Even Though I Knew the End

A USA Today Bestseller!

Winner of the Nebula Award!

A World Fantasy Award Finalist!

A Locus Award Finalist!

An Ignyte Award Finalist!

A New York Times Best Romance!

An NPR Best Speculative Fiction Book!

“Eerie, sharp, and fiercely bittersweet.” –The New York Times

“Noir and fantasy often seem to go together, but those two elements seldom uplift each other quite as well as they do in Even Though I Knew the End” –The Washington Post

“Bracing as a slug of bourbon, with a twist of pain on the drop–or is that hope? Polk’s back with a cold-eyed winner.” –Max Gladstone, New York Times bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War

“Stylish supernatural noir with a heart and a thrumming pulse. I devoured it.” –Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author

“This is a must-read for those who like their queer fantasy with a little grit and a lot of soul (pun intended).” –Booklist, starred review

“Even Though I Knew the End rockets along from the very first page, with the details of author C.L. Polk’s alternate Chicago revealing themselves exactly when required.” –BookPage, starred review

“Powerful, emotional, stylish and smart, Polk proves themself yet again to be a talent not to be ignored.” –Locus

“Even Though I Knew the End is Polk at the height of their considerable powers: romance, enchantment, tragedy, and courage to the bitter end.” –Elizabeth Bear

“Readers who fell into recent Jazz Age urban fantasies…will love Polk’s latest.” –Library Journal, starred review

“C.L. Polk twists the hardboiled detective subgenre into something new and fresh and enticingly queer. …[Even Though I Knew the End is] a thrilling, charming novella.” –Reactor

“Vivid and charming with a touch of noir edge, but way more heart.” –Rebecca Roanhorse

“A layered exploration of love and power with genuine emotional stakes and a soaring, perfectly bittersweet payoff. It’s another winner.” –Publishers Weekly

C. L. Polk (they/them) wrote the Kingston Cycle, beginning with the WFA winning novel Witchmark. Their standalone novel, The Midnight Bargain, was a Canada Reads, Nebula, Locus, Ignyte, and World Fantasy Award finalist. They have been a film extra, a costermonger, and identified lepidoptera before settling down to write fantasy novels. Mx. Polk lives in the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, and the Métis Nation (Region 3).

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