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A review by doughtah
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
5.0
Top things:
+ this was such a fun story with a wonderful voice; Agnieszka's story was all in first person limited and her voice/Naomi Novik's voice was such a wonderful story telling device. While there were moments where Agnieszka's story diverted and followed a stray thought, it always came back to Uprooted and its story without fail. It flowed with thick details and several layers to create an embroidered tapestry. If you like richly detailed stories, then I recommend Uprooted.
+ the magic was super cool; it was spoken, chanted, and sung! Agnieszka's magic was a fresh, new style of magic in the story compared to the specific instrumentation developed by the other magicians. I loved how it was described as singing or some easy humming when Agnieszka was trying to work magic. One reviewer mentioned that it was almost a type of magic we could do and I couldn't agree more.
+ the horror of the Wood was Really well done and fully horrifying; I expected a lighter woods, maybe something not too scary AND THEN SHIT HAPPENED AND IT WAS HORRIFYING! Body horror, mind control, and magic gone horribly horribly wrong. My heart was beating so hard by the time they entered the woods and it was thoroughly horrifying. I loved that Novik handled that aspect so well.
Low things
- the restricted 1st person narration was interesting, though it grew a little frustrating in Court when things were happening rapidly and out of sight of Agnieszka
- time felt a bit slippery, though the characterization didn't falter too hard
+ this was such a fun story with a wonderful voice; Agnieszka's story was all in first person limited and her voice/Naomi Novik's voice was such a wonderful story telling device. While there were moments where Agnieszka's story diverted and followed a stray thought, it always came back to Uprooted and its story without fail. It flowed with thick details and several layers to create an embroidered tapestry. If you like richly detailed stories, then I recommend Uprooted.
+ the magic was super cool; it was spoken, chanted, and sung! Agnieszka's magic was a fresh, new style of magic in the story compared to the specific instrumentation developed by the other magicians. I loved how it was described as singing or some easy humming when Agnieszka was trying to work magic. One reviewer mentioned that it was almost a type of magic we could do and I couldn't agree more.
+ the horror of the Wood was Really well done and fully horrifying; I expected a lighter woods, maybe something not too scary AND THEN SHIT HAPPENED AND IT WAS HORRIFYING! Body horror, mind control, and magic gone horribly horribly wrong. My heart was beating so hard by the time they entered the woods and it was thoroughly horrifying. I loved that Novik handled that aspect so well.
Low things
- the restricted 1st person narration was interesting, though it grew a little frustrating in Court when things were happening rapidly and out of sight of Agnieszka
- time felt a bit slippery, though the characterization didn't falter too hard