The Poet Empress : The hotly anticipated standalone fantasy debut perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang and Madeline Miller performance art just in time for Christmas

just in time for Christmas

Yet the full story of what happened that day – and the ominous warning signs recognized but then ignored in the years before – has never been told

defined and defended for twenty centuries

’ New York Times‘Exhilarating’ BBC Radio 4 Front Row'Bloody fun

197 x 128 x 26 | 308g

The Poet Empress : The hotly anticipated standalone fantasy debut perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang and Madeline Miller performance art just in time for ChristmasAuthor: Tao, Shen Fantasy romance Published on 20 January 2026 by Orion Publishing Co (Gollancz) in the United Kingdom. Hardback 400 pages 241 x 163 x 36 638g 'Vicious, gorgeous, and fiercely haunting' CHLOE GONG'Sublime' AMELIE WEN ZHAO'Enthralling' ANDREA STEWART'Astounding' CHELSEA ABDULLAH'Lyrical' K. X. SONG'Devastating' KRITIKA H. RAO'Fantasy at its best' VAISHNAVI PATELTO KILL A MONSTER, SHE MUST BECOME ONE . . . As the emperor lays dying, the