Release Date: 12th May 2022
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 368
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Christophor Morden lives in a world where everybody changes with the rising and setting of the sun. For every person contains two distinct identities – a day brother and a night brother. One never sees the light, the other nothing of night.

One evening Christophor, one of the king’s special unit of witch hunters, is woken early by a call to the city prison. A young woman has torn her own eyes out, and the police suspect supernatural causes. The investigation takes Christophor far from home, to a village on the edge of the kingdom.

There he will find his witch – and his night brother will find himself desperate to save her. And as this battle of the self rages, the witch’s ancient and apocalyptic ritual comes ever closer to completion…

Review

Equinox is an intriguing book that lured me in for a number of reasons. Firstly it has an absolutely stunning cover and second it’s a fantasy standalone – something I definitely don’t read enough of. The story also has such a fascinating concept that I couldn’t resist diving straight into it.

Equinox tells the story of Christophor Morden. Christophor lives in a world where everyone has two identities – one for the day and one for the night. One only ever sees the darkness and the other the day. Christophor is a member of the king’s special unit, whereas his day brother Alexsander is a musician. When Christophor is called to the city prison to witness a prisoner who has torn out their eyes. The cause is thought to be supernatural in origin, sending Christophor and his day brother on a quest to find the witch responsible.

Equniox is such a unique story – it felt like such a fresh take on the fantasy story. It felt wholly original and unlike anything I’ve read before. It was so fascinating to see these two characters who lead completely different lives and have completely different personalities inhabit one body. I really liked Christophor as the main protagonist and felt the story was well-paced. It did take me a little while to get into the story but after the first quarter of the book, I was completely invested in the story.

Towsey does a really brilliant job of creating that tense atmosphere, particularly as the mystery begins to unfold. The magic in this story is pretty dark and it was probably the thing that intrigued me most about this book. There are some moments that are on the creepy/gory side and Towsey doesn’t shy away from scenes that send a shiver down your spine. Equinox is a brilliantly told dark fantasy story that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re looking for some dark, gripping fantasy this should definitely be on your reading list. Whilst this is my first book from David Towsey, I cannot wait to read more from this author!