12 new science fiction and fantasy releases to get chills with this October
By Lacy Baugher
October 2021 release: Vespertine – Margaret Rogerson
From Margaret Rogerson, the bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens, comes the initial installment in her first-ever duology.
Described as the story of a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against the malevolent spirits of the dead, Vespertine promises a dark fantasy tale that involves ravenous souls, an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic, and a sinister tale of secrets.
The story follows Artemisia, a young woman in training to become a Gray Sister, part of an order of Loraille nuns who help prepare the bodies of the dead for burial so that their souls can pass on. But when her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, she’ll defend it by awakening an ancient spirit trapped in a saints relic whose powers she can’t entirely control – and who may drive her to betray everything that her faith has ever told her to believe in.
The official synopsis describes the story in much greater detail.
"The dead of Loraille do not rest. Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past. When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself. As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first"
Vespertine is available on October 5.