Few know just how brutal guls can be better than Ariadne. After all, she lost half her body due to their ferocious appetites. The brutality of the guls mirrors Brazil’s political turmoil at the time. Now Ariadne treats guls in a clinic inherited from Erik Yurkov. Erik rescued Ariadne as a child, trained her in medical knowlegde, created her prostheses, then disappeared into thin air.
When Quaint knocks on Ariadne, her world is seriously disturbed. Charming, tattooed, and a gul, Quaint says she’s Erik’s oldest friend, and suspects foul play concerning Erik’s disappearance. Soon, they learn Erik was seeking asylum at Cabaré, an infamous Rio de Janeiro club specializing in indulging the gul elite.
Together, they attempt to solve the conspiracy of Erik’s disappearance. But first, they must navigate Ariadne’s labyrinthine memories to learn what Erik means to them—and what they are starting to mean to each other.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Horrifying dark fantasy is on the rise, and writers like Hache Pueyo are championing this electrifying genre blend. The author of But Not Too Bold and the short story collection A Study in Ugliness, Pueyo’s short fiction has been featured in such publications as The Dark Magazine, Small Wonders, IZ Digital, Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, among others. With her latest, Pueyo taps into her Brazilian heritage with bloodthirsty ghouls shaking up the government in this timely novella. Cassandra Khaw (The Library at Hellebore) calls Cabaret in Flames “Elegant, voracious, a book that eats up every scrap of your attention and demands you hang on by the tendon as Ariadne wanders deeper into a labyrinth of mysteries.”. Fran Wilde (A Philosophy of Thieves) says: “Hache Pueyo’s monsters are all they seem, and more. Her heroes continually surprise in a world where hunger devours everything except revenge and hope for a better world. Stunning and breathtaking.”, and Daniel José Older (The Book of Lost Saints) says: “A full and delicious feast. Read this book slowly, savor every bite. In turn, it will leave you deeply satisfied and still wanting more.”
Releasing from Tordotcom 10 March 2026, Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA