"Fans of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, this book is just as compelling. I read it in one day, during a well-timed blizzard. For those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading Novik's Eastern European fairy-tale-inspired fantasy, I'm so excited for you, and don't worry, this book is a standalone. The magic in Spinning Silver reminds me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but our shrewd protagonist Miryem could come from the collection of Yiddish folktales by Isaac Bashevis Singer that I read as a kid."
Publisher Del Rey
Publication Date 2018-07-10
Section New Hardcover - Fiction / Science Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9780399180989
With the Nebula Award–winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik opened a brilliant new chapter in an already acclaimed career, delving into the magic of fairy tales to craft a love story that was both timeless and utterly of the now. Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into this glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.
When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.
But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.
Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.
