‘Thornhedge’ – T. Kingfisher (Titan Books)
Page Count: 123 Pages
I’m all about the short reads at the moment, can’t seem to focus on anything longer at the moment, so ‘Thornhedge’ immediately ticked a box. It was a little more than that though. I’ve always had a soft spot for fairy tales, even more so the ‘retellings’ that do more than hint at the blood and horror that lie beneath the surface of tales that most people think are ‘just kids stories’. Not me though ;o) ‘Thornhedge’ looked like it could tick that box as well so it swiftly became the book that I’ve been reading over the last couple of nights. And was it the book I thought it would be? Yes, yes it was, and a little bit more besides. Quick thoughts follow the blurb, I really should try sleeping at some point...
There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
If only.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…
If ‘Thornhedge’ is anything to go by, I think I’ve found a new favourite author to follow. Well, buy all their books, you know what I mean ;o) ‘Thornhedge’ is a slender book to look at; until you open it and realise that the Kingfisher has only gone and fitted the lands of Men and the whole of Faerie between its covers. There is definitely much more to ‘Thornhedge’ than meets the eye, and that’s before we get to the plot. The landscape, and its inhabitants are so richly drawn that I kept finding myself hovering on pages, just really immersed in scenery that I didn’t want to leave. Honestly, if the book was just this, I’d have been more than happy but luckily for us, it is so much more.
What lies in the tower is very much signposted, at the beginning, but that’s kind of the point and besides the point, all at the same time. We’re really here to follow the story of Toadling, a human/fae hybrid must endure being taken from her home, more than once, at the whims of others to fulfil aims that she can just about comprehend (and damn did that ending bite hard, given what she’d been through). It’s a sad life but it inspired this reader at the same time. Toadling is someone who wants to do the right thing and will turn what others see as weakness into an enduring strength, you can’t help but get behind that and wish good things for her.
And Halim? He’s just as heroic as any questing knight but much more human, seen through the eyes of someone who isn’t sure of her own humanity. And I defy you not to like a knight who curses and then immediately apologises because he has been brought up well; and a knight who is prepared to look beyond our world in order to find his own purpose. I’ve got a lot of time for Halim.
And I’ve just realised that I was banging on about horror, at the top of this post, and then completely neglected to get into it, until now. I don’t want to give too much away, all I’ll say is that Kingfisher doesn’t shy away from the horror of Faerie and there are at least of couple of moments that were chilling.
Can you tell I really enjoyed ‘Thornhedge’? ;o) It’s a lush retelling, of a classic tale, that takes us right into those moments where the worlds of Faerie and mankind overlap, showing us what it’s like to live at the whims of others, but still staying true to yourself.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
If only.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…
If ‘Thornhedge’ is anything to go by, I think I’ve found a new favourite author to follow. Well, buy all their books, you know what I mean ;o) ‘Thornhedge’ is a slender book to look at; until you open it and realise that the Kingfisher has only gone and fitted the lands of Men and the whole of Faerie between its covers. There is definitely much more to ‘Thornhedge’ than meets the eye, and that’s before we get to the plot. The landscape, and its inhabitants are so richly drawn that I kept finding myself hovering on pages, just really immersed in scenery that I didn’t want to leave. Honestly, if the book was just this, I’d have been more than happy but luckily for us, it is so much more.
What lies in the tower is very much signposted, at the beginning, but that’s kind of the point and besides the point, all at the same time. We’re really here to follow the story of Toadling, a human/fae hybrid must endure being taken from her home, more than once, at the whims of others to fulfil aims that she can just about comprehend (and damn did that ending bite hard, given what she’d been through). It’s a sad life but it inspired this reader at the same time. Toadling is someone who wants to do the right thing and will turn what others see as weakness into an enduring strength, you can’t help but get behind that and wish good things for her.
And Halim? He’s just as heroic as any questing knight but much more human, seen through the eyes of someone who isn’t sure of her own humanity. And I defy you not to like a knight who curses and then immediately apologises because he has been brought up well; and a knight who is prepared to look beyond our world in order to find his own purpose. I’ve got a lot of time for Halim.
And I’ve just realised that I was banging on about horror, at the top of this post, and then completely neglected to get into it, until now. I don’t want to give too much away, all I’ll say is that Kingfisher doesn’t shy away from the horror of Faerie and there are at least of couple of moments that were chilling.
Can you tell I really enjoyed ‘Thornhedge’? ;o) It’s a lush retelling, of a classic tale, that takes us right into those moments where the worlds of Faerie and mankind overlap, showing us what it’s like to live at the whims of others, but still staying true to yourself.
Comments
Post a Comment