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The story of four women who set out to uncover the secret origins of an intricate, magical city—and to change its fate.
“Jill Hammer’s first fantasy novel offers beautifully detailed worldbuilding and, like Le Guin’s work, is underpinned by themes of gender, sexuality, prejudice, and politics.” —Zoe L. Tongue, Ancillary Review of Books
Istehar Sha'an, whose unique powers allow her to communicate with trees and books, has led her community of refugee forest people to a remarkable place. In the archipelago-city of Moonstone, the Sha'an people find themselves in an extraordinary, multicultural metropolis that houses the Library: the world's all-encompassing repository of wisdom.
But in their search for a new home, the refugees soon garner the suspicion of Moonstone's locals, who forbid their magical practices. And when a hostile prince makes a bid to inherit the city's rule from his father, Istehar and her people realize they may be faced with exile—or worse.
Meanwhile, Istehar has married three wives of Moonstone—a brave warrior librarian, a subtle-minded former concubine, and a tenacious apothecary who has spent years trying to solve her parents' murder. Driven by magical intuition and guided by a mysterious book, Istehar and her wives embark on a journey that will transform not only their lives, but the city of Moonstone itself.
Readers of Ursula K. Le Guin and Guy Gavriel Kay will delight in The Moonstone Covenant's richly imagined world of mysterious archives, bookboats, and divinations—and its tales of both betrayal and healing.
In lyrical and beautiful language, Jill Hammer lays bare the prejudices of an island landscape where the waterways are as important as highways. Through the tale of a four-way marriage, she carries us into the depths of relationships between women, the flows of feeling and passion, history and trust, treachery both imagined and real. Betrayal lies at the heart of this story, but its healing is a thread running through from the start. A genuinely engaging, enlivening, and inspiring read!"
—Manda Scott, author of Any Human Power and host of the Accidental Gods podcast
"Part murder mystery, part political thriller, part fantasy epic, The Moonstone Covenant celebrates the power and wisdom of books, the natural world, and queer love. This wondrous novel is a gift of imagination for readers everywhere."
—Jonathan Vatner, author of Carnegie Hill and The Bridesmaids' Union
"Like Tolkien and Le Guin, Jill Hammer has conjured up a richly detailed world, alive with magic, political intrigue, and a robust cast of fascinating characters. Readers of fantasy will love this book!"
—Ellen Frankel, author of The Deadly Scrolls
"In the romance-laden, mysterious fantasy novel The Moonstone Covenant, a women quartet's collective gifts alter their homeland's future."
—Foreword Reviews
"Set in an archipelago, a land of boats and bridges, Moonstone, the backdrop for Jill Hammer's debut novel, is a nation so devoted to books and knowledge, it's like a university that morphed into a city-state. As its national focus on books along might suggest, this is a kind of Jewish Narnia."
—Mildred Faintly, Jewish Women's Archive
" Jill Hammer's first fantasy novel offers beautifully detailed worldbuilding and, like Le Guin's work, is underpinned by themes of gender, sexuality, prejudice, and politics."
—Dr. Zoe L. Tongue, Ancillary Review of Books