Description

‘This book will destroy you’
– Premee Mohamed, author of The Butcher of the Forest
Daedalus of Crete is many things: the greatest architect in the world; the constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur; and the grieving father of Icarus, the boy who plunged into the sea as they flew from the grasp of the tyrannical King Minos.

Now, Daedalus seeks to reunite with Icarus in the underworld even as he revisits his own memories of Crete, hoping to understand what went so terribly wrong at the end of his son’s life. Daedalus will confront any terror to see Icarus again – whether it be the vengeful spirit of Minos, the cunning Queen Persephone or the insatiable ghost of the Minotaur.

But the truth, stalking Daedalus in the labyrinth of his own heart, might be too monstrous for him to bear . . .

Breathtaking and profound, Daedalus is Dead is the remarkable debut from Seamus Sullivan – a beautiful reimagining of the Greek myth of Daedalus.

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‘Sullivan breathes new bold life into old myths by asking one devastating question: why did Icarus do it?’ – Sunyi Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book Eaters

‘Rich and vividly imagined; as intricate, cruel and haunted as the labyrinth at its heart’ – Malcolm Devlin, author of And Then I Woke Up

Publisher Review

An accomplished and powerful story about love, obsession and the labyrinth of lies that we build around ourselves. Sullivan breathes new bold life into old myths by asking one devastating question: why did Icarus do it? — Sunyi Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book Eaters An exquisitely wrought, tenderly examined portrait of fatherhood, invention, legacy, tragedy and myth . . . this story and these characters have never felt more alive — Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings Soars far above any retelling I have read – twisty, poetic, beautiful, plumbing every depth of despair and height of joy possible in human, beast and god. This book will destroy you — Premee Mohamed, author of The Butcher of the Forest Rich and vividly imagined; as intricate, cruel and haunted as the labyrinth at its heart. Here is something ancient made thrillingly, blisteringly new — Malcolm Devlin, author of And Then I Woke Up Daedalus Is Dead is a poetic requiem written in sturdy, buoyant prose that ferries you across brilliantly reimagined Greek mythology to deliver you to the shores of a story about love and fatherhood and the endless maze of the human heart. A stunning debut; Sullivan has achieved something special here — Moses Ose Utomi, Ignyte Award-winning author of The Lies of Ajungo Daedalus Is Dead is more than a mere reimagining of Greek myth. It takes an epic, sweeping, page-turning adventure and makes it unnervingly intimate, a meditation on meaning, vulnerability, grief and longing that spans a lifetime and an afterlife . . . It’s all here, in one tightly packed novella that you might finish in one sitting — Robert Repino, author of the War with No Name series Poetic and poignant… Suffused with a striking emotional depth, building up to a gut-wrenching climax. Overall, Daedalus is Dead reads like an achingly beautiful letter from a flawed father to a vanished son . . . A short and searing book that had me in tears by the end * Locus * Sullivan gradually peels back the layers of Daedalus’s past, including several revelations that will shift readers’ views of the inventor significantly. In the crowded field of revisionist retellings, this stands out * Publishers Weekly *