Spinning Silver by Naomi NovikMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ms. Novik is a fabulous and inventive author.
This could have been just another re-telling of an old faery tale with some sort of modern twist. And to be fair, there are lots of points in the story where you feel like you are revisiting an old faery tale; Rumplestiltskin being the first obvious one.
But those old tales are the bones of the story. Ms. Novik arranges those bones in a way so that when wrapped with the rhetorical meat of the tale, her story is something completely unique.
She utilizes several different POV characters. Most of the story is told through the eyes of about half a dozen characters with another half dozen (or so) that fill in along the way.
There are several characters that act as antagonists along the way. Yet they have their own perspectives in which their actions are revealed as defensible even if they aren't pleasant. Most antagonists get a shot at redemption; most are successful in unique ways.
I read this book as part of preparing for voting for the Hugo Awards (2019). This book will be in first place on my ballot.
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ETA - This is a 5 star review...not 0 stars!!
