A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry: A Rip-Roaring Faerie Revenge Tale

A Far Better Thing is bold fantasy reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, where Parry introduces Sydney Carton—whisked away as a baby to the faerie realm and renamed Memory—leaving behind his human counterpart, Charles Darnay. Now back in the human world as Shadow’s servant, Memory is fueled by rage: he seeks vengeance on Charles, who stole his life, and freedom from his faerie master. With whispers of a fellow escapee and the memory of his lost love Ivy driving him, Memory forges uneasy alliances among humans and faeries alike. As the French Revolution roars in the background, buried truths about Shadow’s schemes and Memory’s own heritage come to light, weaving a grand tale of justice, identity, and the power of love.

My Review

Reading A Far Better Thing felt like finding a hidden door into a world both familiar and utterly new. Parry’s pacing had me racing alongside Memory—my heart pounding when he plotted his revenge, then breaking as I felt his grief for Ivy. I loved how the human and faerie realms collided: smoky Paris streets one moment, glimmering faerie courts the next. Parry takes her time revealing secrets, so each twist landed with satisfying weight. Expect lush world-building, unforgettable characters, and a revenge plot that morphs into something far deeper as Memory wrestles with forgiveness and self-discovery. This book will leave you feeling exhilarated and moved, convinced that even the darkest magic can be redeemed by love and justice.

You can get a copy on Amazon or Bookshop.

If this has you intrigued, read an excerpt from A Far Better Thing below.

Excerpt Preview

If you’re very fortunate, all a fairy will ask of you will be to steal a bone from a grave. They need them to grow buildings for the Children’s Quarter in the Realm. Wood, stone, trees—these things, even when brought from the mortal world, will shift with the rest of the Realm when planted into Realm soil. Mortal remains are the only things that stay fixed. It isn’t pleasant, the nightmares will be grotesque, you’ll need a very strong drink afterwards, but it will harm nobody. Depending on how you feel about the comfort of young children snatched from their cradles and raised among fairies, you might even say it will do good.

In Shropshire, when I was younger and new to the mortal world, I had no choice but to dig through the graveyards myself in the cold dark of night, shuddering with revulsion as my spade sifted the soil. In London, I was able to arrange things somewhat better. Early in my career I found Jerry Cruncher, who among other disreputable and reputable jobs moonlighted as a resurrectionist. He unearthed and sold corpses to medical students for study, and pocketed a few valuables on the side while he was about it. I surprised him one night as he bundled a corpse onto a cart. In exchange for my silence and a few coins now and then, Cruncher was very happy to bring me old bones from his excursions on request. It kept him out of trouble, and it kept me out of mouldering churchyards. I didn’t even need to drink on those nights, though usually I did anyway.

And so it was that in the very early hours of the morning I was to meet my changeling, I was leaning against the iron fence of a graveyard on the edge of London, waiting for a human bone. I didn’t know at the time that I was about to meet my changeling. I didn’t know about Addison Thorne, or Rosemary, or the revolution brewing in France; I didn’t even know about Shadow. I knew only that it was a black, windy night, and the rustle of grass and the whisper of trees overhead was like the protests of the dead. I drew my coat closer about me, and shivered.

Excerpted from A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry. Copyright © 2025 by H.G. Parry. Reprinted by permission of Tor Books, an imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers.

Ready for More?

If Memory’s journey has you enthralled, grab your copy of A Far Better Thing today. When you’ve turned the last page, come back and share your thoughts in the comments—I can’t wait to hear which revelation surprised you most!

You can get a copy of on Amazon or Bookshop.