Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead

• Author: KJ Parker
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: January 27, 2026 
• Publisher: Orbit
• Series: The Loyal Opposition #1

Thank you to Orbit for sending me ARCs of this book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

FROM WORLD FANTASY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR KJ PARKER COMES A DEVILISHLY CLEVER TALE OF MURDER, INTRIGUE, AND EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

Not even the church of the Invincible Sun is invincible—and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both first-rate practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).

To get to her, they must attend the legendary ecumenical council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush.

To complicate matters further, it appears that some people who were definitely grim reapered might not be quite dead after all. What began as a little assassination is about the escalate into a theological debate with terrifying consequences for everyone.

I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the summary of this story. It was one of those books that could have gone either way, and I’m pleased to announce that this was my favorite book of the month so far. I really enjoyed the unique and creative storyline, and there were a lot of great things about the book.

To start with, the plot. It’s compelling and complex, and at times it was confusing to read this as an audiobook. Instead, checking out the hard copy helped to clarify things for me. There is a lot of high-level discussion about religion and the politics of the church, and it can get a little bogged down and hard to follow at times when really delving into these ideas. Although the pace was a bit uneven, I really enjoyed the way the story was told and all the twists and turns.

The main character is Brother Desiderius, an atheist monk who works at creating illuminated manuscripts. It’s set in a world adjacent to our own Dark Ages, and the church of the Invincible Sun is strongly reminiscent of the Catholic Church at the time, where society is centered around the church. I was surprised that he was the POV character, since the book title specifically mentions Sister Svangerd. However, Svangerd and Desiderius work as a team—he’s the brawn, while Svangerd is practically feral when she’s fighting. While readers are given no shortage of insight into Desiderius’s thoughts and emotions, the character of Sister Svangerd felt a little bit underdeveloped in comparison. Readers don’t get to learn nearly as much about Svangerd, and I found myself wanting to know her better. The two of them have such a great dynamic, and I’m hoping that her character is more rounded out in the next book.

Parker has a fantastic ability to build a fantasy world that is close enough to our own past to recognize, but has some important differences that make it unique and creative. There’s a great sense of dry British humor that runs through the story and it had me chuckling many times during my read. But there’s also a big chunk of the story that focuses on church politics and theological discussions, and it kept me intrigued throughout the read. I especially loved the continuity in the book, such as changing the idea of Newton’s laws and Occam’s razor to alternate names that fit in with the world. Additionally, part of the plot line involved zombie-type creatures known as Walkers, but even how that was introduced felt altogether realistic. Oliver Hembrough does a fantastic job of narrating and brought this story to vivid life.

However, I didn’t love the way that Sister Svangerd’s past was handled. Prior sex trafficking of a minor wasn’t handled very sensitively, and it also has consequences for Svangerd that don’t feel fair, although to be fair, this is all viewed through the narrow and controlling lens of the church.

Overall, this was a compelling and engrossing read with plenty of snide humor that kept me chuckling. I enjoyed both the audiobook and the print copy, switching between the two depending on what I was doing. Also depending on whether I had hands free or not, such as when driving or cooking. I couldn’t put this book down, and found myself quickly lost in the convoluted world of church politics and a society controlled by the church. It’s a witty and sarcastic look at the church and how it impacts those around it, and not always to positive ends. But I found myself so caught up in the story that I was thrilled to learn that this is only the first book in the trilogy, so I’ve got high hopes for the next two books. 

Bottom line: Engrossing and uniquely creative story with wit and humor, but doesn’t handle the idea of sex trafficking in a sensitive way.

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