A haunting literary thriller about youth, power, fatherhood, and the slow unraveling of a utopia.

"Comfortably one of the best books I’ve read this year, and among the top books I’ve read in my adult life."—Saffron Asteria, host of the BOOKED podcast

"A nearly flawless novel... Farnworth has written a dynamite book."—The Book Review Directory

"A haunting mix of intellect, obsession, and the slow, beautiful unraveling of people who think they’re smarter than their own downfall."—Ellie Pulliam, for Literary Titan

Driven by a shared hunger for control, a group of Dartmouth students, led by the enigmatic Meddy, forms the Students for Fundamental Change. What begins as an intellectual movement leads them to Stillwell, Maine, where they establish a secluded community with radical ideals and rigid rules, drawing in those desperate to belong.

Peter Holloway, an academic and father to Meddy’s children, becomes entangled in her vision as their bond blurs the line between mentorship and devotion, belief and fanaticism. As Meddy’s influence deepens and the commune begins to fracture under outside scrutiny, Peter is forced to confront the monster he helped create, and decide what it truly means to protect his children from a world he once believed in.

Lyrical and unnerving, Medusa; Or, Men Entombed in Winter is a chilling meditation on idealism, obsession, and collapse, set against the stark beauty and brutal cold of rural Maine.