The Night Guest

Description

Dark things can happen on a long, cold Icelandic night…

Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but physicians dismiss her symptoms and blood tests don’t reveal any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same — have you tried eating better? Exercising more? Establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

“The Night Guest pulls us by our throats down Reykjavik midnight streets in an unraveling nightmare. This book moved, thrilled, and terrified me.”–CJ Leede, USA Today bestselling author of Maeve Fly

Binding Type: Paperback
Contributors: Hildur Knútsdóttir,Mary Robinette Kowal (Translator)
Published: 12/30/2025
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
ISBN: 9781250876317
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.42lbs
Size: 0.60″ H x 8.03″ L x 5.13″ W

About the Author

Hildur Knútsdóttir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1984. She has lived in Spain, Germany, and Taiwan and studied literature and creative writing at The University of Iceland. She writes fiction both for adults and teenagers, as well as short fiction, plays, and screenplays. Hildur is known for her evocative fantastical fiction and spine-chilling horror. The Night Guest is her first book translated into English. She lives in Reykjavík with her husband, their two daughters, and a puppy called Uggi.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers, The Glamourist Histories series, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov’s. She lived in Iceland while performing for LazyTown (CBS) as a professional puppeteer. The Night Guest is her first work of translation.