“The Works of Vermin” by Hiron Ennes
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Rating: 4/5 Stars.
A densely-written horror-fantasy involving a city built on the roots of a huge tree poised above a toxic river, with large social disparity between a dominating upper class that indulges in toxic perfumery and operas with real killings, and a lower class struggling to survive in any way they can.
Two tales run through this book. In one, we have Guylag Moulène, deep in debt and struggling to keep his younger sister out of it. His main job is an exterminator, going after the numerous large pests that infest the roots and, occasionally, the upper city. But then he encounters a huge centipede, with deadly toxin that can mutate people and the city structure itself. Getting rid of it would greatly increase his salary, and his chances of getting himself and his sister out of the city. But doing so would involve sacrifices and the agony of seeing both his sister and his best friend being changed by the effort to exterminate this new horror.
The second tale would involve Asteritha Vost, a talented perfumer who works for the Marshall who watches over the city. In this world, different perfumes can be used to influence and dominate others. Asteritha runs into Mallory, an outsider with an unknown past, yet seems to know the city, and has plans for it that the Marshall must puzzle out before it is too late.
Both tales move forward together in the book, and it is only at the end that the connection between the tales becomes clear, showing the relationship between Guylag, Mallory and the Marshall. As Mallory’s plot for the city unfolds, they will all discover themselves in changed circumstances, and Guylag may be able to fulfil his wish to be away from the city.
The book contains world-building on almost every page, requiring the reader to digest and remember details as the story unfolds and the two halves of the story climax together into one at the end. The city is described in gothic detail, as well as the toxin from the vermin, which begin to alter the structure of the city and the inhabitants itself, sometimes in body-horror ways.
A delightfully gruesome story of a decadent city that may be in need of cleansing; and not just of the vermin.
Book read from 2026/10/29 to 2026/11/06.