Nettle & Bone

Product Information

T. Kingfisher uses the bones of fairy tale to create something entirely her own, written in gloriously clear and transparent prose.

The Chicago Review of Books praised the novel for its darkness and its re-interpretation of classic fairy tale tropes. T. Kingfisher is the adult fiction pseudonym of Ursula Vernon, the multi-award-winning author of Digger and Dragonbreath.She had to splint them together with the wires, leaving bloody fingerprints across the surface of the bones. Her books have the atmosphere of a Hayao Miyazaki movie, in that they are often themed on life, death, and what it means to be human, so even the monsters have human sides, and the humans are often shown to be at least part monster themselves.

Kingfisher, I think, and so far, I don't think I've given a single book of hers anything less than four stars. I love her gentle wit and the sense of humanity she gives her characters, and her author's notes always kind of remind me of the breathless bonhomie of Ilona and Gordon Andrews. I devoured this story of a princess-nun rescuing her sister from an abusive marriage, and every fresh turn delighted me. Blending fairy-tale familiarity and common-sense characters, Kingfisher’s prose balances grim circumstances with humor and heart.

The above was my one-line review the first time I attempted this book and couldn't get past the sampler.

She has been nominated for the World Fantasy and the Eisner, and has won the Hugo, Sequoyah, Nebula, Alfie, WSFA, Coyotl and Ursa Major awards, as well as a half-dozen Junior Library Guild selections. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The witch gives her three impossible tasks and when she comes back after finishing two, the witch is stunned having believed the simple girl would fail and go home. If she could find two that went together, she could bind them back to wholeness, but often the breaks were jagged.This book dragged from the first chapter, which is not something I think I've ever experienced before. Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. In turns deeply human and uncanny, The Twisted Ones reads like the world's most terrifying episode of Hoarders.

This is such an inventive and humorously told story about a mostly very simple young woman who wants nothing more than to live a simple life, and yet has difficult tasks thrust upon her as the only hope. Once we start meeting each supporting character, the book becomes almost a road trip comedy, where a gaggle of sort-of friends get to know each other along the way. On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. And the middle sister was sent off to be another political bride that would secure peace and the safety of her kingdom.

There isn’t a weak link in the bunch; each character contributes something both entertaining and endearing to the dynamic. From the safety of the convent, Marra wonders who will come to her sister’s rescue and put a stop to this. Marra, the main one, is a princess who's not very good at politics; she was sent to a convent, so she's also a nun but not really, as she herself states.