A review by columnclub
The Raven and The Reindeer by T. Kingfisher

5.0

I've always loved The Snow Queen, but before The Raven and the Reindeer I'd never read a retelling. This was a lovely adaptation of the story, both where it was faithful to the original and where it wasn't. I liked that even the lesser known parts of the story, like the witch and her plant garden and the robber-maiden, were fully taken up as part of the novel (with the robber-maiden here becoming a significant character - and a love interest!! - in her own right). The idea of Kay being born with frost in him already was an interesting one, and allowed for some great maternal insights from Gerta's grandmother, but it is perhaps a slight disappointment that the novel didn't really flesh him out much, and his character is the only one without any sense of closure. I didn't mind much, though, since this is really Gerta's story.

The titular raven and reindeer were both really clever additions to the novel (even if it does get a bit weird) - Mousebones, the raven, had some funny asides and the idea of the reindeer road was super creative. Background characters like Gran Aischa were fun and really added to the atmosphere of the novel, which was beautifully rich in cultural details thanks to the obvious research that went into it.

I've read Bryony and Roses by the same author, but where that seemed a little shallow and distractingly anachronistic to me, this novel hit what I thought was the perfect tone. It could really do with being reissued to reach the audience it deserves.