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Naomi Novik
Macmillan UK
21 May 2015/ ISBN 9781447294139
Fantasy
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
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Young Agnieszka lives
in the village of Dvernik in a land dominated by the baleful
influence of The Wood. This corrupted place swallows up people,
even towns and either they are never seen again or they are
altered, and everybody lives in fear of it. Every ten years
the local wizard, a man known as The Dragon selects a girl to
be his servant and Agnieszka is certain that it will be her
beautiful and brave friend Kasia. But The Dragon chooses her
instead.
Ms Novik is well known for her Temeraire series, set in a world
similar to ours but with dragons. This is another such place,
similar to the Poland of folk tales full of picturesque villages,
witches, wizards and magical creatures. The tale is told by
Agnieszka herself, and she makes a good narrator being courageous,
direct and despite her gifts ordinary enough. The Wood comes
to life as a terrible place whose dire influence can strike
at any moment with disastrous and usually permanent consequences.
Agnieszka and the Dragon have to combat this, and despite its
fairy tale ambience this is a dark tale, not for children. At
first I thought it was going to be a romance, but despite some
chemistry between the two protagonists The Dragon remains a
mystery and the characters have far too much else to deal with.
Instead this is a tale of battles against the darkness, with
nobody quite sure who has been turned and who is what they seem.
It is a linear story that could stand some editing but is mostly
rather exciting, and rather original in its setting and the
idea of a Wood being the villain. This is one to savor for its
rich descriptions of people, places, and magic.
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