Twenty pages into Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland, I couldn’t contain myself. “Vampires and magic school?” I said aloud to my empty apartment. “Whoa.”
It’s bold to combine two of the most formerly popular tropes in young adult literature in the 21st century, each one shadowed by a bestselling yet problematic progenitor. Strickland admits as much in their afterword: “I missed the vampire boat, which came and sank as a trend before my writing career started.”
And still, they took the risk—and we are lucky for it. The resulting tale of fanged immortals-in-training is riveting, a darkly romantic thriller elevated by terrific supporting characters and lush world lore.
Court of the Undying Seasons is the gripping story of Fin, a teenaged orphan who grows up with a powerful hatred for the vampires that took away her mother long ago. When the land’s reigning vampires return to her human village, Fin now faces the same ritual that stole her mother: the Finding, in which one human youth is randomly selected and given the chance to become a member of the undead. To save her only friend from what she considers a horrific fate, Fin makes sure she draws the damning lot. This self-sacrifice doesn’t work out as she hopes, but it does send our heroine on a path to Courtsheart, the citadel of the vampires.
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Court of the Undying Seasons
Though they might draw new fledglings from mortal ranks, from the beginning Fin is confronted by the vampires’ disdain for human life. Her very journey towards her new life is disrupted by the “playful” attack of a flock of flying monsters who turn out to be shapeshifted Blue Court vampires. One of them casually kills a human foundling and nearly takes Fin’s life too. Black Court vampire Gavron appears and saves her, though he acts more to spite his Blue Court ex-lover Kashire than out of compassion.
Yet Gavron’s rescue of Fin involves giving her his blood, thus creating an early connection between the two strangers. At the vampire council’s choosing of Foundlings, irreverent troublemaker Kashire manipulates Gavron into agreeing to be Fin’s vampire “maker”—cementing a political, physical, and emotional bond that neither of them want. In fact, what Fin wants is to take advantage of her unavoidable fate to tear down Courtsheart from the inside. Her vision narrows to a single goal: to get revenge on behalf of all the humans that have been enthralled, fed on, or murdered by Fin’s vampire kin.
Though Fin never loses sight of her vengeful plan, she throws herself into learning to survive, which means learning to become the best vampire she can. She becomes friends with the forceful and charismatic Marai, and earns respect from some of her vampiric teachers and animosity from others. Most of all, Fin struggles with her compulsion towards Gavron, a deep pull he seems to share despite his attempts to keep his distance.
When a spate of ritual murders begins, unlike anything Courtsheart has ever seen, the fragile equilibrium Fin has achieved is shattered. She launches herself into a race to find the murderer and protect her fellow foundlings, all the while attempting to avoid the fate that awaits those who fail their vampire training: becoming an enthralled servant for the rest of her life.
I couldn’t put Court of the Undying Seasons down. Fin is charmingly frustrating as a brave, oblivious, impetuous, and ambitious young person figuring out her principles and her future. Her romance with Gavron is a slow burn with genuinely surprising twists, and the intricate plotting behind the murder mystery makes for a page-turning read. Characters like the devilish Kashire, inscrutable Jaen, and feral Claudia sparkle, fully imbued with their own mysterious histories and agendas.
Part of my joy in the novel was due to the queer world Strickland has created. Queerness is not taboo in this vampiric society, and gender-non-conforming characters abound, including Fin herself. I loved reading a book that didn’t comment on queer relationships but simply let them exist, free of heteronormative angst. That said, I do want to note that the book’s sense of gender aligns with secondary sexual characteristics. The one character that uses they/them pronouns is androgynous with “no telltale signs of being male or female,” while another shapeshifting character uses she/her when her body appears traditionally feminine and he/him when his body appears traditionally masculine. Of course this alignment is true for many, but a reader looking for a radical or expansive approach to gender may be disappointed.
The only flat note in Court of the Undying Seasons is Marai, a phenomenal character who unfortunately echoes a little of the Black best friend figure, though the world of the novel is not as explicitly raced as our real one. [Minor spoilers ahead.] While Marai’s immediate friendship with Fin is meaningful as a reaction to finding herself alone in a strange dangerous environment, she spends a lot of her time helping Fin, who rarely returns the favor. I cheered when Marai pushes back against Fin’s savior complex and takes some space from her white friend’s occasional righteousness—but then Marai reveals her distance was in fact because she has a crush on Fin! Let me say I love Fin as a character very much, but I wish Marai’s storyline hadn’t revolved so much around Fin’s needs and goals.
However, this is a minor quibble that I explore out of respect for what Strickland is trying to do with this inclusive and exciting book. Fin’s creation of a found family to counter the evil of a vampire obsessed with traditional power and bloodlines is very moving. The novel elegantly acknowledges the weight of biological ties while insisting that they don’t have to define you. It is a treat to be able to enjoy an escapist fantasy built on a principled foundation.
For anyone that enjoys a little blood with their romance and a little horror with their mystery, I can’t recommend Court of the Undying Seasons enough. I, for one, am off to read everything else A.M. Strickland has written.
Court of the Undying Seasons is published by Feiwel & Friends.
Read an excerpt.
Maura Krause is a writer and Barrymore-nominated theatrical director, currently pursuing their MFA in Writing at California College for the Arts.
