March's End

Daniel Polansky's March's End is a multigenerational fantasy with a portal at its center, following one family across the years. From the outside, the Harrows look like an ordinary suburban clan: they work as teachers, physicians, barkeepers, and drifters. After nightfall, however, they rule and defend the March, a secondary realm where antique toys come alive, lichen has a mind of its own, cities travel on the backs of enormous snails, and a thunderstorm can be calmed by singing. Strange magic, large-scale warfare, and treacherous politics are part of daily life there.

The Harrows have carried this duty for as long as anyone can remember. For generation after generation they have guarded the realm against dangers lurking beyond its borders, though they often lose time to their own bitter feuds. Beneath the enchanting surface, dark secrets lie buried.

The current generation is led by Sophia, High Queen of the March, a sharp and scheming matriarch. Her three children are Constance, a dignified eldest; Mary Ann, a visionary and defiant spirit; and Will, quick-witted and short on scruples. The story moves between their childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, showing the family splintering and then coming back together as a threat puts both the March and the ordinary world at risk.

At its heart, the novel is about growing up, with the family's struggles woven through the mythic history of the land they protect. It traces failure and redemption, tests the power of love against forces determined to break it, and insists that each generation must reinvent itself.