A beautiful and nightmarish story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the intertwined fates of Greek mythic figures Daedelus, Icarus, King Minos, and the Minotaur.
Daedalus of Crete is many things: The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur. And the grieving father of Icarus-plunged into the sea as father and son flew from the grasp of the tyrannical King Minos.
Given the chance to reunite with Icarus in the Underworld, Daedalus will confront any terror to see him again-whether it be the vengeful spirit of Minos, the cunning Queen Persephone, or even the insatiable ghost of the Minotaur.
But there's one terror he didn't expect. As he encounters the people from his life, Daedalus begins to worry that his identity as a husband and father, mentor and friend was all a lie. And that the truth, stalking him in the labyrinth of his own heart, might be too monstrous for him to bear. Seamus Sullivan's fiction has appeared in Terraform and his book reviews have appeared in Strange Horizons. He lives in Jersey City with his family. This is his first book.
"Soars far above any retelling I have read -- twisty, poetic, beautiful, plumbing every depth of despair and height of joy possible in human, beast, and god. This book will destroy you." -Premee Mohamed, author of The Butcher of the Forest
"Rich and vividly imagined; as intricate, cruel and haunted as the labyrinth at its heart. Here is something ancient made thrillingly, blisteringly new."-Malcolm Devlin, author of And Then I Woke Up
"An exquisitely wrought, tenderly examined portrait of fatherhood, invention, legacy, tragedy, and myth that would make Roberto Calasso proud. The irony is, for such a title as Daedalus is Dead, this story and these characters have never felt more alive." -Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings
