Featured #1 on Kirkus Reviews’ 20 Science Fiction Fantasy Novels That Will Blow Your Mind
"A tightly plotted conspiracy novel that blends seamlessly with its superbly developed setting."
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"..the intimate representation of bipolar disease and addiction, the normalization of queer characters, and the nuanced depiction of aromantic male-female friendship make this an exciting read."
—Melinda Liu, Booklist
"Cursebreakers is outrageously good—phenomenal, even. This is a novel as electric as the lightning-bolt magic its protagonist wields, filled with curses, destruction, and piercing heartache. It's an ode to true, enduring friendship and a call to believe in our capacity for good."
—Andrea Marks-Joseph, Independent Book Review
"Cursebreakers is a stellar debut written in tight prose that paints an image in one's mind with select, striking details. Its honest portrayal of mental illness through the creative lens of magic and a strong running theme of platonic friendship gives the story a deep sense of heart. At less than 300 pages long, it is a quick read that I am sure will charm you, whether you are a die-hard fantasy fan or not."
—Sinclair Adams, Soapberry Review
“Adrien's narration was vivid, prickly, and compelling, and I loved the world she built around him, especially the beautiful names and terms, but also the institutional history of Pharmakeia and Curia (and Chirurgeonate), with the occasional, tantalizing glimpses of the wider world. And I admired the way she hung the plot together on the dual armatures of that institutional history and Adrien's deeply flawed character.”
—Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor
“An absorbing meditation on curses and blessings, martyrs and saints—and a rare fantasy that recognizes that the mind is more mysterious and more vital than any spell. It is writers like Madeleine Nakamura who are going to bring us all into the next age of the world.”
—Brian Conn, author of The Fixed Stars: Thirty-Seven Emblems for the Perilous Season
"Nakamura has created an impressive cast of characters in this action-packed thriller..."
—Authorlink
"I can say with my whole heart that this book is categorically excellent. Had to bold it to really get my point across. . . Cursebreakers dared me to keep turning the page, and yet, demanded my patience all the same. . . all I can say is... I’m ravenous."
—Noah, Goodreads
★ 2023-08-12
Two men starved for community and camaraderie fall into a multilayered conspiracy that offers both a shot at redemption.
The justice system acquitted Adrien Desfourneaux of witchcraft charges years ago. Back then, he worked as a doctor in a psychiatric facility where he pushed forward an experimental procedure that left all his test subjects dead or comatose. He gave up medicine and now works as a professor at the Pharmakeia, a magical college. These days, Adrien is more concerned about treating his own mental illness—dithymic akrasia—than healing others’ maladies. But when a curse with symptoms eerily similar to those his patients endured begins claiming both Pharmakeia students and soldiers of the Vigil—an organization whose sole responsibility is to police magically talented citizens—he feels compelled to launch his own investigation. Confronting the ghosts of his past throws the akratic professor into a mixed state just as the Vigil sends soldiers and witchfinders to the Pharmakeia to ferret out whatever witch or witches are responsible for the curse. One of those soldiers is Gennady Richter, a painfully awkward young man who trained with many of the victims in childhood and now believes his previous commanding officer may be involved in the conspiracy. Unfortunately, Gennady’s obliviousness to social cues leads directly to the two men’s deputization as Vigil spies—though Adrien’s support network believes the whole thing is a psychotic delusion. Nakamura’s treatment is nuanced and thoughtful, avoiding a veritable minefield of harmful stereotypes to deliver genuine characters with heart. This is a society that openly accepts queer people; Adrien is gay, as are the members of his network. Additionally, Adrien’s and Gennady’s conditions—coded as bipolar disorder and autism, respectively—are integral to the story.
A tightly plotted conspiracy novel that blends seamlessly with its superbly developed setting.
