Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Skylight Books, Los Angeles
 **_He was sent to kill a pest. Instead, he found a monster._** Enter the decadent, deadly city of Tiliard, a metropolis carved into the stump of an ancient tree. In its canopy, the pampered elite warp minds with toxic perfume; in its roots, gangs of exterminators hunt a colossal worm with an appetite for beauty. In this complex, chaotic city, Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. For her sake, he'll take on any job, no matter how vile. As an exterminator, Guy hunts the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river. These vermin are all strange, and often dangerous. His latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it, if they had the choice. Guy doesn't have a choice. **HIRON ENNES** is the British Fantasy Award-winning and World Fantasy Award-nominated author of _Leech._ In their spare time they're a rogue harpist, mad doctor, and avid dog-petter. Heralded as “the new Philip K. Dick,” **Chana Porter** is an author, playwright, teacher, MacDowell fellow, and cofounder of The Octavia Project, a STEM and writing program for girls, trans, and nonbinary youth that uses speculative fiction to envision greater possibilities for our world. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and is also the author of _The Seep_, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her newest novel, _The Thick and the Lean_, was named Best Science Fiction of 2023 by _The Times_ (London).