Between Princesses and Other Jobs

Itinerant bard Indrajit and priest-turned-fighter Fix return (after 2020’s In the Palace of Shadow and Joy) in these nine rip-roaring stories about stalking wrongdoers across the streets of Kish, a former Imperial city that’s now down on its luck. Their two-person jobber agency, the Protagonists, mostly gets gigs that require their clear-eyed views of the diverse social customs and religious practices of “the thousand races of man.” Though Indrajit and Fix hope to prove themselves heroes, they’re more likely to chase after stolen necklaces (“No Trade for Nice Guys”), missing children (“Welcome to Kish”; “The Politics of Wizards”), or kidnapped kittens (“The Path of the Hunter”) than rescue damsels in distress. In Butler’s subversive hands, however, children and kittens turn out to be quite dangerous, upping the stakes of these vibrant fantasies. Throughout, the protagonists’ ability to maintain both a sense of honor and of humor (“You could be a financially secure poet.” “I’m not sure such a thing exists.”) goes a long way toward preserving the lives of those around them, as well as the attention of the reader. Butler’s gleeful approach to fantasy tropes makes this a winner. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (July)