The Dissonance

A Novel

By: Shaun Hamill

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed author of A Cosmology of Monsters ("I loved it"—Stephen King) comes an epic contemporary fantasy, a mixture of The Magicians and It: a story of dark magic, terrible mistakes, and second chances.

"You can never go home again," the saying goes—but Hal, Athena, and Erin have to. In high school, the three were students of the eccentric Professor Marsh, trained in a secret system of magic known as the Dissonance, which is built around harnessing negative emotions: alienation, anger, pain. Then, twenty years ago, something happened that shattered their coven, scattering them across the country, stuck in mundane lives, alone.

But now, terrifying signs and portents (not to mention a pointed Facebook invite) have summoned them back to Clegg, Texas. There, their paths will collide with that of Owen, a closeted teenager from Alabama whose aborted cemetery seance with his crush summoned something far worse: a murderous entity whose desperate, driving purpose includes kidnapping Owen to serve as its Renfield. As Owen tries to outwit his new master, and Hal, Athena, and Erin reckon with how the choices they made as teens might connect to the apocalyptic event unfurling over the Lone Star State, shocking alliances form, old and new romances brew, and three unsuccessful adults and one frightened teen are all that stand between reality and oblivion.

From one of the boldest, most brilliant voices in modern fantastical horror, The Dissonance is a thrilling and beautifully written story of magic and monsters, forgiveness and friendship.

©2024 Shaun Hamill (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

ONE OF PASTE’S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS

“Dark and enchanting. . . . Hamill weaves a tale of magic, teen angst, [and] the power of enduring friendship. . . . Fantasy readers won’t want to put this down.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A treat for readers whose nostalgia gravitates to the likes of Stand by Me, Twin Peaks, or, most thematically, Stephen King’s It. In a similar vein to Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black novels or Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake trilogy, Hamill takes some ordinary young people and puts them through the metaphysical wringer to see what’s left at the end. . . . A wistful, emotional roller coaster.”—Kirkus Reviews

"The most impressive magical feat of The Dissonance are the four teen friends and their complicated, cringy, familiar wart-filled relationship, one imbued with enough love to refill your soul. The result is that this wildly imaginative, thrilling, time-hopping, magic and monsters epic feels authentic and lived in. Not sure how Shaun did it. The jerk."—Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts