Mirror Visitor

Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima, and, what's more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. She must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, she slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.

Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this complex world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength. With its unforgettable heroine, rich and bountiful universe, and intrigue and suspense, Christelle Dabos's highly acclaimed “The Mirror Visitor Quartet” is perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson's “An Enchantment of Ravens”, Melissa Albert's “The Hazel Wood”, V.E. Schwab's “Shades of Magic” series, Tomi Adeyemi's “Children of Blood and Bone”, Kenneth Oppel's “Airborne” series, and N.K. Jemisin's “Broken Earth” series.

When our heroine Ophelia is promoted to Vice-storyteller by Farouk, the ancestral Spirit of Pole, she finds herself unexpectedly thrust into the public spotlight and her special gift is revealed to all. She knows how to read the secret history of objects, and there could be no greater threat to the nefarious denizens of her icy adopted home than this. Beneath the golden rafters of Pole's capital, Citaceleste, she discovers that the only person she may be able to trust is Thorn, her enigmatic fiancé. As one after another influential courtier disappears, Ophelia again finds herself unintentionally implicated in an investigation that will lead her to see beyond Pole's many illusions to the heart of the formidable truth.

After two years and seven months biding her time on Anima, her home ark, it is finally time to act, to put what she has discovered in the Book of Faruk to use. Under an assumed identity, Ophelia travels to Babel, a cosmopolitan and thoroughly modern ark that is the jewel of the universe. Will her talent as a reader suffice to avoid being lured into a deadly trap by her ever more fearful adversaries? Will she ever see Thorn, her betrothed, again?

Ophelia and Thorn arrive at the observatory of the Deviations, an institute shrouded in absolute secrecy and overseen by a sect of mystical scientists who secretly conduct terrifying experiments. There, they hope to discover truths that will halt the destruction and death and bring the world back into balance. Now that the distrust between them has been overcome, they love each other passionately. However, they must keep their love hidden. Only in this way can they continue their journey toward an understanding of the indecipherable code of God and the truth behind the mysterious figure of the Other, whose devastating power continues to bring down entire pieces of arks, plunging thousands of innocents into the void.