The House of Shattered Wings (#1)
New Edition Forthcoming March 2026
Paris, turn of the century.
The Great War between magical Houses of Fallen angels has devastated the city. The Seine runs black with ashes, the great monuments are blackened ruins, and the Houses still fight. It is a quiet war of alliances and intrigues played in worn drawing-rooms and once-elegant gardens.
Silverspires, once the greatest House, is now nothing more than a minor player in those intrigues.
Philippe, a young man from the colonies of the East, is caught harming a helpless Fallen, and held prisoner in House Silverspires. His path intersects with Isabelle, the naive Fallen he has wounded; Selene, the insecure Fallen head of the House; and Madeleine, a washed-out alchemist addicted to angel drugs.
Together, they will either save the House, or cause its final, irrevocable Fall…
Reviews
“De Bodard aptly mixes moral conflicts and the desperate need to survive in a fantastical spy thriller that reads like a hybrid of le Carré and Milton, all tinged with the melancholy of golden ages lost.”
“De Bodard … has spun a fascinating Paris of decay and cruelty. Phillippe is a marvel of a character, unreliable as a narrator but compelling in his flaws and his deep well of homesickness.”
“A beautifully crafted novel full of complex characters, set in a post apocalyptic Paris – the image of which is truly haunting.”
“Fantastic! de Bodard’s tale of a post-everything Paris... burns with vengeful magic and a subtle, shining prose.”Max Gladstone, author of the Craft sequence
“A Gothic masterpiece of supernatural intrigues, loves and betrayals... wildly imaginative and completely convincing... will haunt you long after you’ve put it down.”Tim Powers, author of The Anubis Gates
“An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership. Its portrait of a ruined Paris ruled by fallen angels is one I won’t soon forget.”Kate Elliott, author of The Witch Roads
Awards & Accolades
British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel
Locus Award Finalist for Best Novel