Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

126 reviews

darkefyres's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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sweet_t_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 One of the cutest stories I read in a long time! It truly felt like a new take on the old fairy tales. I loved how the protagonist is in her 30's. She's not anything special to look at and she's not the most interesting of characters. And those things are truly true about her it's not that she believes that of herself but in reality she's beautiful and this Super talented all things kind of person. She's truly just an average woman who loves her sister. 

The humor in this is great. The chicken made me laugh more than once. I'm excited to read more by this author!
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tostita's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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vasha's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a T. Kingfisher fantasy novel, and if you have read a few of her others, you will know what to expect and not be wrong. It's funny, creepy, and thought-provoking by turns; it has powerful, eccentric old women, it has animal companions, it has a very, very well-behaved knight, it has a quest through a world where something inventively horrible is likely to turn up at any moment, and it has a naïve, earnest main character who fumbles through doing something impossible because things simply aren't fair and must be rectified. Sometimes I complain because T. Kingfisher's books are so much alike (apart from "The Twisted Ones" and "The Hollow Places" which are contemporary horror and my least favorite, go figure!) But firstly, what she does is unique and excellent so why object if she keeps doing it; and secondly, each of her books has a subtly different theme. This time, she takes on fairy tale marriages. A queen is playing a tricky strategic game trying to keep her small kingdom from invasion, and one of her moves is to marry her beautiful, sweet eldest daughter to the monstrous prince of a neighboring kingdom. The death of the eldest means the second daughter Kania, a much more steely personality, is the next wife and must become pregnant over and over trying to produce an heir, while the third daughter, Marra, is set aside in a convent. Marra is the hero of this story: she's shy and prone to anxiety, and it takes her a long time to realize just how bad Kania's life is (eventually leading to reflections on how many injustices the whole system of marriages and inheritances contains), and even longer to think of something to do about it, though that thing is just going to someone else for help. She's a very unusual hero in that other people do all the dramatic deeds in this story, and she has the most unlikely of personalities for a leader, but the other members of her quest party defer to her, if only because the whole thing was her idea, she keeps persisting, and she gives the others a reason not to give up or do something else. It's a lovely depiction of getting something done by mutual assistance and by taking one step at a time: Marra goes to a dust-wife, an extremely powerful witch who can talk to and command the dead, and convinces her to set aside the inaction which (and really, it's a good thing) she usually maintains; she helps rescue Fenris, a knight held captive by the Fair Folk, and while he provides the party with skill with weapons, she realizes that he needs emotional support and inconspicuously gives it; she overcomes her prejudgment of her apparently-useless fairy godmother Agnes to find another ally of an unexpected sort (Agnes's accomplishments are some of the most delightful surprises in the book); and the final member of the party is Bonedog, a mastiff resurrected as a skeleton, who really just needed another chance to be a good dog. In this story, a princess saves another princess, or really gives her the opportunity to save herself, and the distinction between good and evil fairy godmothers is hopelessly muddled. This deeply feminist and quietly hopeful book is one that's badly needed, and I expect to be re-reading it many times. 
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braiths_book_thoughts's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As soon as I found out this book had a demon-possessed chicken in it, I knew this book was for me. 

It did not disappoint. 

I LOVE this book. I want more, I want sequels and prequels and spin-offs. I want a book dedicated to bonedog. I want a book about Finder. I want more on Anges and the dust wife. I just want more! 

A dark fantasy with a romantic sub plot. This book held everything I wanted and left me yearning for more. 

If the demon-possessed chicken isn't enough to pull you in, maybe this will

"Yes. Agnes, will you pass me my teacup? It seems that I am about to die, and I would like more tea"

These are words that I need to say on my deathbed. 

"You are an absolute grump and so is your chicken."

I mean. Need I say more?
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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 - NETTLE AND BONE is a short, strange, wonderful book. It's both horrifying and funny, managing to balance a serious plot with delightfully weird characters.
- The group that Marra gathers along her journey is a great little ragtag crew, each character unique and full even with the book's brevity.
- I mean, don't you want to read a book that has both "burn the patriarchy" vibes AND a chicken possessed by a demon? 
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hwesta's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this book.

While not one of Ursula's true horror novels, it is a dark fantasy, and I found the setup to be quite grim, and The Thing
with Toothdancer
really got to me, in a way that most of her other books don't. Once the story got going though, it was wonderful - an adventure romp through strange, mysterious and terrifying places, a motley crew with varied talents using them to solve problems in usual ways, and a satisfying ending. Recommend.
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affabletoaster's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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beholderess's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

T Kingfisher brings us the tale of a woman who is deeply practical in most ways but vulnerable on a few fronts, her ill-assorted chosen companions with unexpected magical gifts, and an enemy who is more about the implacability of entrenched power structures than personal malice but has plenty of personal malice, too. There are some writers I've had to step back from after learning their beats this well, but the world, the prose, and the poignancy are all as sharp and bloody as ever. Never miss a Kingfisher.
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