Author: T. Kingfisher

Review – Hemlock & Silver

Posted June 5, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Hemlock & Silver

Hemlock & Silver

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 368
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

Healer Anja knows little of politics but much of poisons. When she is summoned to treat the mysterious illness afflicting the king’s daughter, she finds herself against the clock, desperate to track down the source of the poison killing Princess Snow. But the chance discovery of a strange alternate world inside a magic mirror leads Anja to darker discoveries, including what really happened to Snow’s dead sister, Rose, and why their mother seemingly went mad and cut out her heart.

Aided by a taciturn bodyguard, a narcissistic cat, and a late Renaissance understanding of the scientific method, Anja must navigate the mysteries of the mirror world before the dark queen that dwells within rises to threaten them all.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Welp, Hemlock & Silver is a very, very T. Kingfisher sort of book. If I’d read it blind, I think I’d have picked it for a Kingfisher novel, because it has her hallmarks: very inventive interpretation of a source story while adding her own characters, a lot of warmth, and of course a central middle-aged female character who is absolutely capable, if a bit out of her depth.

That’s not to say this is a retread of other books by Kingfisher: her interpretation of the Snow White story is its own thing (and though it includes Rose Red, it’s not the “Snow White and Rose Red” story I know; closer to the Snow White story people know best through Disney). Anja and her efforts at applying the scientific method in this fairytale/medieval-technology setting are recognisable as being Kingfisher’s work, but Anja’s her own person too. I loved the scenes where she gets absolutely fascinated by a new discovery — she and I probably have some things in common!

I liked the characters a lot, including some of the side characters like Lady Sorrel, and of course, Grayling. Some of the concepts were super cool, too, with a very original monster concept about which I won’t say too much.

I did want to hit Anja with a pillow about one conclusion she’d jumped to, though…

If you’re a fan of Kingfisher, you’ll love it; if you’ve never tried it, it strikes me as a pretty good place to start.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – What Feasts at Night

Posted December 21, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – What Feasts at Night

What Feasts At Night

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 151
Series: Sworn Soldier #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Alex Easton, retired soldier, returns in this novella-length sequel to the bestselling What Moves The Dead.

When Easton travels to Gallacia as a favor to Miss Potter, they find their home empty, the caretaker dead, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence.

The locals whisper of a strange breath-stealing being from Gallacian folklore that has taken up residence in Easton’s home . . . and in their dreams.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

T. Kingfisher’s What Feasts At Night is a follow-up to her retelling of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, this one as far as I can tell an original story (though based on folklore, it’s not as strongly tied to a specific story). It was nice to see more of Alex Easton, and to explore ka’s experience as a soldier, along with the fallout of the events of What Moves The Dead (unsurprisingly, Easton is not even slightly a fan of fungi).

The book actually takes us to Gallacia, to the hunting lodge that Easton briefly mentioned in the previous book, in order for Miss Potter (also returning, hurrah!) to stay there and do some exploration for fungi. But when ka arrives, there’s a curious heavy atmosphere, the man he used to pay to keep the place up is gone, and the villagers don’t want to explain what happened.

I found it interesting that Easton points out at one stage that the events in What Moves The Dead are in fact all natural, not supernatural: freaky as heck, but it’s driven by fungi, growing and surviving. In What Feasts at Night, the threat is definitely supernatural. Which probably explains why I found it rather less unsettling than What Moves The Dead: infection and contagion frighten me for legitimate reasons, while ghosts and spirits and “other families” are more solidly in the realm of fiction. I’m not immune to getting creeped out at random, of course, but this book just didn’t play on my fears as well. I just enjoyed Alex’s character, the world-building of the Ruritanian romance stuff, and the typically witty narration of a T. Kingfisher book.

In a way, I enjoyed it more than the first book, and certainly read it faster. I don’t think that makes it better — I think What Moves The Dead is quite possibly the better book.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – What Moves The Dead

Posted November 8, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – What Moves The Dead

What Moves The Dead

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Horror
Pages: 165
Series: Sworn Soldier #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

T. Kingfisher’s What Moves The Dead is a retelling and fleshing out of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, with some added complexity through the introduction of elements of Ruritanian romance in the form of the character of Easton and the Gallacian customs kan adheres to (a heritage shared with Roderick and Madeline).

The story definitely had me tiptoeing a bit around things that trigger my anxiety (contagion, contamination), because it focuses in heavily on fungal infections: local hares and fish are rife with it, and the whole story oozes spores. I’ve no objection to fungi in general, which helps, but the idea of hyphae tangling around my brainstem — no, thank you. Easton’s fears around kan being potentially infected by it as well were juuust tiptoeing up to the edge of my tolerance, being entirely too recognisable.

(That said, it’s good for me at this moment to push at that boundary; it’s not a complaint. It’s just context, for anyone else with similar issues.)

I very much enjoyed Easton’s character and the invented Gallacian customs, kan interactions with Angus and Miss Potter, and indeed the hint of romance developing between the latter two (though it’s just a hint and not a serious thread of plot). The story breathes unease beautifully, and adds to the story of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ rather than just retreading it.

Rating: 4/5

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