Hell Bent

“The best fantasy novel I’ve read in years, because it’s about real people. Bardugo’s imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story―full of shocks and twists―is impossible to put down.” – Stephen King on Ninth House

Alex Stern returns in another tale of murder and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of hell―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale. But Alex is playing with forces far beyond her control, and when faculty members begin to die off, she knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if Alex is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Praise for Ninth House, Book 1 in the Series:

“One of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in years. This book is brilliant, funny, raw, and utterly magnificent – it’s a portal to a world you’ll never want to leave.” – Lev Grossman, bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy

“Ninth House is the best thing I’ve read in a long time.” – Kelly Link, author of Magic for Beginners and Get in Trouble

“Mesmerizing… Bardugo’s New Haven is plausible and frightening, and I was one rapt reader.” – Charlaine Harris, bestselling author of the True Blood series

Buy Now – United States

Buy Now – International

Praise for the Series

Starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and BookPage.

One of the Best New Books of 2019 of Cosmopolitan

One of the Reviewer’s Choice: Best Books of 2019 of Tor

One of the Best Books I Read in 2019 by Constance Grady of Vox

One of the Best Books of 2019 by Book Riot

One of the 25 Best Books of 2019 by Parade Magazine

One of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2019 by Kobo

One of LA Public Library‘s Favorite Titles of 2019

One of Lithub‘s Favorite Books of 2019

One of NPR‘s Favorite Books of 2019

One the Nineteen Best Novels of 2019 by Paste Magazine

One of NYPL’s Best Books of 2019

One of Time’s Must-Read Books of 2019

Wins the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy of 2019

Recommended by Stephen King on EW

“Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House rocked my world. I could not get enough of sinewy, ghost-haunted Alex Stern, a heroine for the ages. With a bruised heart and bleeding knuckles, she risks death and damnation ― again and again ― for the people she cares about. I was cheering her on the whole way: from the first brilliant sentence of this book to the last. More, please, Ms. Bardugo.” – Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2

With an aura of both enchantment and authenticity, Bardugo’s compulsively readable novel leaves a portal ajar for equally dazzling sequels.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Atmospheric…Part mystery, part story of a young woman finding purpose in a dark world.” – Booklist (starred review)

“Genuinely terrific…The worldbuilding is rock solid, the plot is propulsive, and readers will be clamoring for a sequel as soon as they read the last page.” – Library Journal (starred review)

“Excellent…Bardugo gives [her protagonist] a thoroughly engaging mix of rough edge, courage and cynicism.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Instantly gripping…Creepy and thrilling…The world of this book is so consistent and enveloping that pages seem to rush by.” – BookPage (starred review)

“Simultaneously elegant and grotesque, eerie and earthbound…Wry, uncanny, original and, above all, an engrossing, unnerving thriller.” – The Washington Post

“Ninth House is a lot of things. Its emotional superstructure is a fish-out-of-water story … And Bardugo lives believably in this first skin, this initial level of ugly duckling strangeness that is familiar to anyone who has ever gone anywhere or done anything new.” – NPR