Expressing emotion is prohibited by law in the city state of Vencenza. Beneath its tyrannical shadow, Giorgianna, a deranged former playwright turned political fugitive, flees a brothel to seek justice for the murder of a beloved friend. When the last remnants of her bloodline are reaped by the incorrigible Minister of Dominion, Giorgianna's crooked path to retribution crosses with Vencenza's Machiavellian revolutionary hellbent on regime overturn. All the while, the weight of unending tragedy erodes Giorgianna's psyche into a vengeful bloodlust plagued by cabbalistic visions hinting at an ever-darker face of the violent Powers That Be.
The first in a grimdark political mystery duology with gothic fantasy undertones, NON SERVIAM is written with a unique, experimental style in the spirit of poetry, art cinema, and classics--suffused with visceral symbolism, lush, archaic-esque purple prose, and philosophical ponderings aimed at interrogating totalitarianism, colonial legacy, and state violence. Venice, Sardinia, and the Etruscan Civilisation inspire its vividly intricate, queernormative setting. The paperback edition features 25 illustrations by the author, Sfarda L. Gül, as well as one illustration each by Ayşe-Mira Yaşın, Nadia Sampellegrini, and Sophia Arnaout. Take note that this book is very heavy on worldbuilding and conlang (including footnotes and several POV types (1st person limited; 3rd person limited; 2nd person limited every other chapter for the first 10% of the book; all past tense)), and features very dense, metaphorical poetic prose, something which some readers may find detracts from immersion for them.
Content Warnings: government oppression, death, graphic gore, self-injury, mental illness, sex trafficking, sexual harassment, police brutality, violence against women and trans-identifying peoples, birth-related trauma, gun violence, religion, classism, discussions of sexual violence (humans, minors, corpses), child abuse, workplace violence, divorce, smoking (tobacco and opium), alcohol, mention of intravenous drug abuse, surgical procedures and needles (singular instance), fires and burns, strong language.
ALL ROYALTIES earned from the title are donated to Doctors Without Borders, the Kurdish Red Crescent, and All For Armenia.