TESTAMENT OF LEAVES
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CAROLYN IVES GILMAN
In the isolated thickets of a faraway planet, a linguist lies dead. Inscrutinator Shameesh Kulkarni must find out why. But no one wants to talk: not the prospectors searching for mineral wealth, not the archaeologists trying to piece together a ruined city, not the local schoolteacher, and certainly not the indigenous people whose language the dead woman was researching.
Only two beings are interested in helping Shameesh solve the murder: a digital replica of the victim herself, and the inquisitive octopod who befriended her. Three brains are better than one, even if one is a bot and another is an invertebrate, because there is more than one mystery here to solve.
Here, the landscape itself hides layers of centuries-old secrets—secrets that the inhabitants must protect at all costs. Shameesh’s job is to reveal the truth—on a planet where the truth cannot be spoken.
- August, 2026 978-1-958880-30-2
- trade paperback, novella, 5 x 8
- cover art istockphoto / agsandrew
- Pre-order print copies below, or buy print or ebooks of this title from these dealers. More venues forthcoming.
In the isolated thickets of a faraway planet, a linguist lies dead. Inscrutinator Shameesh Kulkarni must find out why. But no one wants to talk: not the prospectors searching for mineral wealth, not the archaeologists trying to piece together a ruined city, not the local schoolteacher, and certainly not the indigenous people whose language the dead woman was researching.
Only two beings are interested in helping Shameesh solve the murder: a digital replica of the victim herself, and the inquisitive octopod who befriended her. Three brains are better than one, even if one is a bot and another is an invertebrate, because there is more than one mystery here to solve.
Here, the landscape itself hides layers of centuries-old secrets—secrets that the inhabitants must protect at all costs. Shameesh’s job is to reveal the truth—on a planet where the truth cannot be spoken.
"I absolutely loved this. The mystery was gripping and the setting was both deeply alien and so vivid I could feel the weight of the air. I particularly adored the alien octopus."
— Naomi Kritzer, author of Cat Pictures Please and Liberty's Daughter
"Carolyn Ives Gilman packs so much into one slim novella! Testament of Leaves features all the details you’d expect from a murder mystery on an exotic planet—a determined detective, a handful of quirky side characters, and a wealth of gorgeous world-building details. But it’s also a meditation on colonialism, ecosystem exploitation, and the enduring power of nature. I’m hoping it’s the first of a series, because I want more."
— Sharon Shinn, author of Shifter and Shadow and The Whispering Wood
"Testament of Leaves is truly excellent, an impeccable melding of murder mystery, worldbuilding, and vivid characterization with themes that just keep unpacking. Every word Carolyn Ives Gilman writes is wonderful."
— Kij Johnson, author of The River Bank
“A writer finely attuned to the myriad of subtle nuances that make up what it is to be human.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
— Naomi Kritzer, author of Cat Pictures Please and Liberty's Daughter
"Carolyn Ives Gilman packs so much into one slim novella! Testament of Leaves features all the details you’d expect from a murder mystery on an exotic planet—a determined detective, a handful of quirky side characters, and a wealth of gorgeous world-building details. But it’s also a meditation on colonialism, ecosystem exploitation, and the enduring power of nature. I’m hoping it’s the first of a series, because I want more."
— Sharon Shinn, author of Shifter and Shadow and The Whispering Wood
"Testament of Leaves is truly excellent, an impeccable melding of murder mystery, worldbuilding, and vivid characterization with themes that just keep unpacking. Every word Carolyn Ives Gilman writes is wonderful."
— Kij Johnson, author of The River Bank
“A writer finely attuned to the myriad of subtle nuances that make up what it is to be human.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR