A blackly funny, gloriously queer coming-of-age fantasy with love, beauty and necromancy by World Fantasy Award-winning author C.S.E. Cooney. WINNER OF THE 2023 WORLD FANTASY AWAY FOR BEST NOVEL Nothing complicates life like Death. Lanie Stones, the daughter of crown-appointed killers, was born with a gift for necromancy—and a literal allergy to violence. For her own safety, she was raised in isolation in a crumbling mansion by the family’s mouldering revenant. When Lanie’s parents are murdered, she and her psychotic sister Nita must settle their extensive debts or lose their ancestral home. When Liriat’s ruler, too, is murdered, it throws the whole nation’s future into doubt. Hunted by Liriat’s enemies, terrorised by family ghosts and tortured by a forbidden love for a childhood friend, Lanie will need more than luck to get through the next few months—but when the goddess of Death is on your side, anything is possible. "Newcomers will still find Cooney’s glittering narrative skills and vivid worldbuilding addictive, her diverse characters intriguing, and her message of justice and freedom stirring. This remarkable and richly detailed adventure is worth savoring." -- Publishers Weekly ― Publishers Weekly “C. S. E. Cooney is one of the most moving, daring, and plainly beautiful voices to come out of recent fantasy. She’s a powerhouse.” -- Catherynne M. Valente, NYT-bestselling author of the Fairyland novels -- Catherynne M. Valente “A delicious stew of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, marked by unforgettable characters who plumb the depths of pathos and triumph.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review ― Publishers Weekly “Memorable prose propelled by extraordinary ideas… Twisted genius!” — Locus ― Locus Magazine "These stories are a pure joy.” —Delia Sherman, author of Young Woman in a Garden: Stories -- Delia Sherman "Stories of surpassing delicacy and wit, told by a lady of rare talent.” -- Ysabeau S. Wilce, Andre Norton Award-winning author of Flora's Dare -- Ysabeau S. Wilce "Highly original, mythic in scope, lyrically told, just plain fun ." -- Nicole Kornher-Stace, author of Archivist Wasp -- Nicole Kornher-Stace "C.S.E. Cooney's Bone Swans is like visiting a literary Ys. Coaxed by her deft hand, lands and people long lost to memory resurface, breaking through the hearts of readers with the force of a gentle tsunami. Once that wave has broken over you, you are never the same." -- Tiffany Trent, author of The Unnaturalists -- Tiffany Trent "Like one of her characters, C. S. E. Cooney is a master piper, playing songs within songs. Her stories are wild, theatrical, full of music and murder and magic.” -- James Enge, author of Blood of Ambrose -- James Enge "It's a treasure chest of a collection, and it's full of gems.” -- Sharon Shinn, author of the Elemental Blessings series -- Sharon Shinn “ Desdemona and the Deep is an eloquent, elegant novella about power, art, consequence and change. It’s also pleasantly queer and drunk on language, which appealed to me deeply. I recommend it.” – Liz Bourke, Locus -- Liz Bourke ― Locus Magazine “Edgy, romantic, earthy, and colorful.“ -- Amy Goldschlager, Locus -- Amy Goldschlager ― Locus Magazine "There is always the music of the writing, and the comic coloration, and the engaging and just awakening Desdemona to keep us entranced." -- Rich Horton, Locus -- Rich Horton "A rococo romp through strange and eerily familiar worlds."-- Erin Downey Howerton, Booklist -- Erin Downey Howerton ― Booklist "The writing is dense with poetry, festooned to the eyelids -- occasionally to the gills and other body-parts -- with fantastic imagery that comes together in the end in unexpected and entirely satisfying ways." -- Patricia A. McKillip -- Patricia A. McKillip "Is it extravagant? Yes. Does it flirt with camp? Oh, yes. Is it so beautiful, smart and joyful that I finished it gasping? Yes, yes, YES." -- Robert V.S. Redick, author of The Fire Sacraments Trilogy , and The Chathrand Voyage Quartet -- Robert Redick "A story that is by turns sly, sensual, and surprisingly sweet, Cooney spins an unexpected tale with an absolutely perfect ending." -- Sharon Shinn, author of the Samaria series, and the Twelve Houses series -- Sharon Shinn “CSE Cooney’s prose once again delivers on the promise of the wild magic and music. Saint Death's Daughter will leave you feeling she's actually summoned a new world, and you might just stumble upon it around the next corner. Glorious.”— Angela Slatter, award-winning author of All the Murmuring Bones “C.S.E. Cooney has always been a consummate wordsmith, but with Saint Death’s Daughter she proves she’s a master of long form fantasy as well. Cooney sets her budding young necromancer adrift in a dazzlingly dark, weird, engaging and strangely warm world alive with memorable characters, hidden secrets and sinister intrigues. Everything, from tiny elements of character