“Daryl Gregory’s fecund imagination conjures up another winner in this intoxicating brew of delicious mayhem!” —Lavie Tidhar, author of The Three Coffin Problem
A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses.
ISBN: Print: 978-1-61696-471-9; Digital formats: 978-1-61696-472-6
Published: 10/27/2026
Available Format(s): trade paperback, digital
A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses. In his newest adventure, World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award-winner Daryl Gregory (We Are All Completely Fine) delivers a dizzying, darkly funny, and surprisingly poignant romp through the horrors of sisterhood.
Ruth Winslow is trying to save up enough money to finish college while looking after her sister, Isabel—who happens to be a haunted doll. When an accident severely damages Isabel’s porcelain body, the sisters have to find the only woman who can fix her, the fearsome witch known as La Fabricante: the Dollmaker.
The sisters head to Marseille, where they take on Le Clan: Chiffon, a red-headed, unkillable assassin; a collection of angry, haunted dolls; plus a pair of demons—one a cigarette-smoking crow, the other a black cat—and their human familiars.
Along the way, the sisters learn that they’ve been lied to their entire lives. Their mother wasn’t just a homemaker who died in a car accident, she was a legendary enforcer in the Le Clan des Sorcières.
While Ruth has to come out of her shell and deal with her own latent powers, Isabel has to grow up in a body that can’t grow. Together they’ll have to outwit and outfight everyone to claim their birthright.
“Daryl Gregory delivers the best of storytelling—the high suspense of thrillers, the laugh-out-loud moments and wild swings of comedy, the chills and bloody shocks of horror, and the poignancy and nuance of family dramas. The Porcelain Sisters will grip you from the first page and stay with you long after the brilliant finale.”
—Stephanie Feldman, author of Saturnalia
“Daryl Gregory’s fecund imagination conjures up another winner out of porcelain, dark magic and twisted humor, with creepy dolls, gory assassins, secret societies and one cigarette-smoking crow in this intoxicating brew of delicious mayhem!”
—Lavie Tidhar, author of The Three Coffin Problem
“The Porcelain Sisters is fun, wicked, smart, Weird (capital is purposeful), and oddly but genuinely emotional….everything I’ve come to expect from Daryl Gregory, who should be one of your favorite writers, too.”
—Paul Tremblay, author of Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep
“While this is horror, it is also quite funny. I love Gregory’s sense of humor.”
—The Neverending TBR
Daryl Gregory is an award-winning writer of genre-mixing novels and stories. His previous work published by Tachyon was the novella We Are All Completely Fine, which won the World Fantasy and the Shirley Jackson awards, and was a finalist for the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Locus awards. His other work has been nominated for those awards, as well as the Hugo, Edgar, Dragon, and other awards, and has been translated into a dozen languages.
His latest novel is When We Were Real (Saga Press / Simon & Schuster), a Kirkus book of the year. Other recent work includes the Appalachian horror novel Revelator, a Washington post book of the year and Dragon award finalist, and the novella The Album of Dr. Moreau, an Edgar award finalist. His novel Spoonbenders was a Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist.
The SF novel Afterparty was an NPR and Kirkus Best Fiction book of the year, and a finalist for the Campbell and the Lambda Literary awards. His first novel, Pandemonium, won the Crawford award and was a finalist for the World Fantasy award. His other novels are YA horror novel Harrison Squared, The Devil’s Alphabet (a Philip K. Dick award finalist) and Raising Stony Mayhall (a Library Journal best SF book of the year).
His short stories have been nominated for the Hugo and other awards. Many of them are collected in Unpossible and Other Stories, which was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. He wrote the choose-you-own-adventure -style video game Flatline for 3 Minute Games. His comics work includes the Legenderry: Green Hornet, ThePlanet of the Apes, Dracula: The Company of Monsters (co-written with Kurt Busiek), and the graphic novel The Secret Battles of Genghis Khan. He also teaches writing and is a regular instructor at the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop. He lives in Seattle.
The doll was sitting on the kitchen chair. Its face was turned toward him. Its eyes were open now. Bright green.
He said, “Did you . . . ?”
The girl sat up straight. “What?”
“Nothing.” He kissed her neck some, trying to concentrate. Then he looked again and the chair was empty.
“What the fuck?” He pushed the girl off his lap. “Where did it go?” He couldn’t see the doll anywhere.
“God damn it,” the girl said.
“It was right here!” the boy said.
“You unlocked the case,” she said under her breath. Then she took his hand. “Don’t pay attention to her.”
“Who? The doll?”
“Come on. Sit.”
He looked down at her. He was naked and the girl was asking him to stay. He’d never walked away from a situation like that.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said. “Just keep your eyes on me and don’t—”
The front door burst open. A blast of cold air hit the room.
“Get out,” a voice said.
He spun around. The porcelain doll was standing in the middle of the room, staring at him.
“Jesus Christ!” the boy yelled.
“Wrong,” the doll said. Her voice seemed to drill through his chest. “My name is Isabel. And I’m going to kill you.”
Both lamps exploded. Sparks blinded him. He lunged for the door and then he was outside, in the cold. The concrete stung his feet.
The highway, he thought. I have to get to the highway.
From the shadows, a sound. Plink.
The boy began to run across the parking lot. The snow was brittle under his feet and the wind was sharp, but he didn’t feel the cold. Not yet.
Behind him, the girl screamed, “Damn it, Isabel!” The boy was surprised she was capable of that volume. “I can’t even bring home one fucking guy?!”
The Porcelain Sisters
Daryl Gregory
“Daryl Gregory’s fecund imagination conjures up another winner in this intoxicating brew of delicious mayhem!”
—Lavie Tidhar, author of The Three Coffin Problem
A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses.
The Porcelain Sisters
by Daryl Gregory
ISBN: Print: 978-1-61696-471-9; Digital formats: 978-1-61696-472-6
Published: 10/27/2026
Available Format(s): trade paperback, digital
A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses. In his newest adventure, World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award-winner Daryl Gregory (We Are All Completely Fine) delivers a dizzying, darkly funny, and surprisingly poignant romp through the horrors of sisterhood.
Ruth Winslow is trying to save up enough money to finish college while looking after her sister, Isabel—who happens to be a haunted doll. When an accident severely damages Isabel’s porcelain body, the sisters have to find the only woman who can fix her, the fearsome witch known as La Fabricante: the Dollmaker.
The sisters head to Marseille, where they take on Le Clan: Chiffon, a red-headed, unkillable assassin; a collection of angry, haunted dolls; plus a pair of demons—one a cigarette-smoking crow, the other a black cat—and their human familiars.
Along the way, the sisters learn that they’ve been lied to their entire lives. Their mother wasn’t just a homemaker who died in a car accident, she was a legendary enforcer in the Le Clan des Sorcières.
While Ruth has to come out of her shell and deal with her own latent powers, Isabel has to grow up in a body that can’t grow. Together they’ll have to outwit and outfight everyone to claim their birthright.
“Daryl Gregory delivers the best of storytelling—the high suspense of thrillers, the laugh-out-loud moments and wild swings of comedy, the chills and bloody shocks of horror, and the poignancy and nuance of family dramas. The Porcelain Sisters will grip you from the first page and stay with you long after the brilliant finale.”
—Stephanie Feldman, author of Saturnalia
“Daryl Gregory’s fecund imagination conjures up another winner out of porcelain, dark magic and twisted humor, with creepy dolls, gory assassins, secret societies and one cigarette-smoking crow in this intoxicating brew of delicious mayhem!”
—Lavie Tidhar, author of The Three Coffin Problem
“The Porcelain Sisters is fun, wicked, smart, Weird (capital is purposeful), and oddly but genuinely emotional….everything I’ve come to expect from Daryl Gregory, who should be one of your favorite writers, too.”
—Paul Tremblay, author of Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep
“While this is horror, it is also quite funny. I love Gregory’s sense of humor.”
—The Neverending TBR
Daryl Gregory is an award-winning writer of genre-mixing novels and stories. His previous work published by Tachyon was the novella We Are All Completely Fine, which won the World Fantasy and the Shirley Jackson awards, and was a finalist for the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Locus awards. His other work has been nominated for those awards, as well as the Hugo, Edgar, Dragon, and other awards, and has been translated into a dozen languages.
His latest novel is When We Were Real (Saga Press / Simon & Schuster), a Kirkus book of the year. Other recent work includes the Appalachian horror novel Revelator, a Washington post book of the year and Dragon award finalist, and the novella The Album of Dr. Moreau, an Edgar award finalist. His novel Spoonbenders was a Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist.
The SF novel Afterparty was an NPR and Kirkus Best Fiction book of the year, and a finalist for the Campbell and the Lambda Literary awards. His first novel, Pandemonium, won the Crawford award and was a finalist for the World Fantasy award. His other novels are YA horror novel Harrison Squared, The Devil’s Alphabet (a Philip K. Dick award finalist) and Raising Stony Mayhall (a Library Journal best SF book of the year).
His short stories have been nominated for the Hugo and other awards. Many of them are collected in Unpossible and Other Stories, which was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. He wrote the choose-you-own-adventure -style video game Flatline for 3 Minute Games. His comics work includes the Legenderry: Green Hornet, The Planet of the Apes, Dracula: The Company of Monsters (co-written with Kurt Busiek), and the graphic novel The Secret Battles of Genghis Khan. He also teaches writing and is a regular instructor at the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop. He lives in Seattle.
The doll was sitting on the kitchen chair. Its face was turned toward him. Its eyes were open now. Bright green.
He said, “Did you . . . ?”
The girl sat up straight. “What?”
“Nothing.” He kissed her neck some, trying to concentrate. Then he looked again and the chair was empty.
“What the fuck?” He pushed the girl off his lap. “Where did it go?” He couldn’t see the doll anywhere.
“God damn it,” the girl said.
“It was right here!” the boy said.
“You unlocked the case,” she said under her breath. Then she took his hand. “Don’t pay attention to her.”
“Who? The doll?”
“Come on. Sit.”
He looked down at her. He was naked and the girl was asking him to stay. He’d never walked away from a situation like that.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said. “Just keep your eyes on me and don’t—”
The front door burst open. A blast of cold air hit the room.
“Get out,” a voice said.
He spun around. The porcelain doll was standing in the middle of the room, staring at him.
“Jesus Christ!” the boy yelled.
“Wrong,” the doll said. Her voice seemed to drill through his chest. “My name is Isabel. And I’m going to kill you.”
Both lamps exploded. Sparks blinded him. He lunged for the door and then he was outside, in the cold. The concrete stung his feet.
The highway, he thought. I have to get to the highway.
From the shadows, a sound. Plink.
The boy began to run across the parking lot. The snow was brittle under his feet and the wind was sharp, but he didn’t feel the cold. Not yet.
Behind him, the girl screamed, “Damn it, Isabel!” The boy was surprised she was capable of that volume. “I can’t even bring home one fucking guy?!”