fiction.)
Recommended for fans of Charles Dickens, The Spear Cuts Through Water, and Alexander Chee.
I received an ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Set in a richly imagined world diverse with characters of human and mythical variety, Wickhills is a lyrical novel immersed in a cold world of mystery. Following Ferec, a secret agent for an intelligence organization that is as infamous as it is unknown, the novel takes the reader deep into a gothic steampunk city. After recovering a package who turns out to be a smuggled man from a distant country, Ferec discovers his handler is going against the agency, and the city itself, to retrieve a high-level magical item that has the potential to destroy the world. Entangling himself with three other agents to create a team seemingly no one is happy with, Ferec has to use every resource he can to follow orders.
My problem with this book was that it was at times too smart for me. The language and dense descriptions slowed the pace and left me uninterested in the actual plot. The characters were all richly imagined and enjoyable to read about but at times the author would go on pages-long anecdotes about minute details that left me feeling isolated from the text. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel but the heavy writing and obscure descriptions made it hard to keep up.
That being said, this is a really interesting book, just not the one for me. I recommend it for those into high-fantasy steampunk worlds with rich literature and witty characters. Just be sure you have a lot of time on your hands to really dive into the text.
My problem with this book was that it was at times too smart for me. The language and dense descriptions slowed the pace and left me uninterested in the actual plot. The characters were all richly imagined and enjoyable to read about but at times the author would go on pages-long anecdotes about minute details that left me feeling isolated from the text. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel but the heavy writing and obscure descriptions made it hard to keep up.
That being said, this is a really interesting book, just not the one for me. I recommend it for those into high-fantasy steampunk worlds with rich literature and witty characters. Just be sure you have a lot of time on your hands to really dive into the text.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This could have been a solid 4 star if this had fewer typos (some I'm not sure will be corrected by publication time), didn't have the epilogue (even if it's teasing a second book, it was too long), and edited out some of the infodumping.
The world building is interesting, and I loved that this was a multi-species book. There was one character whose species I didn't quite understand, and she's only there for a shot while (Maaz, if you're interested). The different neighborhoods, all with their own accents, were also fascinating -- a map might have been nice -- and that there was a circular neighborhood and one that was only accessed by going over a specific wall? Really creative.
Sadly, the story woven into it wasn't quite as fascinating and there were far too many times where the reason for Ferec's crew protecting something was just talked around, not given directly. While I understood why keeping him somewhat in the dark was useful for the plot, it simply confused things for this reader.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.
The world building is interesting, and I loved that this was a multi-species book. There was one character whose species I didn't quite understand, and she's only there for a shot while (Maaz, if you're interested). The different neighborhoods, all with their own accents, were also fascinating -- a map might have been nice -- and that there was a circular neighborhood and one that was only accessed by going over a specific wall? Really creative.
Sadly, the story woven into it wasn't quite as fascinating and there were far too many times where the reason for Ferec's crew protecting something was just talked around, not given directly. While I understood why keeping him somewhat in the dark was useful for the plot, it simply confused things for this reader.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Oh, how I love a genre mash-up! Premee Mohamed blends fantasy with thriller in Wickhills, delivering a gripping story full of chases, disappearances, fights, and corruption. I wish more authors were doing what Mohamed and Robert Jackson Bennett are doing to spice up the fantasy genre. Throwing in elements from other genres into the possibilities of a fantasy world does a lot to generate lively, original stories that I devour when I get my hands on them. Right, enough gushing...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"Wickhills is a brilliant fantasy spy thriller that follows Vycol Ferec, a field agent for an agency We Don't Talk About, as he gets tasked with an off-the-books mission that turns his entire personal and professional life upside down. Betrayals, shadowy weapons, inter-city conflict, and events that make one reevaluate one's career.
As usual, Premee Mohamed's world-building is so lush and layered that when the book ends, you'll be pining to learn more about this place. :chef's kiss:
As usual, Premee Mohamed's world-building is so lush and layered that when the book ends, you'll be pining to learn more about this place. :chef's kiss:
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
This was a fantasy spy thriller that kept me turning the pages!
The world building was illustrative and creative, further making me engaged in the mission Ferec was on. The ensemble cast was filled with fun and distinctive personalities that got the occasional chuckle out of me.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
The world building was illustrative and creative, further making me engaged in the mission Ferec was on. The ensemble cast was filled with fun and distinctive personalities that got the occasional chuckle out of me.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
AMAZING
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Might round up to 5 stars, I'm still thinking it over. But: magnificent! I hope we get so many more stories in this setting, I adore it!
Rtc!
Rtc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an advance e-copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Wickhills is my favorite type of story, the kind that does not waste any time checking to see if you know where it's going before running headlong into its world. I struggled a little to keep up with the pace but loved the reveals of all of the unfolding elements of the City and its residents.
At times the City felt like more of a character than any of the actual characters, but I would in fact say it was my favorite character. Very reminiscent of Pratchett, The Laundry Files, and The Saint of Bright Doors. Spy thrillers are not a genre I typically read so perhaps the intentionally impersonal nature of the working relationships just wasn't for me, and I did guess a key plot point far too early (okay, this is probably because I'm working on a similar story), but it was swept up in it regardless and hope there will be a sequel.
Premee Mohamed remains unmatched in inventing and describing unfathomable things. I'm sure I won't ever stop thinking about the neighborhood filled with six inches of mercury-thick water that you can't look directly at without being pulled under, and that isn't even a spoiler! It's just one of the many phantasmagorical details of Wickhills, a city like a kaleidoscope of broken stone, let alone what lies beyond its walls.
Wickhills is my favorite type of story, the kind that does not waste any time checking to see if you know where it's going before running headlong into its world. I struggled a little to keep up with the pace but loved the reveals of all of the unfolding elements of the City and its residents.
At times the City felt like more of a character than any of the actual characters, but I would in fact say it was my favorite character. Very reminiscent of Pratchett, The Laundry Files, and The Saint of Bright Doors. Spy thrillers are not a genre I typically read so perhaps the intentionally impersonal nature of the working relationships just wasn't for me, and I did guess a key plot point far too early (okay, this is probably because I'm working on a similar story), but it was swept up in it regardless and hope there will be a sequel.
Premee Mohamed remains unmatched in inventing and describing unfathomable things. I'm sure I won't ever stop thinking about the neighborhood filled with six inches of mercury-thick water that you can't look directly at without being pulled under, and that isn't even a spoiler! It's just one of the many phantasmagorical details of Wickhills, a city like a kaleidoscope of broken stone, let alone what lies beyond its walls.
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