The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver

This is bold, brassy, clever work. It made me feel like my childhood self again * The Scotsman *
A profound and elegaic tale * Sunyi Dean, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book Eaters *
I’ve enjoyed every sentence of this beautiful, beautiful book. If, like me, you’re interested in what comes after the war, what sins and saints it begets, this is the book you want this year * C. L. Clark, Nebula Award-nominated author of The Unbroken *
A dark fairytale of epic proportions. Torrubia casts a spell with their poetic prose and portrays a strange, magical world full of complex and compelling characters * J.T. Greathouse, British Fantasy Award-nominated author of The Tower of the Tyrant *
Rafael Torrubia pulls you along a dark, surreal, and hauntingly lovely dream over the high seas in this powerful debut fantasy. With prose that’s lilting, seductive, and smooth, a story that pulls at your heartstrings like canvas and rope, and a magic as deep and sorrowful as it is fantastic and forbidden, The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver is a gothic love letter to high seas, deep love, and the epic stakes of a world at risk. The spirit of Poe infused with Samantha Shannon, and perfect for fans of both! * R.R. Virdi, USA Today-bestselling author of The First Binding *
The most beautiful book I have read in a very long time. Dark, gothic, visceral and incredibly hard-hitting. Rafael Torrubia’s prose is stunning and they have managed to render gripping characters in a tortured world that will stay with me for quite some time. A delight from the first page to the last * Rogba Payne, author of The Dance of Shadows *
Rafael Torrubia is a generational talent * Hardy’s Books *
The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver is richly immersive epic fantasy … The world on the high seas presented in this story is reminiscent of that in R.J. Barker’s The Tide Child trilogy, in that we have a world torn apart, and its would-be saviours travelling the seas, and wielding dark magics, to try to bring back balance … This is one for those of us who like fantasy worlds in which to linger and escape * The British Fantasy Society *
Rafael Torrubia turns the fantasy genre into a set of framed and intimate conversation poems. These brutal, yet loving conversations between a series of feuding humanised gods, take place among the embers of relationships; the scorched ruins of histories built upon love and desire and fraying egos. These mythopoetic temperaments are framed by vivid lyrical landscapes which offer readers hints of a visual and literary hinterland through which we can move and shape our responses as in the recognisable form of a ballad - knowing already some of what we hear and see - familiar rhythms in a fantastical world * Sally Bayley, author of Girl With Dove *

Rafael Torrubia grew up between Spain and Scotland. They have won several writing awards, including National Gallery of Scotland Writer of the Year, the Deirdre Roberts Prize and multiple shortlistings for the Bridport Prize. Previously, they taught protest history at the University of St Andrews and in Harlem, NYC. Like all recovering historians, they have worked in wine, whisky and the National Museum of Scotland. Rafael is currently Lead Reader with the Open Book charity, delivering writing workshops across Scotland. When not writing, they can be found enjoying a whisky, a muddy allotment or a dark river somewhere in Perthshire.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.