Feldman uses ecological collapse as a backdrop for a chilling tale of alchemy and corruption ... The constant awareness of a world on fire lends an extra layer of dread as a deadly monster stalks Nina, who finds something equally monstrous inside the box she’s trying to steal. But even as Nina uncovers the depths to which some of her former friends are willing to stoop, she also rekindles one friendship that she realizes she threw away too lightly. (It is troubling, though, that the book’s trans character is referred to by her former name and pronoun in pre-transition flashbacks.) Saturnalia is both dazzlingly inventive and full of spine-tingling menace.
... a twisted, ethereal dispatch from a climate change point of no return ... The novel revels in absurdities, especially the insatiability of those with money and power, even as indulgence ensures a faster arrival at their ends. It exposes the dark sides of glamour and the blind spots of dark magic: Nina’s former compatriots find a way to create life from nothing, but forego awe in their rush to exploit their creation. And amid these whorling wonders emerges the ache that Nina tried to suppress—the result of violence as banal and life-altering as the greed that threatens to destroy the world around her ... a piquant, eerie, and alarming tale.
Tense and suspenseful, Saturnalia features strong world building and a fully realized heroine. The down-on-her-luck protagonist navigating a system of secretive clubs will appeal to fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House (2019), while the book may also draw in readers of climate horror such as Omar El Akkad’s American War (2017) or Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy.
... bewitching ... That this one-night mission comes with untold wonders and terrors is a surprise for Nina and a thrill for readers. Feldman conjures a near-future version of the U.S. entranced by mutual aid organizations–turned–secret societies and caught in a slow-burn environmental catastrophe that’s unsettlingly plausible, and her depiction of the aftermath of sexual assault is complicated in its rage and compassion. The novel’s pacing is electric, its worldbuilding seamless, and the magic that slowly reveals itself feels truly strange and captivating—a considerable feat. Only the slow unspooling of Nina’s backstory and the reason why she left the Saturn Club in the first place pose stumbling blocks to the reader; it’s hard to feel the desired shock of changing loyalties or the longing for healed relationships when the reader doesn’t have the full picture of one character’s ties to another ... A propulsive fantasy thriller about fortune-seeking at the end of the world that will leave you wanting more.
... grim, bewitching ... The story features moments of bizarre, distressing cruelty and occasional gore, but it’s grounded in themes of belonging, friendship, and the potential costs of ambition. Feldman brings impressive richness and depth to both Nina’s emotional evolution and the masterful worldbuilding. This is sure to win the author many fans.
