Witchmark - Misplaced Pages

Fantasy novel This article is about the novel. For the magical symbol, see Witch mark. For the hypothetical body mark, see Witch's mark.

Witchmark
First edition
Author	C. L. Polk
Language	English
Series	The Kingston Cycle #1
Genre	Fantasy literature; Gaslamp fantasy
Publisher	Tor Books
Publication date	June 19, 2018
Media type	Print, ebook
ISBN	9781250162687
Followed by	Stormsong

Witchmark is a 2018 fantasy novel by Canadian author C. L. Polk. It features a murder mystery set in a secondary world in a country called Aeland, and has been described as gaslamp fantasy. Witchmark won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2019. It was first published by Tor Books.

Synopsis

In the realm of Aeland, Miles Singer is a psychiatrist who clandestinely uses his magical powers to treat patients in a veterans' hospital. When Tristan Hunter brings in a dying man who tells Miles that he has been murdered, and then the body is cremated before an autopsy can reveal whether anything illegal actually happened, Miles and Tristan begin their own investigation — one which reveals that the secrets at the base of Aeland society are darker than even Miles knew.

Reception

Witchmark won the 2019 World Fantasy Award—Novel. As well, it was a finalist for the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2019 Aurora Award for Best Novel and the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror. Time magazine included Witchmark on its list of The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time.

Publishers Weekly called it "stellar", and praised the quality of Polk's exposition. AudioFile found it to be "charming", with "a rich setting" and "fully developed characters". In the New York Times, Amal el-Mohtar agreed that it was "thoroughly charming" as well as "deftly paced" and "accomplished and enjoyable", but noted that the female characters were "limited to their roles in the story", and stated that although the motivations of Miles' sister Grace were intended to be "opaque", they more often seemed "arbitrary".

Locus considered it a "particularly sterling" instance of fantasy in an Edwardian-equivalent setting, while observing that a "genre-savvy" audience may be disappointed in how long it takes Miles to conclude that the veterans' post-traumatic stress disorder was being exacerbated by magic. Tor.com lauded the worldbuilding and characterization, but faulted it for not resolving the conflict with Miles' colleague Dr. Crosby.

Sequels

Witchmark is the first book of the three-volume Kingston Cycle. The second and third books in the series, Stormsong and Soulstar, were published in 2020 and 2021. The Kingston Cycle as a whole was a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series.

References

World Fantasy Awards 2019, at the World Fantasy Convention; retrieved November 4, 2019
Witchmark, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved August 23, 2019
2019 Aurora Award Ballot, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published June 1, 2019; retrieved August 23, 2019
2019 Lambda Literary Awards Nominees, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published March 7, 2019; retrieved August 23, 2019
"The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time". Time. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
Witchmark, by C. L. Polk, reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published December 18, 2017; retrieved August 23, 2019
Witchmark by C. L. Polk, read by Samuel Roukin; reviewed at Audiofile; published October 2018; retrieved August 23, 2019
The Best New Fantasy Novels, by Amal el-Mohtar; in the New York Times; published October 5, 2018; retrieved August 23, 2019
Amy Goldschlager Reviews Witchmark Audiobook by C.L. Polk, by Amy Goldschlager, in Locus; published December 9, 2018; retrieved August 23, 2019
A Different Shade of Magic: Witchmark by C.L. Polk, reviewed by Alex Browne, at Tor.com; published Jun 29, 2018; retrieved August 23, 2019
Revealing Stormsong, a Return to the Magical World of C.L. Polk's Witchmark, by Joel Cunningham, at Barnes & Noble; published September 24, 2018; retrieved August 23, 2019
Rockwood, Catherine (July 5, 2021). "Soulstar by C. L. Polk". Strange Horizons.
Canadians C.L. Polk & Fonda Lee nominated for 2022 Hugo Award for best series; published April 11, 2022; retrieved March 19, 2023

External links

v t e World Fantasy Award—Novel
1970s	The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (1975) Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson (1976) Doctor Rat by William Kotzwinkle (1977) Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber (1978) Gloriana by Michael Moorcock (1979)
1980s	Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn (1980) The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (1981) Little, Big by John Crowley (1982) Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea (1983) The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford (1984) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock / Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (1985) Song of Kali by Dan Simmons (1986) Perfume by Patrick Süskind (1987) Replay by Ken Grimwood (1988) Koko by Peter Straub (1989)
1990s	Lyonesse: Madouc by Jack Vance (1990) Only Begotten Daughter by James K. Morrow / Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (1991) Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon (1992) Last Call by Tim Powers (1993) Glimpses by Lewis Shiner (1994) Towing Jehovah by James K. Morrow (1995) The Prestige by Christopher Priest (1996) Godmother Night by Rachel Pollack (1997) The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford (1998) The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (1999)
2000s	Thraxas by Martin Scott (2000) Declare by Tim Powers / Galveston by Sean Stewart (2001) The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (2002) The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce / Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip (2003) Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (2004) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005) Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2006) Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe (2007) Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (2008) The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford / Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (2009)
2010s	The City & the City by China Miéville (2010) Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (2011) Osama by Lavie Tidhar (2012) Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (2013) A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar (2014) The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (2015) The Chimes by Anna Smaill (2016) The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North (2017) Jade City by Fonda Lee / The Changeling by Victor LaValle (2018) Witchmark by C. L. Polk (2019)
2020s	Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (2020) Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2021) The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (2022) Saint Death's Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney (2023)

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