Isaac Fellman’s Notes from a Regicide is that rarest of literary creatures: a novel that refuses to be confined by genre expectations while delivering a profoundly human story about love, identity, and the intricate tapestry of chosen family. Like Fellman’s previous works—The Breath of the Sun, Dead Collections, and The Two Doctors Górski—this latest offering demonstrates the author’s remarkable ability to blend speculative elements with deeply personal narratives about transgender experience.
Setting and World-Building: The Fantastical Made Intimate
The novel takes place in a meticulously crafted world where the fantastic city of Stephensport serves as both literal location and metaphorical backdrop. Fellman constructs a society where:
- Ancient “electors” lie suspended beneath stone yards—immortal beings who select new princes while existing in a state of partial suspended animation
- Revolution and political upheaval simmer beneath the surface—creating a powder keg that eventually explodes into the “Great Revolution”
- Transition is both accepted and complicated—with hormone treatments available clandestinely from nuns running underground clinics
The world-building never overshadows the intimate human drama at the story’s core. Instead, Stephensport becomes a character itself, its strange customs and political intrigues serving as the crucible in which Etoine and Zaffre’s love story is forged.
Narrative Structure: A Memoir Within a Memoir
Notes from a Regicide unfolds through a sophisticated nested narrative:
- Griffon’s present-day search for understanding his deceased parents
- Etoine’s prison memoir “Autoportrait, Blessé” detailing the events leading to his imprisonment
- Griffon’s editorial commentary that bridges past and present, providing context and emotional resonance
This structure brilliantly mirrors the themes of the novel—how we construct narratives about our loved ones, how memory fragments and reforms, and how the past continues to shape our present.
Character Development: Complex Portraits of Trans Family
Etoine: The Artist as Prisoner
Etoine emerges from the pages as a man of contradictions:
- A talented painter struggling with alcoholism
- A trans man who found love later in life
- Someone capable of both great tenderness and terrible violence
His prison memoir reveals layers of complexity that even Griffon, who knew him for decades, never fully grasped. Etoine’s voice—witty, self-deprecating, occasionally cruel—comes alive through his writing, making his eventual loss all the more poignant.
Zaffre: The Revolutionary Heart
Zaffre defies easy categorization:
- A revolutionary painter whose talent both burdens and elevates her
- A trans woman battling mental illness while fighting for political change
- Someone whose “half-formed ideas and whole-hearted convictions” drive the narrative forward
Fellman portrays Zaffre with remarkable nuance, showing how her strength and vulnerability coexist, how her artistic genius emerges even in the midst of personal struggle.
Griffon: The Narrator as Detective
Griffon serves as both narrator and investigator, piecing together his parents’ story while grappling with his own identity as their adopted trans son. His journey from angry teenager to accomplished journalist provides the novel’s emotional anchor.
Themes and Analysis: Trans Identity in Revolutionary Times
Found Family vs. Chosen Pain
The novel explores how chosen family operates differently from biological family:
- Acceptance comes with its own traumas—even loving parents can fail to fully understand their children
- The weight of gratitude—Griffon struggles with feeling indebted to his parents while also resenting their limitations
- Love as transformation—how Etoine and Zaffre’s love for each other creates space for Griffon to exist
Revolution and Personal Identity
Fellman skillfully interweaves political revolution with personal transformation:
- Transition parallels rebellion—both require reimagining what’s possible
- The cost of visibility—as Zaffre becomes more publicly herself, she also becomes a target
- Art as resistance—how Etoine’s portrait of Sebastienne inadvertently sparks revolution
Memory, Grief, and Storytelling
The novel interrogates how we remember the dead:
- The unreliability of memory—even Etoine’s supposedly factual memoir contains gaps and contradictions
- The necessity of myth-making—how we construct narratives about our loved ones to make their loss bearable
- The inheritance of trauma—how Griffon carries his parents’ unresolved pain
Writing Style: Fellman’s Distinctive Voice
Fellman’s prose is both lyrical and precise, capable of shifting from:
- Delicate descriptions of intimate moments
- Sharp political satire
- Visceral depictions of violence and love
- Philosophical musings on identity and belonging
The author’s background as an archivist informs the novel’s structure, treating memories and documents with the careful attention of someone who understands how fragile and precious our records of the past can be.
Strengths: Where the Novel Excels
1. Complex Trans Representation
Unlike many novels that treat trans identity as a single plot point, Notes from a Regicide presents a nuanced exploration of how transition intersects with:
- Aging and mortality
- Creative expression
- Political engagement
- Family relationships
2. Emotional Authenticity
The novel earns its emotional moments through careful character development. When tragedy strikes, readers feel genuinely invested in these characters’ fates.
3. Genre Innovation
Fellman seamlessly blends:
- Prison memoir
- Family saga
- Political thriller
- Fantasy worldbuilding
Without ever allowing one element to overwhelm the others.
Criticisms: Areas for Consideration
1. Pacing Challenges
The nested narrative structure, while ultimately rewarding, can occasionally feel demanding for readers:
- Frequent time jumps require careful attention
- Multiple perspectives sometimes fragment the narrative flow
- Dense world-building details may overwhelm those seeking a purely emotional story
2. Darkness and Grief
The novel doesn’t shy away from depicting:
- Suicide and mental illness
- Political violence
- Alcoholism and addiction
Some readers may find these elements challenging, though they’re handled with sensitivity and purpose.
Cultural Impact: Reading Notes from a Regicide Today
In our current political climate, where trans rights face increasing challenges, Fellman’s novel feels both timely and timeless. It reminds us that:
- Trans stories are human stories—deserving of complexity and nuance
- Political revolutions begin with personal transformations
- Family can be found, lost, and remembered in countless ways
Comparison to Contemporary Works
Notes from a Regicide stands alongside other important works in trans science fiction/fantasy:
- Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby—for its complex treatment of trans family dynamics
- Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts—for its blend of speculative elements with marginalized experiences
- Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built—for its hopeful vision of transformed societies
However, Fellman’s work distinguishes itself through its formal innovation and its unflinching examination of grief.
Final Verdict: A Masterpiece of Trans Literature
Notes from a Regicide is that rarest of achievements: a novel that works on multiple levels simultaneously. As:
- A family drama, it explores the complexities of chosen kinship with wisdom and compassion
- A science fiction novel, it creates a believable world that enhances rather than distracts from the human story
- A trans narrative, it offers representation that is both specific and universal
Isaac Fellman has crafted a novel that will resonate deeply with trans readers while remaining accessible and meaningful to all audiences. It’s a book about how we become ourselves, how we love despite our limitations, and how we try to understand those we’ve lost.
Notes from a Regicide is a gorgeous, complex, occasionally challenging work that rewards patient readers with profound insights about identity, family, and the stories we tell about our lives. It’s a testament to Fellman’s growing mastery as a writer and a significant contribution to both trans literature and speculative fiction.
