A deeply dark academia novel from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and The Atlas Six who are hungry for something a little more diabolical.

The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.

Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.

But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone.

Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?

Also by Cassandra Khaw:

The Salt Grows Heavy

Nothing But Blackened Teeth

A Song for Quiet

Hammers on Bone

The Dead Take the A Train (co-written with Richard Kadrey)

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.



Praise for this book

“As rich and gruesome as a fresh-plucked heart, as sharp as a broken bone, The Library at Hellebore is a perfect horror novel by one of my favorite writers. It's a book that draws a line between the monsters and the monstrous, and reminds us who to root for—and what it costs.”

—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author

“A succulent, gory, ambrosial fever dream of a tale with prose as luscious as an overripe peach and characters as hard and twisted yet hopeful as the juice-drenched pit torn out with greedy fingers.”

—Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author

“Frighteningly good! The Library at Hellebore reminds us that revenge is a dish best served cold, alongside a pound of quivering flesh for good measure.”

—P. Djéli Clark, author of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins



Praise for Cassandra Khaw:

The Salt Grows Heavy

A Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award finalist! • A Best Horror Book of 2023 (The New York Times, Library Journal) • A Best Book of 2023 (NPR) • An Indie Next Pick

“Khaw’s poetic prose and stylish approach to gore make it a blood-soaked, unforgettable gem.”

—The New York Times

“Devastatingly effective…a folklore-infused world that feels wholly unique. Expertly blending a gothic atmosphere with elements of splatterpunk, this brilliant novella is not to be missed.”

—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

“With this brilliantly constructed tale that consciously takes on a well-known story and violently breaks it open to reveal a heartfelt core, Khaw cements their status as a must-read author.”

—Library Journal, STARRED review

“A feverishly gory, grotesquely beautiful and baroque fairy-tale-meets-love-sonnet. Cassandra Khaw’s imagination is limitless.”

—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie

“The Salt Grows Heavy will hit you in your heart and in your gut at the same time, while never losing its grip on the gorgeous prose that makes Khaw’s work so spellbinding. It’s another riveting success from one of horror’s finest storytellers.”

—Paste Magazine

“The bones of a fairy tale sunk deep in a charnel house of descriptive prose, an elegant confection with a blood-soaked core.”

—T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of What Moves the Dead

“[B]eautiful in its darkness; much like the mermaids of lore — before they were transformed into manatee-sweet, soft-haired sirens — it has teeth. Readers in the mood to savor a silver-tongued little nightmare will sink happily into its depths.”

—NPR

“Khaw has cemented their status as horror royalty, once and for all, with The Salt Grows Heavy….a grotesquely perfect feast.”

—Locus



Nothing But Blackened Teeth

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Award Finalist! • An Indie Next Pick!• A LibraryReads Pick

“Brutally delicious!”

—N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The City We Became

“It is beautiful and it is brutal and it is heartbroken. Absolutely recommended.”

—Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway

“Sharp, playful, and nasty as hell.”

—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie

“Khaw’s prose oozes dread.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Khaw's got a sterling premise, enduring lore, and the fresh talent to voice it.”

—Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

“Reading Khaw is akin to watching a nightmare ballet, full of beauty and elegance, pain and fragility, and breathless terror.”

—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Red Hands

“It’s got a smile so wicked you might just have to grin along with it. I know I did.”

—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw




About the AuthorCASSANDRA KHAW is the USA Today bestselling and Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth, The Salt Grows Heavy, Breakable Things, and coauthor of The Dead Take the A Train with Richard Kadrey. They are an award-winning game writer.
Title: The Library at Hellebore
Author(s): Cassandra Khaw
ISBN: 9781250877826
Copyright 2025
Release Date: July 22, 2025
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: None available | Learn More about our supported formats
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