Black as Diamond

A cursed warrior. A reckless healer. A chance to save the world--or condemn it.

Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting the remnants of a long-dead enemy. When his brother's squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal--and unbreakable--curse that could wipe out his people.

When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, an emotionally tortured former healer playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, keeper of the eresh keyel's history who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru's curse. But the truths they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.

From Nigerian Canadian author U. M. Agoawike, Black as Diamond is a fresh, dark, and thrilling debut that untangles questions of queer identity, history, and power, illuminating a society crushed by the lingering actions of a few.

U. M. Agoawike is a Nigerian Canadian author from Calgary with a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. The spark for their love of reading--and eventually writing--was born in their first-grade class, where they preferred devouring their teacher's corner bookshelves over the mortifying ordeal of being known. When not conjuring speculative new worlds, they dubiously enjoy stressing over lines of code and geeking out over fictional characters with their best friend.