Kingdom for a Stage

Caught in a war between the rebels and the invading colonizers, Jetta must make an impossible choice—save her people, or protect her sanity. The second book in Heidi Heilig’s acclaimed Shadow Players trilogy blends traditional storytelling with ephemera for a lush, page-turning tale of escape and rebellion that will captivate fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tomi Adeyemi. NPR said that Heidi Heilig “comes up with the kind of clever premises that make other writers wring their hands in envy.”

Held captive in Hell's Court—now the workshop of Theodora, the army engineer and future queen of Chakrana—Jetta knows she needs to escape. But Theodora has the most tempting bait, a daily dose of a medication that treats Jetta’s madness.

In exchange, Jetta must use her power over dead spirits to trap their souls into the army’s devastating weapons. Yet Jetta fears the more she uses her powers, the more she will be like Le Trépas, her biological father and the necromancer who once terrorized the entire country. Especially now that Jetta has brought her brother, Akra, back from the dead. And the rebels are eager to use Jetta’s magic, too. Soon she will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose.

Acclaimed author Heidi Heilig creates a rich world inspired by Southeast Asian cultures and French colonialism. Her characters are equally complex and nuanced, including a bipolar heroine and biracial love interest. Told from Jetta’s first-person point-of-view, as well as chapters written as play scripts, and ephemera such as songs, maps, and letters, A Kingdom for a Stage is a vivid, fast-paced journey that Paste magazine called a “gorgeously crafted world of magic, betrayal and political upheaval.” It will thrill fans of Stephanie Garber, Renée Ahdieh, and Sabaa Tahir.