Fantasy Book Critic: Leech by Hiron Ennes (reviewed by Shazzie)

OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFO: Hiron Ennes is a writer, musician, and student of medicine based in the Pacific Northwest. Their areas of interest include infectious disease, pathology, and anticapitalist healthcare reform. When they're not hunched over a microscope or word document they can be found playing in the snow or playing the harp (though usually not at the same time). They're queer in every sense of the word, and they really want to pet your dog.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies.

For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed.

In the frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for its rung at the top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence, and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.

FORMAT/INFO: Leech was published by TorDotComPub on the 27th of September, 2022 in hardcover, trade paperback, ebook and audio formats and contains 336 pages.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: If you want an incredibly unique read, look no further. I was intrigued by the premise of the book and decided of request an ARC. The payoff? Great.

This book begins in a very isolated location and our protagonist who finds himself a replacement for the baron's doctor, who has died of an unknown cause. He suspects a pathogen that spreads and threatens everyone he touches, and wishes to investigate its effects with very little inclination from his employers and those around him. That's about all I want to say about the premise of this book since I think it is something to dive into with as little information as possible.

This book has a very old-time feel to it, and at the same time, reads like modern sci-fi combined with horror. Let's face it, the premise isn't wholly unique, but it is the authors handling of the premise and the narrative structure of the book that make it such a great atmospheric read. It is moving and made me feel an array of emotions. It started slow, but I kept going as I found the writing compelling, and now that I am done reading the book, I find it hard to believe it is a debut.

A word of caution here: this book is not suitable for squeamish readers. I am a little bit of a wuss, and there were a few scenes in it that were quite unsettling for me. I did pause because there is body gore in the pages and some of it can be pretty sickening to read. But overall, I do not regret picking it up because of the narrative structure and what the author has tried doing with this story.

CONCLUSION: This book can be a great spooky, eerie read for the reader who wants something that's a wonderful hybrid of goth and science fiction, and for those with medical interests. Despite the narrative, there are clear answers given in the last few pages, and definitely stunning for a debut effort along the theme of bodily autonomy.