The Emperor and The Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (Hardcover)

Fiction - Fantasy - Epic - Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology - Romance - LGBTQ+

RELEASE DATE: 3/26/2024 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

The Song of Achilles meets The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in this queer, Asian reimagining of an epic love story blending historical figures with Chinese folklore. The novel gives us blood, sex, and adventure across three lifetimes and deals with themes of acceptance, belonging, and free will.

In 4 BCE, playboy administrator Dong Xian catches the eye of Emperor Ai; in 1740, innkeeper He Shican is seduced by strange visitor Huang Jiulang; and at a circuit party in modern day LA, pre-med student River ends up in the arms of aspiring artist Joey. Though seemingly disconnected, the couples are actually living one epic romance constantly repeated across two millennia. Soulmates in a sense, their romances are nevertheless doomed. Rooted in one of the greatest, historically true love stories never told, their curse began with Emperor Ai and his male lover Dong Xian’s obsessive and destructive relationship that led to their deaths and the fall of the Han Dynasty. As their romance reincarnates, the couple begins to remember—and has the opportunity to recover one powerful artifact that might be able to break their tragic cycle.

A sweeping, supernatural romance, ENDLESS PALACE is a story of folklore and tradition, of danger and betrayal, of lust and, ultimately, eternal love. From ancient China to modern Los Angeles, ENDLESS PALACE takes us on three distinct timelines that weave together into one shocking climax. Filled with twists, cliffhangers, and passionate intrigue, ENDLESS PALACE is unequivocally entertaining and swoony but still manages to have heft, asking what true, queer love is... and what it costs. In his debut, Huang emerges as a master of the craft, producing a uniquely structured, page-turning work of upmarket fiction that yearns to become canon in LGBTQ literature.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Born to immigrants in Monterey Park, California, Justinian Huang studied English at Pomona College and screenwriting at the University of Oxford. He is now based in Los Angeles with Swagger, a Shanghainese rescue dog he adopted during his five years living in China. THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE is his debut novel.

“An epic vision of romance, destiny, and Chinese folklore. This lyrical, adventure-filled fantasy will completely pull you in and leave your heart pounding.” —Dustin Thao, New York Times bestselling author