Spinning Silver

Spinning Silver
By: Naomi Novik

"Don't sorrow so. The winter is gone."
"But it is gone because I have fed the fire, and it wants more wood."

The winter Staryk king vs the fiery demon-possessed tsar.

Miryem, a moneylender, and Irina, newly married to the tsar, are caught between these warring powerhouses and their people's livelihoods hang in the balance. A story with strong female leads, we see three women rise up and do whatever it takes to protect the people they love.

"The world I wanted wasn't the world I lived in, and if I would do nothing until I could repair every terrible thing at once, I would do nothing forever."

With Jewish/Russian/Nordic tones, Novik has created a dramatic, icy fantasy world full of mystery and beauty. I like that she doesn't tell you exactly what's going on but rather drops you into the middle of a saga. You gradually discover the magic and even by the end, all of your questions about these kingdoms and the way they interact are left to the imagination. A lot of times this method bothers me and causes confusion, but somehow in this book it works!

It starts from Miryem's POV but as other characters are introduced and become significant, new POVs are added. Novik gives each character their own voice and provides enough context clues to help you identify who's talking.

I don't read a lot from the fantasy genre, but Novik has definitely created something worth reading, and I look forward to reading her other books.