THE COURT OF MIRACLES / AUTHOR: KESTER GRANT / PUBLISHER: HARPERVOYAGER / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 4TH
Kester Grant’s The Court of Miracles is both an alt-history story and a retelling of Les Miserables. Set in a version of 19th century France whose revolution was quashed, Paris is divided between the wealthy elite, the starving poor and the titular Court – a union of the city’s criminals, bound by strict codes of honour. But a cruel tyrant is corrupting the Court, and only a young thief can stop him.
Grant’s tale owes as much to the likes of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows as it does to Victor Hugo’s magnum opus (though it does take its title from another one of his novels, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), so whether you’re a fan of the tragedy of Jean Valjean or not, there’s much to enjoy from this dark, thrilling tale of what goes on in a fantastical Parisian underworld.
The world-building is a particular highlight, with the reader discovering the various guilds of the Court, its laws and its secret past as the novel progresses. The city itself could have had a stronger presence and felt like a character in itself, considering it’s all about the battle for the fate of Paris, but there’s always room for this to be improved in the follow-ups.
If you come for the world-building and Les Mis connections, stay for the heroine – the highly capable, cunning Nina. A very loose adaptation of Hugo’s Eponine Thenardier, this Nina is far from the lovelorn girl who sings about how Eddie Redmayne doesn’t fancy her. She’s fiery, determined and her motivation – to save her sister from the villain’s clutches – is clear from the off.
Though the references to Les Mis peppered throughout are fun to spot, The Court of Miracles is largely standalone. There are things to embellish and avoid in the sequels – Nina’s storyline could veer into “oh, which boy do I choose?” territory if handled poorly – but, overall, Grant delivers a promising first instalment of a planned trilogy.
