Book Review: Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan

 

Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan

176 pages, Hardcover

Tor, Expected publication September 30, 2025

  “A delirious and gripping story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the reimagined Greek myth of Daedalus, Icarus, King Minos, Ariadne, and the Minotaur.”

 Twice in a row, I got arcs for books I didn’t expect to like. I am normally not a fan of fantasy or satire set in mythological worlds, in part because I don’t know their stories. Give me Hindu or Norse mythology, and expect me to get the satire, well, I am generally lost. Sullivan was lucky that a young David read up on Icarus thanks to Iron Maiden.

 This short novel tells the story of Icarus and Daedalus after their famous flight, and it takes place in Tartarus, the Greek vision of hell. In the grand tradition of stories that take place in hell or something like it, my favorite take is from the same publisher as Matheson’s What Dreams May Come.  I think one reason a reader can connect with this story, despite maybe not understanding the mythology involved, is because of the father-son relationship.

Many Fathers throughout history have had to watch as their children metaphorically fly to close to the sun. Daedalus is the ultimate example, and exploring this dynamic with him traveling to Hell to find him makes for both an epic and also relatable journey. Part of the hell is that the labyrinth is impossible to solve. 

“I’m in a yawning cave filled with fiery water and burning white mist. The statue of Minos stands at the cave’s center, upright and whole. The inscription on the base now reads, HE WILL FORGET YOUR FACE.

Icarus. How many times have I done this before?”

Daedalus keeps searching. He can’t make peace with his son, and in a way, that is his hell. This point is made, but it is not heavy-handed.  The descriptions are vivid, but so is the feeling of loss and pain for the man who tells us this story. 

The prose is beautifully written and makes even the most horrible place of all an enjoyable read. There is a chapter called “There is a Path out,” that has two parts I loved

First is a part that presents a melancholia about death that got my attention.  “The best part of being dead is I can always work and never need to sleep. I don’t dread closing my eyes and opening them again inside the labyrinth.”

That said, one of the most powerful elements was the descriptions of this hell.

“A team of dead cartographers and land surveyors is assigned to show me around Hell. They have an unkemptness about them, the distant eyes and delayed responses of men going mad by degrees. This, one of them explains, is because Hell is as big as it needs to be, which renders the performance of their jobs technically impossible.”

There are fewer novels set in hell than you might imagine. Goodreads only lists thirteen. The power of this story can be traced back to the poetic prose as much as the fantastical elements or the vibe of the setting. I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did. Daedalus is Dead is a short and powerful dark fantasy, well worth reading.