And speaking of fairy tales … T. Kingfisher spins a delightfully dark tale of magic and vengeance in “Nettle & Bone”, in which the youngest princess of a minor kingdom assembles a motley band to rescue her sister from a wicked king.
Hidden away in a convent so as not to upset the precarious succession bargain her mother has made with a more powerful kingdom, Marra has lived a quiet life of needlepoint and midwifery while the world outside swirls with intrigue and war. When she learns that her sister Kania, the wife of the Northern Kingdom’s prince, is in grave danger, Marra sets off on a quest to save her. Along the way she gathers a party consisting of a graveyard witch who can speak to the dead, a demon-possessed chicken, a dog made of reanimated bones, a fairy godmother better at granting curses than blessings, and a mysterious disgraced knight who forfeited his freedom by falling asleep in a fairy fort.
Kingfisher’s books are always gleefully creative and just a little off kilter, and this is certainly no exception. There’s magic in this world, but it plays by unusual rules, and its use comes with unexpected risks. As in any good fairy tale, rewards come to those who are kind, dedicated, and humble, but the stakes are high and the forces of evil are powerful.
What makes this book fun is the interplay between the characters. Marra is an unlikely heroine, and she struggles to keep her little party focused on the quest. They overcome challenges with pluck, but also a good deal of bickering; this is a homely little fantasy without grand and epic heroes, which makes their eventual (somewhat attenuated) victory all the sweeter.
