Mr Gorzug and the Matter of Home

Gorzug has never been more settled — which is, of course, when everything comes to claim him at once. The academy trust wants to promote him out of the classroom and into a roving “model of best practice.” The old world wants him back: Tazgul of the House of Serat arrives through a reopened seam to call him home by blood and rank. And Saira Khan wants something he cannot even perceive, because his world-view has no category for it.

Three claims, one autumn term, and a choice that no siege or speech can win for him. Amid open evenings, barbecues, and a pupil romance that mirrors his own fumbling, Gorzug must decide where — and with whom — he truly belongs.

The richest, most heartfelt book yet, resolved not with a duel but with four quiet words.