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Bodies of Magic
- Author
- Freya Marske
- Narrator
- Saskia Maarleveld
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 17 September 2026
- Run Time
- 14 hours 17 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Grey’s Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from bestselling author Freya Marske.
‘Crackles with Marske’s signature wit . . . A perfect book, as complex and brilliant as a healing array’ – Allison Saft, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide
At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healing gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam – a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.
The list of exam rules includes:
• You will perform five practical cases.
• Your exam group is chosen at random.
• You pass together, or fail together.
It does not include:
• On the first day, your exam group will find Ysabel Caudotte – the undisputed genius of your cohort – dead in the exam hall.
From Clement, the grieving best friend hiding a dark secret, to Estienne, the arrogant son of the Head Healer set to inherit Ysabel’s top rank, this particular group all have something to hide . . . and all have a connection to the dead girl.
Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.
Are you ready?
Let’s begin.
‘A captivating murder mystery and take on medical fantasy’ – Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Critics Review
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As intricate and complex as a life-saving surgery, as welcome as a treatable diagnosis and as comforting as a successful course of antibiotics, this is a brilliant book. More, please
Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of the Wayward Children series
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A captivating murder mystery and take on medical fantasy – Bodies of Magic kept me reading late into the night
Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
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Bodies of Magic crackles with Marske’s signature wit, effortlessly rich world-building and layered character dynamics. A perfect book, as complex and brilliant as a healing array. I absolutely loved it
Allison Saft, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide
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Mystery! Magic! Murder! . . . This book is a confection
Alix E. Harrow, bestselling author of Starling House
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A twisty mystery, a fascinating system of medical magic,and a complex and compelling cast. “Sleep is for summer”, say the Academie medical students, and I can assure you, sleep is also for after finishing Bodies of Magic
Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians
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Smart, sexy, compassionate and utterly absorbing, with gloriously complicated characters and a world that feels sharp-edged and real. This book is everything I love about dark academia
H. G. Parry, author of The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
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This fabulous, complex, keep-you-guessing murder mystery is not about magic, but the people who do magic . . . The beguilingly frenchified background is exotic, but the shifting swirl of emotion and motivation is pitch-perfect and wonderfully grounded
Daily Mail
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A tale of self-discovery amidst magic and mystery that healed my trust in dark academia fantasy
FanFiAddict
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Crafted through richly subtle worldbuilding, weaving the complexities of the academie and society through the narrative. Marske has masterful control over the stage and its players as the investigation plays out.
The British Fantasy Society
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Brilliant craft, fresh voice, characters worth obsessing over
Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue on Swordcrossed
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Freya Marske
- Narrator
- Saskia Maarleveld
- Duration
- 14 hours 17 minutes
- Release Date
- 17 September 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035039371
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Fantasy, Magic, spells and alchemy, Esoteric thriller, Medical thriller
Synopsis
Grey’s Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from bestselling author Freya Marske.‘Crackles with Marske’s signature wit . . . A perfect book, as complex and brilliant as a healing array’ – Allison Saft, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning TideAt the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healing gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam – a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.The list of exam rules includes:• You will perform five practical cases.• Your exam group is chosen at random.• You pass together, or fail together.It does not include:• On the first day, your exam group will find Ysabel Caudotte – the undisputed genius of your cohort – dead in the exam hall.From Clement, the grieving best friend hiding a dark secret, to Estienne, the arrogant son of the Head Healer set to inherit Ysabel’s top rank, this particular group all have something to hide . . . and all have a connection to the dead girl.Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.Are you ready?Let’s begin.‘A captivating murder mystery and take on medical fantasy’ – Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
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