Novel 2015 http://www.naominovik.com/uprooted/
In a village in a valley near a frightening forest a wizard takes one young woman to work in his magician’s tower for ten years. The setting is a late medieval Eastern Europe, steeped in folktales and myth.
Agnieszka finds herself caught up in a tale of dark magic and court politics that revolves around the evil powers that lie at the center of the cursed forest that she has lived beside her whole life.
This is a magician’s tale, the hero’s journery but with a magical apprenticeship, surprising talents and sojourn into royal politics and a climactic conflict against a magical evil. While Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller chronicles may accomplish all that by its final volume it is notable that Uprooted packs all the keys acts in a single not overly long novel. The world building, magic and central character are all sufficiently engaging that they could have carried a longer book but Novik was wise not to pad this out with unneeded digressions and side plots.
While the beats of the story are familiar, the setting and protagonist are sufficiently different that the story has a fresh feel and there are sufficient twists to maintain suspense. If the brevity of the book has a weakness it is perhaps that supporting characters are more thinly drawn. The important character of The Dragon (the magician who requires a tribute of one young woman every 10 years) has to go from scary and abusive magician to love-interest in next to no time. I think there is sufficient explanation in the setting and backstory and sufficient agency given to the protagonist for this not to be quite as dodgy as it sounds but others have put a strong case that this whole aspect of the story sails into very dodgy territory.
What works very well is the mix of horror and folklore elements and the evocation of the primal fear of the deep forest. There are elements reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s film The Brothers Grimm and a genuine sense of spooky terror in the way the enchanted forest appears to be manipulating events.
A good read and a book that satisfied my appetite for a tale of a magician learning to do great deeds.
I thought it was overhyped. It wasn’t the Best Thing EVAR!!! as I was led to believe.
“Bryony and Roses” (also a new take on B&TB tale) is much better in all ways, including the problematic parts. Less spooky, though, if that’s what you’re into.
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On the TBR list. I made much headway of late but back at work next week 😦
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