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t3db0t 's review for:
The Sapling Cage
by Margaret Killjoy
As I understand it, this is Magpie (as I was originally introduced to her)'s first full-length novel. I have read and enjoyed a number of her previous works, and this is a really excellent work of anarchist fantasy fiction.
Well-plotted, well-paced, and a pleasure to read—and the first really interesting, original "fantasy" setting I've seen in a long time. It takes a lot of known tropes that would be otherwise be potentially boring or overdone (knights, witches, etc) and reinvents each in some way. Furthermore, although the anarchist themes are clear (the witches tend to be anarchists in one sense or another, the knights tend to be, you know, knights), they're not simplified. Not all witches are good, not all knights are bad, and no one way of thinking is "correct" (outside, perhaps, of simply not oppressing others).
The Sapling Cage has a simple core hook—the protagonist wants to be a witch, but only girls can be witches—and drives a strong narrative about a young person discovering/inventing herself. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first in an intended trilogy ("Daughters of the Empty Throne") and I look forward to continuing the story, though this book definitely stands on its own.
Edit: oh, and by the way, the cover art is really outstanding!
Well-plotted, well-paced, and a pleasure to read—and the first really interesting, original "fantasy" setting I've seen in a long time. It takes a lot of known tropes that would be otherwise be potentially boring or overdone (knights, witches, etc) and reinvents each in some way. Furthermore, although the anarchist themes are clear (the witches tend to be anarchists in one sense or another, the knights tend to be, you know, knights), they're not simplified. Not all witches are good, not all knights are bad, and no one way of thinking is "correct" (outside, perhaps, of simply not oppressing others).
The Sapling Cage has a simple core hook—the protagonist wants to be a witch, but only girls can be witches—and drives a strong narrative about a young person discovering/inventing herself. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first in an intended trilogy ("Daughters of the Empty Throne") and I look forward to continuing the story, though this book definitely stands on its own.
Edit: oh, and by the way, the cover art is really outstanding!