Representing an author like Vanessa R. Migliore has provided me with a fresh and new perspective on the fantasy genre. At Sandra Bruna Literary Agency we have had the chance to represent big names in American fantasy literature such as Rick Riordan, Shelby Mahurin, or Roshani Chokshi, among many others, but Spanish authors who write this type of novels have been largely unappreciated, with the exception of a few, who were very successful. This is why The City of Death is so important: it proves that Vanessa’s voice is every bit as good as theirs. She has crafted a story where magic acts as the common thread. Through the pages of her book, she takes us into a world where not all magic is good and where the protagonists must discover how far they are able to go. 

The author brings us to the city of Cyrene, home of the Goddess of Death and powerful cradle of modern society. Three kinds of magic existed in the world. First there was shadow magic, which all summoners made use of and represented a significant portion of the population. Then there was shadow magic, a type of gift not seen on the continent for decades that could read and influence emotions. And finally, arcane magic, a supposedly extinct and dangerous type of power that Asia could control and which was believed to be a type of disease, because it drove anyone who could distinguish the threads of life to madness. 

The mystery has awakened: first, there were the puzzling deaths with strange black marks on corpses. Then came the cases of people vanishing, who no one knew how to explain. Everything seems to point to a magic that was thought to be extinct, an ancient magic which has returned and is now claiming victims. 

Kaia is a summoner marked by misfortune. When a corpse appears with strange marks that evoke a magic that has already disappeared, the safety of the summoners’ world is put to the test. Together with Medea, a summoner who has lived under the pressure of her family’s expectations, and Ariadne, a frustrated writer, Kaia will cross the boundaries of what is proper to discover what lurks in the darkest places of the city.

The City of Death has sold out its first edition in less than a month. In addition, it has brought the discovery of an extraordinary Spanish voice in one of the best-selling genres at the moment. Don’t you want to know more about her?

If you can’t wait any longer to read it, you can get it here.