The title of Gül’s energetic, esoteric dystopian novel, the first entry in The Hypostasis of Dissent duology, means, in English, “I will not serve,” and that spirit of resistance powers the storytelling as a pair of revolutionaries denounces a world of violence. In the fascist city-state of Vencenza, Governor Crescenzo Zuane De Tullia declares himself infallible, bases his regime on lies, oversees a corrupt judicial system and City Guard, and disappears citizens without a trace. Any sign of emotion is outlawed. Visiting the Hanging Gardens of executed citizens, Giorgianna Damiani’s cold but practical mother announces, “Nothing is worth it.” Girogianna copes with bulimia and cutting herself. As a young woman, Giorgianna witnesses the murder of her beloved friend Emanuela, but the incident is covered up.

Vowing to secure justice for Emanuela, Girogianna admires the notorious revolutionary known as The Bauta, who dares to ask, “What moral principle is possessed by this order for which it should stand to be preserved?” As that suggests, Gül brings to this fantasy high seriousness, pointedly archaic prose, and inventive vocabulary that will put off some readers—a typical chapter opens “The gondola rocked to a nauseating halt along the arborescent venules”—but those on its wavelength will find dark pleasures: the impeccable worldbuilding is enticing, the wretched but resolute characters’ cause just, and the plot expansive.

Gül explicitly reveals how such a reprehensible and corrupt state brings out innate cruelty in most, but in Giorgianna and Bauta, who is actually the violinist Cesare, there remains a spark of hope and urgency in a plan to infiltrate the ministerial offices and topple the government. A playwright turned sex worker, Giorgianna questions Bauta’s use of violence, but he declares, “I fail to see how a man like Crescenzo Zuane De Tullia would respond to any language but the one he speaks most fluently.” Astute, immersive, grotesque, yet always bold and boasting serious moral weight, Gül’s complex gothic will entrance and edify readers who relish the challenge.

Takeaway: A challenging but immersive gothic tale of revolutionaries battling a dystopian state.

Comparable Titles: Christopher Buehlman, Nick Harkaway.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A