2026 Sunburst Award (shortlist)
2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction (shortlist)
He was sent to kill a pest. Instead, he found a monster.
‘An intriguing work of whimsi-grotesquerie’ – Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six
Monster hunters tangle with court politics in The Works of Vermin, a horror adventure by the critically acclaimed author of Leech, Hiron Ennes.
Enter the decadent, deadly city of Tiliard.
In a complex, chaotic metropolis, Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. For her sake he’ll take on any job – no matter how vile.
As an exterminator, Guy hunts the uncanny pests that crawl up from the river. These vermin are all strange, and often dangerous. His latest quarry is different: a worm the size of a dragon, with deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it if they had the choice.
Guy doesn’t have a choice.
‘A lush and seductive story, rife with opulent horror and decaying decadence’ – Sunyi Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book Eaters
‘I will follow this writer anywhere’ – Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl
Genre: Horror
‘An intriguing work of whimsi-grotesquerie’ – Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six
Monster hunters tangle with court politics in The Works of Vermin, a horror adventure by the critically acclaimed author of Leech, Hiron Ennes.
Enter the decadent, deadly city of Tiliard.
In a complex, chaotic metropolis, Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. For her sake he’ll take on any job – no matter how vile.
As an exterminator, Guy hunts the uncanny pests that crawl up from the river. These vermin are all strange, and often dangerous. His latest quarry is different: a worm the size of a dragon, with deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it if they had the choice.
Guy doesn’t have a choice.
‘A lush and seductive story, rife with opulent horror and decaying decadence’ – Sunyi Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book Eaters
‘I will follow this writer anywhere’ – Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl
Genre: Horror
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Used availability for Hiron Ennes's The Works of Vermin