Description

‘Had me gripped from start to finish … timely, horrifying, and hugely entertaining’
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree and The Mercies

‘Swerves through a fascinating, fractured landscape of folkloric traditions and contemporary divisions’
Cari Thomas, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Threadneedle

‘A vibrant and devastating tale of loss and love … Characters to treasure’ – Saara El-Arifi, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Faebound

Rowena has always been a rebel: foul-mouthed, light-fingered, the last to leave a party. Unfortunately, she’s also cursed – marked by Death since birth. When Rowena’s boyfriend and father die in quick succession her mother sends her North to her gran, the one healer strong enough to lift the curse before her eighteenth birthday.
Halim is proud, independent and just a few payments away from owning his truck. Unfortunately, his latest cargo is Rowena. Every gun-patrolled, hard county border they cross poses a threat to his future, as do Rowena’s increasingly dark visions.
Their journey takes them across a disunited kingdom where folk marry the old ways of spells and superstition with reawakened prejudices. Can Rowena and Halim overcome their differences and forge an alliance in order to survive?

Publisher Review

Had me gripped from start to finish ... timely, horrifying, and hugely entertaining -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree Verge is a story of unity in light of a disunited Kingdom. Attia has written a vibrant and devastating tale of loss and love that strikes a minor melody at your very heart. Halim and Rowena are characters to treasure -- Saara El-Arifi, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Final Strife A strange and haunting debut ... Attia's spellbinding sentences and wonderful characters draw you into a story unlike any other. This is an author to watch -- T.L. Huchu, author of The Library of the Dead and Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments A gripping debut ... Verge swerves through a fascinating, fractured landscape of folkloric traditions and contemporary divisions, driving its compelling duo to the edge of their own wilderness, asking: what lies beyond the places we can't reach? -- Cari Thomas, author of Threadneedle and The Hedge Witch Gripping and lyrical -- Claire Hennessy * Irish Times * Steeped in folk horror but driven by post-Brexit anxiety, Verge imagines a startlingly original dystopian future that still has its roots in the old ways. A thrilling read and the herald of a significant new talent -- Dan Coxon, author and British Fantasy Award-winning editor of Writing the Uncanny An enthralling trip through a changed British landscape, funny and ominous by turns, digging deep into folk beliefs and the power of curses and blessings -- Kim Newman, author of Anno Dracula and Something More Than Night Verge is a marvellous story of crossroads: crossroads of life, of magic, of politics, of place. I fell for Rowena and Halim; I was with them at every twist and turn of their strange journey. Come, it's the journey of a lifetime -- Francesco Dimitri, author of The Book of Hidden Things Verge was an enchanting read - I fell in love with Ro & Halim, hoping desperately for them to find themselves (and maybe each other) against the tempestuous world that drags at them from every angle. Every charm and sacrifice draws you closer in and the ending ramps up into a magnificently dark and unexpected twist -- Denzil Monk, producer and lecturer in film at Falmouth University Attia has written a vibrant and devastating tale of loss and love... Halim and Rowena are characters to treasure -- Saara El-Arifi, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Final Strife A propulsive & hallucinatory road trip through a fractured UK with a cursed young woman & a man full of fire. Verge is literary folk horror of the highest calibre. A triumphant debut of huge ambition -- Eva Dolan, author of This Is How It ends Beguilingly strange ... Shared vicissitudes create a firm bond in a propulsive narrative in which there's always something odd or horrible around the next corner * Financial Times * This is a fabulous book with characters I really cared about. Their journey is steeped in folk horror, with danger at every turn ... and hope never far behind. A captivating story, beautifully written -- Joanna Wallace, author of You'd Look Better As a Ghost