2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction (finalist)
2026 Locus Award for Best Translated Novel
A fearsomely dark, incantatory new dystopia set in a post-apocalyptic convent from the author of viral sensation Tender is the Flesh
'Barbaric, brutal and utterly beautiful. The Unworthy is a searing haunt of a novel that I will never forget' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB
In the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, the unworthy live in fear of the Superior Sister's whip. Seething with resentment, they plot against each other and await who will ascend to the level of the Enlightened - and who will suffer the next exemplary punishment.
Risking her life, one of the unworthy keeps a diary in secret. Slowly, memories surface from a time before the world collapsed, before the Sacred Sisterhood became the only refuge.
Then Lucía arrives. She, too, is unworthy - but she is different. And her presence brings a single spark of hope to a world of darkness.
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READER REVIEWS
'An absolutely haunting read that left me reeling''Obsessed! Deliciously dark and almost seductive''Bazterrica had already pushed the boundaries of dystopian horror with Tender is The Flesh, The Unworthy elevates it even further''Dystopian, sapphic, horrifying and compelling. I couldn't really put it down!''OhmyGod. What did I just read? This book is horrifying from the very first page and kept me hooked till the very end'
Genre: Horror
'Barbaric, brutal and utterly beautiful. The Unworthy is a searing haunt of a novel that I will never forget' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB
In the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, the unworthy live in fear of the Superior Sister's whip. Seething with resentment, they plot against each other and await who will ascend to the level of the Enlightened - and who will suffer the next exemplary punishment.
Risking her life, one of the unworthy keeps a diary in secret. Slowly, memories surface from a time before the world collapsed, before the Sacred Sisterhood became the only refuge.
Then Lucía arrives. She, too, is unworthy - but she is different. And her presence brings a single spark of hope to a world of darkness.
______________
READER REVIEWS
'An absolutely haunting read that left me reeling''Obsessed! Deliciously dark and almost seductive''Bazterrica had already pushed the boundaries of dystopian horror with Tender is The Flesh, The Unworthy elevates it even further''Dystopian, sapphic, horrifying and compelling. I couldn't really put it down!''OhmyGod. What did I just read? This book is horrifying from the very first page and kept me hooked till the very end'
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"Brutal and aching. A perfect fever dream of a book." - Heather Darwent
"Barbaric, brutal, and utterly beautiful. The Unworthy is a searing haunt of a novel that I will never forget." - Lucy Rose
"The Unworthy is unflinching, uncompromising, and unforgettable. Agustina Bazterrica shines a light at the end of the brutal and bleak path we are on so that maybe, just maybe, we can turn around and forge a new one." - Paul Tremblay
"Barbaric, brutal, and utterly beautiful. The Unworthy is a searing haunt of a novel that I will never forget." - Lucy Rose
"The Unworthy is unflinching, uncompromising, and unforgettable. Agustina Bazterrica shines a light at the end of the brutal and bleak path we are on so that maybe, just maybe, we can turn around and forge a new one." - Paul Tremblay
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