“The Library at Hellebore,” written by award-winning writer Cassandra Khaw, is a bloody and gruesome take on the dark academia genre. Gory through and through, this gripping novel contained all my favorite elements of a fantasy: a dark atmosphere, rich character building and indigestible imagery that sticks to your bones like a spoonful of peanut butter.
In a modern world where magic has returned after centuries of dormancy, Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the foremost academy for those gifted with lethal godlike abilities. It markets rehabilitation, growth and a brighter future for those deemed a danger to society.
Following a murderous incident involving her supernatural gift, Alessa Li finds herself kidnapped and forcibly enrolled in the elite institute, now trapped within its shapeshifting walls. However, the academy is more akin to an asylum, with no way of escape but through death or the elusive graduation.
The truth of Hellebore has been lost to propaganda and spoon-fed to the general public, who have no knowledge of the institute’s true nature. On graduation day, Alessa and her coarse group of allies must escape the staff’s ravenous appetites. Now trapped within the library, Alessa and her remaining classmates must navigate the labyrinth and collaborate to survive.
For all Harry Potter fans that grew up wanting to be whisked away to Hogwarts, Hellebore is your grown-up, visceral substitute. More than just a horror story with academic elements, “The Library at Hellebore” explores themes of government influence on privatized institutions and our society’s tendency to reject anyone with differences.
A truly mind-crippling cocktail of body horror and ambrosial prose, this tale will pluck out your heart and hold it hostage until the last page.
• Avis Downs is a bookseller at Inklings Bookshop. She and other Inklings staffers review books in this space every week.