A review by purplepenning
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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

4.5

The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen.

Given that perfect opening line, I wasn't quite prepared for how much chickens would factor into the story — but I'm not mad about it!

Nettle & Bone is a bizarre and brilliant, dark and funny fairytale in the hero's quest tradition. A tradition that it gleefully follows and subverts. It features a simple but stalwart 30-year-old almost-nun/princess, a sharp but secretive dust wife/grave witch, an honorable but disgraced warrior/diplomat, at least one evil but kind fairy godmother, a loving but impulsive dog of bones, and a grumpy demon-possessed chicken. Their quest leads us from a beleaguered middle kingdom by the sea to a haunted stronghold in the north — and through unspeakable lands, markets, and boarding houses in between. Driven, always, by familial love, loyalty, and justice, even in the face of ancient power, its corruption and abuses. Especially in the face of its abuses.  

Nothing is fair, except that we try to make it so. That's the point of humans, maybe, to fix things the gods haven't managed. 

I sometimes want a little more lushness and emotion in my fairytales, but only sometimes. I also love this matter-of-fact, face-the-fears, roll-with-the-bizarre, do-the-hard things approach. It gives me Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany Aching vibes — and anything approaching the genius of Terry Pratchett's witches is okay by me. Fans of Nicola Griffith's Spear and Emily Lloyd-Jones's The Drowned Woods should also enjoy this one. 
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