The Extravaganza Eternia is a murder fantasy novella, written by Kristin Osani, and published by Ghost Orchid Press. A book that plays with the contrasts between gory darkness and murders, and the colourful and magical world of the circus, with an intimate and griping story.

Supernatural circus performer Leathan has a curse that doesn't allow her to bond with anyone; when her favourite member of the troupe and star of the show Renni is murdered, the ringmaster tasks her with investigating it. For somebody that wasn't close to anybody in the troupe, she will have to move smartly and forge attachments with the other members, while following the trail of hints to discover the assassin of Renni.

In Leathan, we have an excellent character that helps explore the difficulties of creating bonds with others, a problem that is quite real for people, but which also helps as the perfect conducting thread in that contrast between the colourful and magical world of the circus and the darkness that surrounds it: the tight conditions of the circus circuit, the own competence between performers, and obviously, the assassination.

Osani paints a mesmerising setting, especially with all the magic, but which slowly unravels the beast behind it; her prose is simply magnificent, transmitting a really visual experience. For a novella, I would say this is a relatively slow book, one that allows the reader to think about everything they are reading and try to solve the mystery.

The Extravaganza Eternia is an excellent debut novella, a quite unique proposal that will be enjoyed by every fantasy reader; thought-provoking, it will stay with you after closing the book. Time to get it!