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The first adventure in the Mirror Realm Cycle, a Spanish Inquisition-era fantasy trilogy inspired by Jewish folklore, with echoes of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden.
Toba Peres can speak, but not shout; sleep, but not dream. She can write with both hands at once, in different languages, but she keeps her talents hidden at her grandparents’ behest.
Naftaly Cresques sees things that aren’t real, and dreams things that are. Always the family disappointment, Naftaly would still risk his life to honor his father’s last wishes.
After the Queen demands every Jew convert or face banishment, Toba and Naftaly are among thousands of Jews who flee their homes. Defying royal orders to abandon all possessions, Toba keeps an amulet she must never take off; Naftaly smuggles a centuries-old book he’s forbidden to read. But the Inquisition is hunting these particular treasures–and they’re not hunting alone.
Toba stumbles through a pomegranate grove into the mirror realm of the Mazik: mythical, terrible immortals with an Inquisition of their own, equally cruel and even more powerful. With the Mazik kingdoms in political turmoil, this Inquisition readies its bid to control both realms.
In each world, Toba and Naftaly must evade both Inquisitions long enough to unravel the connection between their family heirlooms and the realm of the Mazik. Their fates are tied to this strange place, and it’s up to them to save it.
Brimming with folkloric wonder, The Pomegranate Gate weaves history and magic into a spellbindingly intricate tale suffused with humor and heart.
Genre: Fantasy
Toba Peres can speak, but not shout; sleep, but not dream. She can write with both hands at once, in different languages, but she keeps her talents hidden at her grandparents’ behest.
Naftaly Cresques sees things that aren’t real, and dreams things that are. Always the family disappointment, Naftaly would still risk his life to honor his father’s last wishes.
After the Queen demands every Jew convert or face banishment, Toba and Naftaly are among thousands of Jews who flee their homes. Defying royal orders to abandon all possessions, Toba keeps an amulet she must never take off; Naftaly smuggles a centuries-old book he’s forbidden to read. But the Inquisition is hunting these particular treasures–and they’re not hunting alone.
Toba stumbles through a pomegranate grove into the mirror realm of the Mazik: mythical, terrible immortals with an Inquisition of their own, equally cruel and even more powerful. With the Mazik kingdoms in political turmoil, this Inquisition readies its bid to control both realms.
In each world, Toba and Naftaly must evade both Inquisitions long enough to unravel the connection between their family heirlooms and the realm of the Mazik. Their fates are tied to this strange place, and it’s up to them to save it.
Brimming with folkloric wonder, The Pomegranate Gate weaves history and magic into a spellbindingly intricate tale suffused with humor and heart.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"The sweeping Jewish epic fantasy I've been waiting for all my life." - Rebecca Fraimow
"The Pomegranate Gate is a spellbinding work of storytelling, teeming with rich mythology and intricate mirror worlds, court politics and adventure, warmth and wit and darkness and profoundly real characters who will stay with you long after you turn the last page. I loved everything about this book." - H G Parry
"Wow, I loved it. It's mythic and human, breathtaking and special. I want to read everything Ariel Kaplan does. You'll break the rules and eat the fruit just so you can stay in this magical world for a little while longer." - C L Polk
"An amazing, exciting book, full of Jewish lore, history, and enchantment!" - Veronica Schanoes
"The Pomegranate Gate is an unforgettable journey to a world lush with magic and imagination. Every page is unearthly and delightful in equal measure - I couldn't put it down." - Natasha Siegel
"Captivating. A humane, and sometimes harrowing, mythohistory that unfolds effortlessly into convincing dream logic. Kaplan's attention to the laws, consequences, and loopholes of magic can only be described as Talmudic." - Elijah Kinch Spector
"The Pomegranate Gate is a spellbinding work of storytelling, teeming with rich mythology and intricate mirror worlds, court politics and adventure, warmth and wit and darkness and profoundly real characters who will stay with you long after you turn the last page. I loved everything about this book." - H G Parry
"Wow, I loved it. It's mythic and human, breathtaking and special. I want to read everything Ariel Kaplan does. You'll break the rules and eat the fruit just so you can stay in this magical world for a little while longer." - C L Polk
"An amazing, exciting book, full of Jewish lore, history, and enchantment!" - Veronica Schanoes
"The Pomegranate Gate is an unforgettable journey to a world lush with magic and imagination. Every page is unearthly and delightful in equal measure - I couldn't put it down." - Natasha Siegel
"Captivating. A humane, and sometimes harrowing, mythohistory that unfolds effortlessly into convincing dream logic. Kaplan's attention to the laws, consequences, and loopholes of magic can only be described as Talmudic." - Elijah Kinch Spector
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