HOLIEST by Sancta Seraphina

DESCRIPTION— Deep in the heart of Hell, the Fallen Host is living with as much peace as their Father allows them to have, until one day when a treacherous cherub is cast down into their realm like the star Wormwood from Revelation. Yet all of the other portents from Revelation seem to be missing, with the exception of a mysterious manuscript that begins haunting the Devil's dreams and eventually his waking world as well. *** Set in a universe that combines Dante's Hell with Milton's angels, HOLIEST follows the mistakes and delusions of Hell's prince as he falls into psychosis, believing that the Day of Wrath is upon him. The novel also features over forty artworks by the author, who is a professional illustrator. Originally shared online in 2019 as a web series instead of a book, this heavily revised and expanded first edition of HOLIEST has new illustrations and new appendices including a glossary, a list of characters, full explanations of the structures of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, expanded explanations of the Angelic Choirs, the three hosts, the nychthemera, and has updated maps of Hell and Pandemonium. THE DIVINE TRAGEDY— The Divine Tragedy (TDT) is a series of Biblical & Gothic horror novels by Sancta Seraphina about the tragic fate of the fallen angels. Each novel is based on a classic parent work: HOLIEST is inspired by the Book of Revelation, THE HARROWING is inspired by the Gospel of Nicodemus, and HERESIARCH is inspired by Paradise Lost. The series takes inspiration for its name and much of its worldbuilding from the Divine Comedy. REGARDING the ARTWORK— The illustrations for HOLIEST are presented differently in the paperback/hardcover than in the e-book: -In the paperback/hardcover, there are over 40 artworks and multiple double-page spreads to feature the wings of the characters. They are all black & white linework illustrations to match many of the calligraphic decorations and titles in the story. There are more illustrations in the physical books than in the e-book. -In the e-book, all of the included illustrations are white linework on dark backgrounds. Many horizontal artworks have been cropped so the reader can enjoy the details of the characters' figures. The full illustrations (showing the characters' wingspans) are available on the author's website and in the physical books. The e-book also features unique chapter banners not included in the physical books (which instead have full page illustrations and/or double-page spreads). -All illustrations, decorations, and calligraphy included are hand-drawn by the author and have NOT been created using AI.

Adult • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+ • Diversity Representation/Mental Health/Own Voices • Horror/Supernatural and Occult • Horror • Diversity Representation/Disability

Length: 160,870 words (about 460 pages)

Content Warning: HOLIEST is an adult novel and contains triggering content such as violence, torture, death, graphic depictions of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and attempted suicide. It also depicts mental illness, in particular depression and psychosis (a mental state where a person loses touch with reality, and in this case, experiences vivid, disturbing hallucinations and paranoid delusions) and minor discrimination against the mentally ill main character for his psychosis. There is also casual use of alcohol (wine and absinthe) and tobacco. HOLIEST is also a novel that features Gothic horror (introspective prose, a sense of being haunted by the past, vengeful persecution), Biblical horror (horror inspired by the fear of God and the more terrifying qualities of scripture), and body horror (horror that involves the body and physical dismemberment). HOLIEST also includes discussion of the problem of evil & theodicy (the vindication of God in the existence of evil), and characters having doubts towards God and their faith.