Title: The Whisper of Stars

Author: Cristin Williams

Genre: Historical/Fantasy

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 6th November 2025

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

A frozen island.

A monastery turned political prison.

A cipher inked in blood.

When anarchist poet Katya Efremova is transferred to the prison colony on Solovetsky Island, she finds an enigma among her returned possessions – a blood-stained book containing a cipher left by her murdered mother, written on the day she died.

Following her mother’s clues, Katya begins to unravel a centuries-old mystery woven into the history of Solovetsky Island. Finding the island’s legendary power might be the key to overthrowing the Bolshevik regime, but Katya wasn’t sent to Solovetsky by chance. The head of the government’s spy network is watching, and there will be no hope of a free Russia if he takes hold of the magic hidden beneath the White Sea snow.

Review:

I have a long deeply-held fascination with Russian history and folklore so this alternate history/fantasy version of 1920’s Russia appealed to me immediately. The Whisper of Stars is an evocative, cryptic, brutal and darkly beautiful book which intertwines some real events and people from history with a convincing magic system and fantasy elements. It works perfectly, with intriguing characters and a setting that is viscerally evoked all the way through. I particularly loved the poetic aspect, with poems at the beginning of different sections of the book – it was such a beautiful touch that connects to the character of Katya so effectively. There is also a strong theme of puzzles, ciphers and the power of words which keeps the reader involved and immersed completely in the mystery at the heart of the book. It is immensely clear how well researched The Whisper of Stars is, it may be fantasy in certain respects but there is a lot of incredibly vivid imagery and narrative that feels so real. I would say that this is definitely more of a slow burn of a book, but it is so worth taking the time to enjoy the way the story unfolds. Without giving anything away, I will also just say that I thought the ending was particularly well done and left me thinking about it for quite a while. Overall, The Whisper of Stars is a richly atmospheric and captivating blend of magic, history and mystery which I would definitely recommend. 

★★★★ 

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers and the publisher for my place on this tour and for the copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

Buy the book:

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