The Extravaganza Eternia, by Kristin Osani
8 Jul 2024The Book
![The Extravaganza Eternia](https://cdn.jamreads.com/images/bb3e478b-cc0e-4761-9800-b2bf3d10cea6.jpg)
Synopsis:
Supernatural circus performer Leathan doesn't let herself get close to anyone. It's too painful when her curse literally rips those connections out of her heart. That's why she does her best to weed out the friendship sprouting between her and Renni, the gregarious star of the show.
When Renni is murdered, the ringmaster tasks Leathan with catching his killer. But all signs indicate the culprit is one of the Extravaganza's own, and the more she learns about her fellow troupers, the farther she feels from the truth—and the closer she is to forming fatal new attachments.
A darkly fantastical mystery reminiscent of The Night Circus and Even Though I Knew the End, THE EXTRAVAGANZA ETERNIA will enchant and delight.
My Review
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!
The Author/s
![Kristin Osani](https://cdn.jamreads.com/images/c6c40ad8-16ec-466f-a024-460e53c76c3d.webp)
Kristin Osani
KRISTIN OSANI (she/her) is a queer fantasy writer who lives with her husband in northeastern Japan, where she works as a Japanese-to-English video game translator and manga editor when she’s not writing, working on nerdy cross-stitching, or cuddling her two cats. Kristin’s novella, THE EXTRAVAGANZA ETERNIA, about a cursed supernatural circus performer, will be published by Ghost Orchid Press in Summer 2024.