The Broken Binding SF&F Sub #3: March 2026
After taking out this new subscription with The Broken Binding in October, we are already on to the third book in this SF&F Subscription.
While the first two books in this subscription fell under the “SF” category, the book for March was set to be a new Fantasy release.
The theme for this release was Verdant Demise, with a book that would be perfect for fans of dark fantasy, sentient nature, necromancy, and cursed magic. That is a pretty intriguing list of buzzwords, if you ask me.
The book hiding underneath was Green & Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons.
Centuries ago, necromancy almost destroyed the world. That’s how history remembers it.
History remembers it wrong.
Mathaiik has trained all his life to join the sacred order of the Idallik Knights, charged with defending their world from the forces of necromancy. Only vestiges of that cursed magic remain, nothing like the fabled days of the Grim Lords, the undead wizards who once nearly destroyed the world.
But when an even stranger kind of monster begins to wake, the Knights quickly prove powerless to stop them. Whole forests are coming alive and devouring anyone so foolish as to trespass, as if the land itself has turned upon humanity.
It’s a good thing, then, that the Grim Lords were never truly destroyed. One of their number sleeps below the Knights’ very fortress. And when an army of twisted tree monsters attacks the young initiates in his charge, Math decides to do the unthinkable: he wakes her up.
This is only the beginning of his problems. Because said necromancer, Kaiataris, knows something history has forgotten. The threat of this wild magic is part of a cycle that has repeated countless times–life after death, chaos after order. And if she and Math can’t find a new way to balance the scales, this won’t just be the end of the world as they know it, but the end of all life, everywhere.
I haven’t read anything by Jenn Lyons yet, but her name pops up regularly on recommendation lists, so my interest in this author was already there anyway. However, because the blurb makes a comparison to a book that didn’t really work for me personally (The Witch King by Martha Wells), I was a little wary.
But fortunately, the rest of the synopsis quickly made up for that. Necromancy alone is a magic system that usually manages to captivate me, but the idea of a forest coming to life and literally devouring people immediately set my interest soaring.
The fact that this is a standalone makes it even more appealing. It is ideal for giving this author a try without having to jump into a long series right away.
The cover of this The Broken Binding edition is a completely new design by @michelegiorgiillustrator.
It contains many of the same elements as the standard cover, but translated into a totally different style. The creeping, menacing forest, in particular, stands out to me. It feels as if that aspect of the story is truly central here, as if you can literally feel the threat between the trees.
There is also something very old-fashioned about this illustration, almost as if it were a medieval painting. And I am a real fan of the font used, which fits perfectly into the overall picture.
The naked hardcover features a design that feels like a throwback to earlier bookbox editions: a linen look with a single colour and a fine line illustration in foil. And I am absolutely not unhappy about that.
The illustrations by @claymorecovers fit the style of the cover perfectly and reinforce that old, medieval feel that this edition exudes.
Moreover, the line drawings are truly impressively detailed, and I think it is great that that elegant, fitting font was used on the spine here as well.
The book block is spray-painted entirely black, with illustrations only on the front, once again by @claymorecovers.
The illustrations have something that fits perfectly with the theme of sorcery and necromancy. It looks like something you might find in an old grimoire.
Oh wow.
If the goal of these endpapers was to further pique my interest in this book, then it succeeded in spades. The illustrations by @caninebrush are truly stunning.
That scene with the group around the table immediately grabs all the attention. It is such an unlikely collection of characters, but that is precisely what makes them interesting. Their facial expressions immediately make me curious about who they are and what their story is, not to mention the lady on the table itself!
And then the second illustration with the monsters… wow.
They are simultaneously creepy and, in a way, also a bit endearing. Bizarrely creepy, in the best way.
Both are truly brilliant work.
Furthermore, this edition features gold-yellow headbands and tailbands, and a matching ribbon bookmark.
The edition is also signed, and this is perhaps one of the most beautiful signatures I have ever come across. It has an almost calligraphic quality, which fits perfectly with the medieval atmosphere of the whole.
Yeah, by now I know that The Broken Binding can consistently deliver beautiful, luxurious editions, and this one is yet another perfect example of that. Everything just works visually. The style, the cohesion, the details… it really feels like a complete work of art in book form.
And apart from that, it is simply a story that intrigues me on a substantive level, and this edition only makes that feeling stronger.
Cheers,
Charlotte
