Overview

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 X dystopian gothic fantasy duology, 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, indulgent, 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.

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9780645875607

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Reviews

"""Something I haven't quite encountered before, which is a fiction narrative that feels more like art than a novel. The kind of story I have continued to think about ... a mark of how nuanced it is.""-R. E. Levy, author of ""Rivers of Eden"" ""Feels like a classic unearthed from three hundred years ago. If you love pirates, musketeers, fencing, playwrights, secret and dystopian societies, and top-notch worldbuilding, this is absolutely for you.""-Eli Gregory/Ellis Van Wyk, author of ""Saturnalia"" ""NON SERVIAM isn't just a book; it's an immersive journey that gripped my soul. It's one of the most special books I've ever read. It's raw, and unflinchingly gruesome.""-Goodreads Reviewer"

"""Something I haven't quite encountered before, which is a fiction narrative that feels more like art than a novel... The kind of story I have continued to think about ... a mark of how nuanced it is ... One of the most deliciously queer stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading.""--R. E. Levy, author of Rivers of Eden ""This novel isn't for everyone, given not just its themes but its really--sometimes seemingly unnecessarily--dense, purple prose along with its branching, sometimes wandering plot. But it is filled with revolutionary philosophies and the minds that fuel them, a full meal to sink your teeth into, and has a lot to offer. Don't go into the book expecting your hand to be held.""--NetGalley Reviewer ""Feels like a classic unearthed from about three hundred years ago, has all of the charm and sharp wit of [it]. If you love pirates, musketeers, fencing, playwrights, secret and dystopian societies, and top-notch worldbuilding, this [book] is absolutely for you.""--Eli Gregory/Ellis Van Wyk, author of Saturnalia ""NON SERVIAM isn't just a book; it's an immersive journey that gripped my soul. It's one of the most special books I've ever read, raw, and unflinchingly gruesome.""--Goodreads Reviewer"

Author Information

An artist and writer since her early childhood brought up in a police state, Sfarda L. Gül's (alias) creative focus hones in on the macabre and introspective, the grotesque and juxtaposing--a deconstruction of social ideology and human suffering influenced by her upbringing, queerness, historically persecuted mixed ethnicity, and dark-sided emotional disposition. When not engaging in art, Sfarda is enthralled in ethnography, linguistics, filmmaking, and social activism aiding to uplift ethnic and queer minorities of her native Eastern Europe, SWANA, and Central Asia. She is the curator of independent publication Lacrimosity and Righteous Rage Press which hosts a Substack newsletter, and a YouTube video essayist at Anarchy on Page. Sfarda is the May 2024 debut author of NON SERVIAM, first of THE HYPOSTASIS OF DISSENT duology. EARTH HAGIOGRAPHY, a poetry collection centred around indigeneity and colonial pain, will be published in November of 2024. NON OMNIS MORIAR, the second and final installment in THE HYPOSTASIS OF DISSENT duology, is slated for an April 2025 publication. FEED THE FOREST AND NEVER CHOOSE DEATH, a transgressive fiction novella following a serial killer and stalker duo, will be published Halloween of 2025. SPOILS OF FAMINE, a flashfiction retelling of a Pontian folk tale centering indigenous culture and community care, was published in the 2023 Issue 3 of The Globe Review. Sfarda's art and poetry are featured in the March 2024 SPLIT POMEGRANATE Artsakh charity zine curated by Agavny Vardanyan. Researcher at The Outland Magazine, a literary zine amplifying Asian voices. Critic of Orientalism in media.

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