So much heart in such a little book! Sapphic 1940’s noir with paranormal gumshoe vibes. I loved the historical turn of phrase and speech.

Helen and Edith’s relationship was so perfect. Sometimes an author can squeeze your heart by adding just a few words to a mundane action to show someone’s devotion.

The concept was original and the narrative through Helen’s perspective was so much fun. I’m not one for detective or historical type books but this just made my heart happy. Add in demons, human sacrifice and angels and it became a solid read for me! ( )

Ok, very concise, lots packed in. Mostly stuff I don't particularly generally like reading, but, yeah, it was short so I finished. However, if you are into noir urban fantasy based on Christian mythology with queer romance, you'll likely love it. ( )

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I didn't expect to be fully invested in the plot and the characters. It was like reading a gender-bended Destiel fanfic. I wouldn't be upset reading more by this author. ( )

Sapphic. Urban Fantasy. Noir. Do I need to say more? OK, I will anyway! Chicago in the winter. Dames smoking Chesterfields and hunting serial killers. Underground queer nightclubs. And magic! And a swoony romance! ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/hugos-2023-best-novella/

Really inventive story of lesbian love in magic-infested noir Chicago, and the price of your soul. Vivid plotting and description. ( )

“And all I have to do for my soul and a thousand dollars is find the White City Vampire.”
     She lifted her half-filled coupe of champagne. “Correct.”
     “That’s quite the offer,” I mused. “Plus expenses?”

A noir story about a lesbian detective with supernatural powers who takes a case where her soul lies in the balance. Well told, but like a lot of supernatural mysteries (I find, anyway), it didn't totally hang together. Why did anyone even need the detective wasn't really clear. Everyone else seemed to know so much more than she did!

This story was definitely not for me.

I had bad feelings just reading the title. It telegraphs that there's something not positive about the ending, right? And the publisher's blurb for it cheerily states that the protagonist, Helen, sold her soul to save her brother's life. This is accurate.

As a direct result, she and her brother are no longer on good terms, or even in contact. She also got kicked out of the magical order they belonged to because, of course, damned soul.

Then years later, her time is almost up, and she gets pulled into the investigation of Chicago's White City Vampire, a serial killer who is apparently a demon. She doesn't want to be involved; she has only three days left and wants to spend them with her girlfriend, Edith. Her client offers irresistible bait, though--the chance to win her soul back, and have a lifetime with Edith.

It turns out Edith has her own secret, and also the White City Vampire isn't a demon, although they are something closely related.

Helen, Edith, and Edith's secret start investigating the killings, the victims, and seeming bystanders who had mental breakdowns shortly after each killing. It's what happens to those bystanders that makes the real identity of the killer even more appalling.

There's so much I want to say about what happens here and why I dislike the story. Unfortunately, I can't say what I want without spoilers, and it probably doesn't matter because probably most readers, or at least enough readers for this story to have the audience that made it a Hugo Finalist, either wouldn't agree with me, or wouldn't care.

It is a very well-written story. It's a good mystery, and a good romance, despite the thing that spoils the enjoyment of it for me. It doesn't, however, have the substance and depth that made me consider "Rabbit Test" a serious candidate for my first place vote in the short story category, despite also being dark and depressing in a way that made it hard for me to read. This story is supposed to be just a fun story, and maybe it is for many, but not for me.

I received this story as part of the 2023 Hugo Voters Packet. ( )

Such a great atmospheric supernatural noir novella! ( )

I got a copy of Even Though I Knew The End, by C.L. Polk from the library after seeing that it just won the Nebula Award for Best Novella this year, knowing nothing else about it. The Nebula is for SF and Fantasy works, and this one falls into the fantasy column. I don't read much fantasy but I'm open to reading anything if it's well done. I thought this one was very good.

The fantasy elements are that it has angels and demons and spells. The plot is a noir-ish detective/mystery about a series of garish murders being committed by some supernatural force. The main character is trying to find the killer. She and the other characters are interesting and have typical human problems to navigate (in addition to the fantastical ones). There's a lesbian love story that is very tender. Very atmospheric - Chicago in the late 1930's. Check it out if this sounds like something you could enjoy. ( )

Helen has 3 days to live - she made a deal with a devil 10 years ago and her 10 years are up. She may be a warlock and a detective but even she cannot wiggle out of that one. And she really wants to - because she finally found the love of her life, Edith, and she is not ready to give all up. So when a wealthy client called Marlowe offers her soul back, she is ready to do anything.

Choosing to set the story in the late 1920s in Chicago and to call he employer Marlowe sends a message about the tone of the story. The story mostly lives up. There is a moment towards the end when there is something that feels like a plot hole on first reading - when a character was kidnapped in the end game, it made no sense to do it in the place and time where it happened - the only reason seemed to be to ensure that everyone gets to the same place when they need to be there. Either that or Polk was emulating the noir novels of the era where bad guys do stupid things thus allowing the hero to save the day. I am still not sure what is the case but considering the rest of the tale, I suspect the latter.

The ending was unexpected but logical. And at the end I was more upset with the fact that there is no logical way to create a sequel (well, technically there may be a way) than with anything which I may have disliked in the story. It is a fascinating alternative Chicago where most things look like just in ours - but there are enough differences to keep you on your toes - and not all of them are related to magic. Plus some of the rules of the Brotherhood of the Compass (the premier organization of the magic users) made me feel even more in the 1920s.

It already got a Nebula nomination and I suspect that it may get some more nods before the year is over. It is a funny romp, mashing together fantasy and noir, with a sprinkling of mystery, history and romance. ( )

I read this novella as part of the Nebula finalist packet. I've loved Polk's other works and had high anticipation as I started this one, and it didn't disappoint. Really, it was just my thing--an action-packed 1930s-drenched tale about love, angels and demons, and complex, beautiful characters. A powerful, profound work. ( )

Helen is hired by Marlowe to find Chicago's serial killer, the White City Vampire. Helen goes to the scene of the last murder to take photographs and to find any piece of the spirit of the murdered woman. She finds none but runs into the Brotherhood of the Compass, a confederation which she was kicked out of when she sold her soul to the devil. Seems like she was not given the full story by Marlowe. It looks like a territorial war between demons. Is it? Or is there something more going on?

I enjoyed this story. It is fast paced. Lots of things are going on. There is layer upon layer here. I like that Helen's girlfriend, Edith, helps her. When we find out Helen's back story, it only adds to the layers. With Edith's back story, more layers are added which made me not want to put the book down. I needed to know what was happening. Helen also lets us know what happened to patrons of the Wink, a bar frequented by Edith and she. Then she figures out what is going on. But I'm not going to ruin the story for you. Enjoy! ( )

A quick, very cool and fun novel about demons and angels battling over the lost souls of humans. Made me further question and reconsider the subjective meanings of good and evil. Is it okay to do something wrong to save a loved one?

In this often befuddling story, love, repentance, revenge and yearning for home are the motivating forces behind revolting violence.

Found the overlapping coincidences between this book and The Mystic's Apprentice by Mary Miley, (the previous book I read) to be startling.

Good read.

It’s a super short story…. But it’s also because it cut out the middle with all the shit that usually just drags on and on and on…. I would have liked a little more world building and explanation on the non human aspects but I still enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I wouldn’t mind seeing all these characters in a longer series ( )

There were a couple things that kept this from being more satisfying, but it was okay, and had some creative world-building. ( )

This is so good! The crossroads deals and secret gay relationships and women defying gender stereotypes are right up my alley. The story weaves together familiar tropes from noir and monster-hunter fiction into something original and compelling. ( )

Historical setting with queer relationships, magic, heaven and hell as the main themes.

Quick read that gets into the meat pretty quickly. Enjoyed it,

To hear me chat more about it, watch here - https://youtu.be/IfHWy1p2eo8 ( )

Nobody is doing novellas as well as tordotcom right now, and if you haven't jumped into their catalogue you should.

This is a little bit like Raymond Chandler meets the tv show Supernatural....and while that sounds like a mess, C.L. Polk makes it come together beautfully. A truly high-stakes mystery, a heartwarming romance, and a perfectly pitched bittersweet ending. Polk packs this novella with everything a reader could want. Highly recommended. ( )

Helen Brandt has one last job, and then she's ready to die, leaving behind her lover, Edith, and her brother, Ted - who isn't talking to her anyway, not since she sold her soul ten years ago. But then this job of finding the ritual killer nicknamed the White City Vampire gets sweetened: she can get her soul back if she finds the perpetrator before they come for her.

Polk creates an alternate historical world just a tad different from ours believable and intricate in a very short space. It's masterful, really. And then Helen is a great narrator, worldly wise and a magic wielder who wants to be able to live her life with the people she loves. In some ways, it was like reading a Supernatural episode, but it's a story all its own. ( )

I don't usually much care for stories set in the early half of the 20th century, but this one really won me over by the end! ( )

This book is a fun romp: part detective mystery, part historical fantasy, all noir. When I was describing it to my partner, he said it sounded like a Doctor Who episode, and that's a perfect way to describe it. There were a few surprises here, though once I got to a certain point I had many guesses about the resolution that turned out to be correct. However, as the title says, the journey was fun Even Though I Knew The End. Highly enjoyable read. ( )

Source : I received an ARC from Tor Books .

155 pages are nothing but enough for this book! I wanted more of it!

From the first pages, we find ourselves carried away in the heat of the action where a murder has been committed and where we are looking for the culprit. It is a world of archangels, demons, angels, and gifted people. It is also a world where love comes to play an important role.

Edith is the one Helen is in love with. With her, she wants to go far away where they will not be judged, where they will lead a normal existence.

I liked the chaotic effect of the story, the fact of finding yourself in the middle of the race from the start, the fact of finding yourself in the world of these two young women but also in this dark world where dark forces exert their powers. I wondered many times if what I was reading was simply our reality. What if the world we know today was ultimately ruled by all of this? Archangels who lead battles to save humanity, protective angels always by our side, and demons who want their share of the cake while believing they are doing the right thing. This is the first time I read this kind of book and I was simply captivated by the author’s writing. The only thing that bothered me was the end, this selfish act that was done. Love is not supposed to be so selfish however strong it is! I only blame Helen, not the author.

I recommend this book! Many thanks to Tor Publicity for sending me this manuscript. ( )