Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Silo Series by Hugh Howey by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Silo Series by Hugh Howey

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

 

Beware potential spoilers! 

Silo is a series of dystopian novellas and short stories that are commonly packaged as three separate, interconnected novels. In 2011, Howey self-published a short story called "Wool" as a Kindle title. Later, four sequel novellas with the same name were released; these were at one point considered Books 1-5 and named "Holston", "Proper Gauge", "Casting Off", "The Unraveling", and "The Stranded". They became a single book later. As of March 2013, Simon & Schuster purchased the print rights (apparently Howey turned down extremely lucrative offers from various publishing houses in order to retain his right to continue online distribution of this series). The second set of shorts were Books 6-8 titled "Legacy", "Order", and "Pact". All the parts of these stories became packaged as two novels in the Silo Series: Wool, Book 1 and Shift, Book 2. A third novel followed, Dust, (published in 2013) which was intended to conclude the series. 

In Wool, we're introduced to the concept of silos--subterranean cities each with 144 floors that are meant to be self-sustained by those living in them. This populace was never meant to become aware of the existence of other silos. In this way, humanity was meant to keep a host safe from the uninhabitable world above-ground. But are any of these true? Occasionally, someone starts to wonder and maybe even investigate the truth of a series of anomalies, invariably leading to an uprising, or, even worse, a person utters the taboo words of wanting to venture outside to see for themselves what's out there. The punishment for such behavior is banishment. In other words, they're exiled to death. Alas, they're first expected to clean the silo's external sensors. Ha! I may have said, "You've got a prayer" or "Make me" to such a ludicrous order. 

There are a host of intriguing characters introduced in the first novel, but the most important of them is Juliette Nichols, a mechanic from Silo #18 who becomes the mayor. She's not one to ignore obvious treachery. Before long, she's hot on the trail of a conspiracy that goes back for unimagined decades, maybe even centuries. When Juliette realizes nothing is as it seems inside this place and that they're only one of many such environmental constructs, she's driven outside by conspirators to clean. She's not expected to survive. But she does and she manages to make it to a nearby silo--#17--where she meets a survivor of an uprising. 

Shift, Book 2, is a prequel, where we learn where this conspiracy began, leading to the building of these silos, and the horrors done to the world to save a worthy (rich and powerful) minority. 

The final book, Dust, combines the characters from the first two books. 

I've always been intrigued by the idea of the bulk of humanity living underground for a variety of reasons ranging from escaping a hostile environment on the surface to unseen-by-most pocket worlds, and anything you can think of in-between. This certainly isn't a new idea. Philip K. Dick's 1964 sci-fi The Penultimate Truth (along with other works by him) explored the concept, and countless other authors from Verne to Burroughs to the more modern Suzanne Collins, Neil Gaiman, and R. A. Salvatore have come up with creative twists on the theme. 

I was looking for audiobooks to check out on my library app and came across this one, which I, at first, thought was a book I'd read in the past--one I still can't remember the name of which has an almost eerily similar premise of everyone living in some kind of silo structure and the leaders are all corrupt. They're told what's outdoor is toxic for them, but this is a lie. I wish I could remember more about that book. Anyway… 

In Wool, I was introduced to a lot of characters at once, but Juliette certainly filled the role of heroine admirably. She was a selfless, capable, noble character worth. I admit I probably wouldn't have finished Book 1 and continued this series if I hadn't been listening to the audio version of it. Shift was a bit harder to get into. It was very difficult for me to want to read about wishy-washy, selfish characters who continue on with horrifying actions even when they know it's the worst thing they can possibly do. While those that did this assumed they'd be saved and be able to live with their own consciences, so long as they were allowed to live, they eventually repented. I have nothing good to say about anyone who would follow a madman just because he's been foolishly and shortsightedly been put in charge. Wanting to succeed in the field of politics is inexcusable as any kind of justification. Yet that's what we got from the self-absorbed characters in Shift. Even when they turned around and started fighting the Powers That Be, it was hard for me to look at the train wreck of gore left behind by the selfish and entitled. All that considered, I didn't particularly feel any compassion for the characters in this novel. Nevertheless, I persevered to the end anyway in hopes of coming full circle with Juliette, and I did in Dust, where those from Books 1 and 2 come together and begin fighting to save what's left of humanity. But first they have to put down the ones that see humanity as nothing more than lesser pawns in their sick popularity contest. 

There is a television series (4 seasons total, available now) made of Silo, currently streaming on Apple TV+. I'd like to watch it someday. There's also a comic book adaptation of the series. The author may also be working on a spinoff to tell the story of Silo 40. The first of the trilogy was supposed to be released in 2025. If you're interested, you may be able to find out more on his website. 

I highly recommend securing audiobooks of this series that offers a compelling vision of a horrifying future for mankind that, at times, seemed more prophetic than fictional. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series. 

Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Only One Left by Riley Sager by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Only One Left by Riley Sager

by Karen S. Wiesner 

Warning: May contain spoilers! 

I've read and reviewed all of Riley Sager's previous books. Oddly enough, The Only One Left (his 2023 release, the seventh I've reviewed) turned out to be different, at least in that the unreliable narrator card that's been blatant in all his other stories wasn't, for once, played more than a little in this one. Believe me, it was growing stale. I was expecting it--dreaded it, truth be told. I've come to despise books that use this plot device. Because I was so focused on that, I missed the end-of-story twist that I think I would have otherwise seen coming right from the start. Sigh. 

This murder/mystery horror novel actually had a really good premise. Kit is a home health aide, not a nurse (the difference between the two is carefully explained). She was accused of giving her dying mother a fatal overdose and, as a result, her employer has her over a barrel now. She either takes the bad assignment she's handed or she loses her job altogether. The chances of getting another are slim to none because of the mark against her. 

Hope's End is the local decrepit mansion, and shades of The Fall of the House of Usher, along with the Lizzie Borden massacre, are pushed early on. This place is falling into the sea little by little and who'll be left at the end of this tragedy? Everything points to just one--the only one left.

Kit's patient is an elderly invalid who was accused long ago of murdering her family. Lenora Hope is mute and paralyzed other than her left hand, which she uses to type out her story. Lenora's previous nurse left suddenly in the night--or did she? 

I liked the gothic feel of the setting and the trust-no-one, strangling circle of possible culprits. Kit's own past is woven into all this seamlessly. I also love horror stories that turn a schoolyard chant into creepy poetry, as this one did: 

At seventeen, Lenora Hope

Hunger her sister with a rope.

Stabbed her father with a knife.

Took her mother's happy life.

"It wasn't me," Lenora said.

But she's the only one not dead...

While my usual laments cropped up after reading this one (such as that it could have used a serious trim--the hardcover I read had 383 pages; 200 of which could easily have been cropped--and there were too many characters for the author to develop that I had to keep track of), I probably would have liked this Sager novel much more if I'd read it first or second instead of dead last. 

I just got a notice in my inbox that this author has a new release (With a Vengeance came out June 2025, which is when I'm writing this review). Unfortunately, I don't think I'll buy it, though I might read it as an ebook on the Libby library app when it's available. I'm more than a little burned out on the sameness of this particular writer's novels. If you, however, haven't read any of them, this might be the place to start. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series. 

Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Review of Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Review of Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

   Beware: May contain unintended spoilers! 

T. Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon) is a versatile author, illustrator, and artist. Her novel Hemlock & Silver, published in August 2025, wasn't the first Snow White fairytale retelling she wrote. In the "Toad Words and Other Stories" collection (published in 2014), my favorite offering from it was "Boar & Apples", written specifically for the anthology, which contained a character named Snow. (I reviewed that collection recently on the Alien Romances blog.) In "Boar & Apples", Snow's path--in true Kingfisher style--leads her to boars instead of dwarves, but the basic components of the original story of Snow White were evident with a wicked, vain mother; a magic mirror; and a poisoned apple. I have much more to say about "Boar & Apples" but that will come later. First, I've give you a rundown of Hemlock & Silver. 

To begin with, keep in mind that Snow White is not the focus of this particular retelling--the poisoned apple is the star of this show, which is a very interesting twist on the original. In Hemlock & Silver, Anja is a healer, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Anja will feel very familiar to Kingfisher fans because this is the typical character the author defaults to almost without fail--basically, you've met one of her heroines and you've met all of them (and I think all are based on the author herself). No big deal there. When someone Anja cared about died of poisoning while she was a child, her plight to find cures to poisons drove her to study and learn and, yes, poison herself in hopes of finding answers that might save other people. When the king of the land she lives in comes to her, begging her to cure his dying daughter, Snow, Anja can't refuse him (and not just because merchant daughters don't refuse kings). Note that, while I can't prove it, the world this story seems set in is similar (another region of?) to Kingfisher's World of the White Rat stories (which includes Swordheart, The Clocktaur War, and The Saint of Steel series). 

I'd say nearly a third of the book detailed the long and tedious journey to get Anja to the king's secluded "summer home" (not the palace) in the desert, where his daughter is convalescing. During that long trek, Anja spends a lot of time thinking about her pursuit of seeking cures to poisons. She grows close to her two bodyguards, Aaron and Javier. Honestly, at first I was convinced which of those bodyguards was slated to be Anja's love interest, though later it's the opposite one that becomes her partner in crime and the focus of the romantic interest she wrongly believes he doesn't want from her. (A silly misunderstanding intended to keep them apart.) 

Once they arrive at the house in the desert, there are a lot of "looking for answers" pages in the book. Despite how I'm describing these first two parts, there wasn't anything specifically boring about it all. I enjoyed the story almost all the way through. But I will say the pace was extremely slow-moving, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot happening during a big chunk of time. I began to fear Anja was going to have to pack up and leave Snow to her fate until, in a convoluted bit of unrealistic and unfathomable clumsiness, Anja is chasing a one-eyed, narcissistic cat and ends up crashing into the big, creepy mirror in her room. From that point on, her hunt for answers turns to exploring the secret, dark realm beyond the magic mirror, where monsters could be allies and those you trust may well prove to be enemies. 

So I'll admit it: My favorite part of this story was the romance between Anja and one of her bodyguards, which is something I never thought I'd say when it comes to Kingfisher love stories. Her other offerings in this genre tend to be riddled with too many strained obstacles and "we want to, but we can't" blockades in advancing what, bottom line, is an incredibly awkward relationship--yet there's usually something sweet and wonderful about it anyway. There is a touch of that angsting here, as well, but luckily it wasn't overwhelming this time. 

I will also state that the last twenty-five pages or so, as the mystery was finally being solved and answers were served up, felt just a little muddled to me. Overall, I think this particular story needed a more visual medium to adequately portray it. The mirror aspects were tricky, and, for all her words, I don't think the author did an overwhelmingly thorough job of describing what was going on with and inside them. I frequently felt like I was given little or nothing familiar enough to make her explanations plausible so I could grasp the mind-picture she was trying to conjure by throwing a lot of detail at me. However, that said, I was very satisfied by the conclusion of the story. I wouldn't mind if the author gave us more of Anja, her new love interest, and her snake and rooster pets--and maybe the not-quite-a-cat can tag along, too. I'd be interested if Kingfisher wants to tell Anja's sister's story. Or Aaron's. Hint, hint! 

Now, on to more about Kingfisher's other Snow White offering. At the time I was reading "Toad Words", I realized Hemlock & Silver was also a Snow White reimagining and, given that there was a character named Snow in it, I (naively) assumed there must be a connection between the two stories. More than that, I was hoping there would be a connection. I spent more than half of Hemlock & Silver convinced that "Boar & Apples" must be a prequel to it. It seemed possible that the father of Snow, who was absent for most of "Boar & Apples" (off trying to locate a new wife who could bear him a male heir) returned just in time to find out his current wife (Snow's wicked mother, who was influenced by the demonic mirror) had poisoned and tried to murder their only daughter. Snow, at one point after eating the poisoned apple, had gone into a kind of coma that her winsome swine friends feared she'd never wake from. Hemlock & Silver dovetailed into that. 

Interestingly, a friend of mine had recently read Hemlock & Silver before I did, and, when I mentioned to her that I'd originally thought it was the sequel to "Boar & Apples", a lively discussion ensued between us. She went back and re-read the short story, something she hadn't done in years, concluding she didn't see any link between the two stories, and they had a vastly different "feel" to her. I'm convinced the reason for that is a direct correlation to the order in which we read them. I agreed that, having read the novel first (and not having read the short story in many years), it made sense that she saw no ties to the previous story and therefore no thought was given to the two of them being connected. I, on the other hand, had read both recently and the short story was read first, the novel not too long afterward. I myself didn’t notice a hugely drastic feel between the stories in the order I read them in, in part because I assumed Hemlock & Silver was being told from a new point-of-view, continuing where the short story left off previously--with Snow in some kind of coma. I assumed from there that Anja would then heal her. I admit, the ending of “Boar & Apples” didn’t make a lasting impact on me. I can’t remember and/or I simply couldn’t understand in the reading of it (the latter strikes me as more probable) whether Snow ever woke up from eating the poisoned apple in the short story. All these elements pooled together spelled "sequel" to me when I went to read Hemlock & Silver. Ultimately, it was the mention of a younger sibling in Hemlock & Silver that made me realize the two stories probably weren't connected. Aww! 

To be clear, I’m not bothered that the author took the same fairytale and retold it twice. I enjoyed both "Boar & Apples" and Hemlock & Silver, so there’s no reason for me to be upset about that. A reviewer on Goodreads posted an irate diatribe about the author "recycling" the Thornhedge plot within Hemlock & Silver. I wasn't persuaded that actually was the case, or, more to the point, whether it mattered if the two stories did include similar elements. How different is it, really, to, say, write about vampires your whole career or various renditions of "Snow White"? Each can be unique in their ways, despite having a similar touchstone that crops up in each one. Even if Kingfisher did reuse a subplot element from one book to the next, I believe she put a fresh spin on it in each. 

No, what I did take issue with was that it seemed to me the author either purposely or accidentally created a lot of similarities and/or ties between her two "Snow White" stories--even beyond the theme of them both being based on the same fairytale retelling. The opportunity for connection seemed possible with "Boar & Apples" and Hemlock & Silver, like the author was reaching toward an obvious connection, then, at the last minute, she yanked the thread that could have brought them together harmoniously. A part of me felt set up by the author for disappointment because of this. As a reader, I yearn for links between an author’s stories--the more the better! Beyond that, I would love to understand what drove Kingfisher to write a second version of the original fairytale premise; whether Hemlock & Silver was borne out of some sense on the author's part that "Boar & Apples" didn't satisfy her Snow White craving in one way or another; or if all this was just random chaos in the life of a writer. 

Additionally, in nearly every Kingfisher book I've ever read, she's included an afterword, telling readers what inspired the story that may or may not include connections with past, present, or future offerings. The author did include an afterword in Hemlock & Silver, but there she talked about the feline inspiration, along with some other things that had nothing to do with the first Snow White story she wrote. As a result, the avoidance of "Boar & Apples" came off like side-stepping to me. But, I concede now, that was probably just my own disappointment talking. 

In Kingfisher's defense, she wrote the short story "Boar & Apples" long in advance of Hemlock & Silver (I think anyway--I could be wrong about that, as this author tends to be writing several books simultaneously and some of them take many, many, long years to complete; case in point, Daggerbound, the second Swordheart novel, which I believe the author started just after she finished Swordheart, which was first published in 2018, and will only just be published August 2026). Kingfisher no doubt forgot a lot of what happened in "Boar & Apples", remembered badly, or clean forgot about that story altogether (I suspect that's closest to the case). 

Sigh. Given that I’m reading all Kingfisher's work back-to-back and reviewing them here on the Alien Romances blog, I suppose I'm perceiving things like this that readers who’ve been following her all along (as well as with the author herself) may miss or never see the same way I am—in large part because Kingfisher and her long-time readers haven’t read these older tales recently, so none of my anguish would ever occur to them. I wish it wasn't the case, but all this did affect my overall enjoyment of Hemlock & Silver, though I'm at the stage in my grief where I can admit I'm at fault for the majority of that and not necessarily the author. 

In any case, don't get hung up on these albeit minor dissatisfactions. The vast majority of T. Kingfisher's stories are extremely good. No reader should pass up her unpredictably unique style of making every story a brand-new adventure, unlike anything that's been experienced previously. For that reason, Hemlock & Silver--as well as its unconnected Snow White predecessor "Boar & Apples"--are not to be missed.

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List}

Review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware: May contain unintended spoilers! 

I was looking for a new audiobook to listen to on my library apps, and it came down to whatever seemed mildly interesting that was immediately available. I've learned from my experience in the last year with checking out ebooks and audiobooks from the virtual library that it tends to be very difficult to actually get anything you really want to read or listen to on these apps because they either don't have what I'm looking for (especially subsequent books in a series) and/or it takes weeks or months of waiting to get hold of the literature most desired. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (author of The Haunting on Hill House, which I've read) was released in 1962 and happens to be her final work. The genre category I was informed this novel falls into is mystery, which I can kind of see, but I would more aptly describe it as a psychological thriller with a touch of Gothic flavor. 

In this story, a girl (who's 18, something I don't remember being said in the audiobook--unfortunately, it's very easy to miss a lot while listening to something as opposed to reading the book myself) nicknamed Merricat lives with her agoraphobic older sister Constance and uncle Julian on the Blackwood estate, which is isolated and closed away from the nearby village. She's gone into town to run errands, getting groceries and library books. That sounds pretty mild and non-threatening, but in the mind of this person I assumed was a 10-year-old child (or thereabouts), it's anything but. While in town, she feels the danger all around her based on the small-minded community's reactions to her. Most of it comes down to negative energy directed her way in attitudes and looks at her, but, at the café she stops in for coffee, she's actually bullied by a couple of the townsfolk. She does finally escape, but her home is just as strange and confusing as all that came before. Later on, a cousin named Charles arrives and penetrates their seclusion. Merricat realizes he's looking for the fortune rumored to be buried all around their "castle". Unable to drive him away with the magic she believes she possesses, she becomes desperate. 

In the sinister background of this story looms an incident that happened six years before and isn't told straight out but is instead doled out in bits and pieces. Constance and Merricat's parents, their aunt, and younger brother died of poisoning. Julian was also poisoned, though he survived. Constance was arrested for the murders and was later acquitted. The town has reacted to this by ostracizing the remaining family members. What really happened? 

I soon learned that this story was written in the "unreliable narrator" style. In other words, the point-of-view character's perspective is not to be trusted. Bernadette Dunne narrated the audiobook version of this and did a really good job of capturing the eeriness of the tale and the unnaturalness of Merricat herself. The creepiness sneaks up on you again and again, in large part because the town's bullying is so over-the-top, the reader is utterly helpless not to sympathize with this family just on principle. It's hard to blame people for their behavior if they've been driven to such extremes to protect themselves from cruel people. Because of the unreliable editor perspective, it was hard to know for sure, but I suspect it was a chicken-and-the-egg thing: The bullying led to the desperate acts that led to the bullying that led to… 

Both a stage play and a movie (with Crispin Glover) were made from this book. I'd actually be interested in how We Have Always Lived in the Castle was translated in such a visual medium. If you're looking for a story that's fairly short that will hover on your mind long after you've finished it, this will more than fit the bill. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Review of Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Review of Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware: May contain unintended spoilers! 

So on T. Kingfisher's website, she has a page that includes links to her short stories and articles, some of which are included in a variety of different anthologies (her own and others) and, from this page, you can read these offerings free. Two stories that I absolutely adored--"Jackalope Wives" and "The Tomato Thief" (oddly, written under her real name Ursula Vernon)--can be read from there at no charge. What a bargain! 

In both of these stories, Grandma Harken is the protagonist--a clever old woman who is far more than who and what she seems. She lives in a house with its back to the desert (strange things happen in the desert!), and she understands this harsh environment better than most. Her biting humor and compelling way of looking at the world make these tales irresistible. In both stories, there's a little bit of "magic" because, in the desert, there are spirits, not quite deities, but definitely not human either. I wanted more of this world, more of Grandma Harken, after I finished reading these two shorts. You can find my reviews for them by putting "T. Kingfisher" or the story titles into the search engine here on the Alien Romances blog. 

In Snake-Eater, we have Grandma Billy, who is, for all intents and purposes, Grandma Harken, only going by another name. I don't think Kingfisher intended that, but anyone who's read all these stories would probably agree with me. Full disclosure, I found myself deeply disappointed that the author didn’t have Grandma Harken reprise her role in Snake-Eater instead of creating the new, shockingly similar Grandma Billy. All three of these stories felt very connected to me--I read them within a few weeks of each other. I flat-out refuse to believe they weren't set in the same world, though possibly in a nearby region of it and not the exact same one. I would have loved to visit Grandma Harken again. While Grandma Billy was enjoyable, new quirks to Grandma Harken's already quirky personality could easily have fit the bill. The opportunity for connection was there, but it seemed like it was deliberately missed. As a reader, I yearn for links between an author’s stories--the more the better! In the same way, these three stories felt like they could have been connected, like the author was reaching toward an obvious tie, then, at the last minute, she yanked the thread that could have brought it all together harmoniously. A part of me felt set up by the author for disappointment because of this. I was left wishing the world Kingfisher created here could become a wider thing with many more stories to come. As I said, Snake-Eater basically has the same setting as the two Grandma Harken stories, here called Quartz Creek, with the addition of a few other characters, including a Catholic priest who (for once in modern fiction) turns out to be a pretty good guy. 

The author injected someone named Selena into Snake-Eater with a black lab dog named Copper. In my opinion, these characters are a regurgitation of Mouse and her coon dog Bongo from Kingfisher's 2019 horror The Twisted Ones. As I said in my review of that novel, Kingfisher is always Kingfisher, and I think all her main characters are essentially her. Whatever is the case, she defaults to a character type that she has reused over and over in her fiction almost from the beginning--whether those heroines are young, old, or somewhere in-between. The names and details have been swapped out, but, almost all across the board, T. Kingfisher is always the heroine in her own tales. That's not necessarily a bad thing. If you like her, you'll probably always like her. If you don't, well, then I guess that's the one drawback. Not every author can be skilled in every area, but T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon is a fantastic writer, despite that her characters tend to be static cookie-cutter types, and she only rarely disappoints me. 

In Snake-Eater, Selena's lost her mother, whom she wasn't all that close to anyway, and ran away from a relationship that was destroying her. With little more than twenty bucks in her pocket, she flees to the desert town Quartz Creek, where her Aunt Amelia lives and is always inviting her to visit. Only Amelia is gone. Her home, Jackrabbit Hole House, is still there with no one to claim it because those daring enough to inhabit the very small, struggling but close-knit town knew how to contact a next of kin. Long story short, Selena is welcomed to move in and make the house her own by the mayor/postmistress/fire chief/many other hats of the town. 

On her way to the place, Selena meets Grandma Billy, her eccentric, to say the least, neighbor. Strange things happen in the desert, and, even as Selena finds herself settling into a place that feels like home and people that feel like family, odd things begin to happen--like the appearance of fetches--supernatural apparitions which are bad omens. This all culminates in a few roadrunners (something that looks like a dinosaur instead of the cartoon character readers are familiar with) stalking Selene for a reason she can't understand. 

Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre have some theories that her aunt created the fetches herself. According to Grandma Billy, Amelia was prone to taking in drifters. One such stray she'd befriended (and might have be-lover-ed) was Snake-Eater, a not-human, not-deity thing Amelia had become close with. This one, Grandma Billy had never taken a shine to. If he's showing up again suddenly, it can't be good. So what does he want? And, if Selena and her new friends can make him go away, should she and Copper make Quartz Creek and Jackrabbit Hole House their home permanently? 

Snake-Eater was written in very typical Kingfisher style, and I enjoyed every minute of it, despite that it was a bit slow-moving and frequently felt like there was little or nothing actually happening (luckily, I like character studies just as much as I do action and adventure in a story). Again, as I did with the Grandma Harken stories, I want more of this world. I hope in the future that Kingfisher will own up to what could be construed as a rehash of her past characters and settings and make this a full-on series instead of random, repurposed bits that somehow cropped up in this standalone novel.

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} The Hazel Wood Series by Melissa Albert by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List}

The Hazel Wood Series by Melissa Albert

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware spoilers! 

I was looking for a Christmas tale, similar to "A Christmas Carol", one afternoon at the end of 2025. The audiobook for The Hazel Wood came up, though I have no idea why. As far as I could tell at any point while listening to it, there was nothing vaguely Christmas-y about it. In fact, this very sinister tale is far from feel-good, inspirational, or even hopeful. Instead, The Hazel Wood is a dark, truly noir fantasy series. Rebecca Soler narrated all of these stories. Her voice absolutely bleeds the bitchy, always-angry teenage girl persona that fits this series perfectly (she did a good job with all the other unique voices as well). 

The Hazel Wood, Book 1, was published in 2019, the first offering by former managing editor at Barnes and Noble Melissa Albert. Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother Ella have always lived their lives on the road, running away from the "bad luck" that's constantly hounding them. Alice knows her grandmother Althea authored a cult-classic book of pitch-black fairytales, and she knows the old woman died at her estate, the Hazel Wood, a place she's never been to. The one time her mom caught her trying to read the elusive book, little Alice had had it yanked away from her. When Ella disappears, the only clue to where she's gone is the message she left Alice: "Stay away from the Hazel Wood." A classmate, Ellery Finch, is a die-hard fan of her grandmother's work. He also seems to have a bit of a crush on Alice. But what does she really know about him? Despite that she isn't sure she can trust him, Alice has no one else to help her track down her mom. Where she and Finch are led is insane, even unbelievable. Who was her grandmother? For that matter, who was her mom and who is she? 

The basic story of a teenager who doesn't fit in seemingly anywhere, then something happens to make him or her realize the world they know is nothing like they've always believed has been done before, and very often (in the 2000s, many such titles and series were released--The Caster Series and The Mortal Instrumentals are two very similar to The Hazel Wood…but there are others). 

  Both The Hazel Wood and The Night Country audiobooks came with the bonus novella set in the same world called "The Boy Who Didn't Come Home" (first published in paperback with 38 pages on January 7, 2020),  narrated by James Fouhey. In this, we're given Finch's side of the story following the events of Book 1, before Book 2 begins. The Night Country is the sequel, published in 2021, where Alice and Finch delve even deeper into her grandmother's dark legacy, and Alice has to confront that maybe there's no such thing as a happily-ever-after, let alone an unmagical life, for her. There was a beautiful, unexpected romance in this story. Additionally, the events moved toward a wrap-up that I found surprisingly perfect. I honestly had no clue how this sequence could tie up in a way that could be considered satisfactory, but the author did manage to pull off quite a compelling resolution. 

  These two books hinge on really knowing the 12 anti-fairytales that are included in Althea Proserpine's collection of Hinterland tales. Sure, Finch or Ella or other characters often retell portions from the collected work of Alice's grandmother's stories for her, but it's just not the same. Not having read all of these stories in advance was a huge hindrance to me in fully understanding Books 1 and 2. Apparently, I wasn't the only reader who felt that way. In 2023, we finally got them in Tales from the Hinterland, which includes all of Althea Proserpine's disturbing stories. Since all three are now available to us (thankfully I discovered the series long after all the offerings were released), I strongly urge reading this collection first before starting Book 1. Trust me, it'll all make much more sense that way. I also want to comment that it's difficult to write a story when you've locked yourself in with something else you wrote previously. Albert had to do it 12 times! Kudos!

If you're looking for the polar opposite of a fairytale, something unusual, unexpected, and unsettling, this series is definitely for you. Be advised that this isn't a Christmas story outside of the cold, wintery, chilling aspects, though there are plenty of Krampus-style demons running amok here if you find yourself in the mood to be menaced. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

  Beware major spoilers (you'll get pretty much the whole story here)! 

Of late on the Alien Romances Blog, I've been reviewing "reimagined and unconventional fairytales" written by T. Kingfisher. In my first take on Kingfisher's loose renderings of fairytales, I reviewed Nettle & Bone, which is basically a subversion of everything that's been done in a fairytale all rolled into one, along with Bryony and Roses ("Beauty and the Beast") and Thornhedge ("Sleeping Beauty"). After that, I reviewed The Seventh Bride ("Mr. Fox"/"The Robber Bridegroom", and other aberrations) by itself followed by A Sorceress Comes to Call ("The Goose Girl"). 

In preparation for reading The Raven and the Reindeer, a 2016 LGBTQ fantasy release, I re-read the 1844 original Danish tale "The Snow Queen" published in New Fairy Tales, First Volume by Hans Christian Andersen. You can find it online free in many different places. Unlike most of these fairytales, this one is presented in seven long, mostly boring chapters in which a lot of crap that doesn't matter in the least is included and the stuff that's really important is unforgivably skated over (more about that later). Some inventive adaptations of the original that most people will know include C. S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Disney's Frozen. 

So the basic story in "The Snow Queen" is that the devil makes a magic mirror that reflects only the worst aspects of everyone and everything. When it shatters, pieces of it fall and get stuck in people's eyes and hearts, forcing them to become cold and bitter. Gerda and Kai (both names are spelled differently from one variation to the next) are children who grow up next door to each other. Gerda is in love with Kai, he kisses her, but then splinters of the mirror get in his eye and heart, changing him. The Snow Queen comes to town and takes Kai away with her. Gerda is determined to rescue him and goes through a whole lot to do that, though mainly we're forced to endure a lot of boring prose that does nothing to further the tale. All the aspects of "magic" and the supernatural that are the point of this whole story are offered up as short, simple facts, a presumption of acceptance is thrown down like a gauntlet, and readers dare not question the plausibility of anything. Boiled down, the series of events Gerda goes through are:

1)    Gerda is enchanted by a witch who puts her to work in her garden for an endless amount of time until she's able to wake up…you know, somehow.

2)    A crow Gerda can talk to tells her he might have seen Kai in a palace--but it's not him, so it was a big waste of time even going there.

3)    Gerda is kidnapped by a band of robbers, but the robber girl and her reindeer decide to help Gerda instead.

4)    Traveling north, they meet two women. The second tells the reindeer that Gerda has special power that can save Kai--her sweet and innocent child's heart. If she can't figure it out from there, well, that's her problem!

5)    They get to the Snow Queen's palace and enter easily. This is where Kai has been put to work on a Mirror of Reason puzzle that enchants him to stay where he is forever. Gerda rushes to him and kisses him, the spell is broken, and her tears melt the splinters in his heart and eye.

6)    Happily ever after. I said, happily ever after, sir! Just accept it, okay? How, what, when, where, why? you splutter. It just is. I don't know what happened to the crow or the robber girl or the reindeer. Gerda and Kai get away--the Snow Queen apparently was getting her hair done or something, and they're free to leave, go home, and Grandma reads a passage from the Bible about changing and becoming as little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm confused. What just happened? Does any of this make the slightest bit of sense? The bigger question, to me, is, how did this story become such a popular one? I mentioned two popular retellings, but there are dozens in existence. Unfathomably. In Kingfisher's acknowledgements, she wonders about that as well. Maybe because it was done so incompletely and poorly?

So, here's my big gripe: Nearly all old fairytales present a story that's almost always rife with unbelievable magic or events that are in no way explained, justifiable, or even particularly detailed. More like's it's presented as if readers are expected to go along with it, like, "Oh, it's magic/unbelievable/crazy. So that happened. Okay, I believe it. Onward!" Except you can't quite believe it because there's no basis for justification. You either move forward, accept that it's all silly and just keep reading because period…or you don't. It's as if the authors didn't feel the need to get their audience to accept the plausibility of their tales. You'd think they would or could have at least tried to provide some kind of elucidation. So often, they didn't bother. Don't ask me why not, or why the publishers didn't make it a requirement then. I can't even imagine. 

I realize most of you already know what the literary concept of "suspension of disbelief" is, but I'll reiterate the gist of it here just to make sure everyone's on the same page, since that's the foundation of this review. In essence, a valid explanation is introduced early in the story that gives the readers what they need to accept something fantastically implausible. If a reader isn't given this justification, it's almost impossible for them to immerse themselves in the story at any point. It's too unbelievable. I'd add that readers who aren't given something convincing enough in this regard either chuck the book over the side of the boat or they spend the rest of the narration in the booing section, shouting snide comments like, "And how exactly did they do that?" every few seconds. 

The original fairytale "The Snow Queen" is one of the worst I've ever seen when it comes to the author not giving even the slightest hint of something that would allow suspension of disbelief. Readers are moved from one situation to the next and, if the writer had done the slightest bit of work (hey, that's part of the craft!), maybe those situation could have been exciting and worthwhile. Instead, we're just left to muddle our way through a thicket of dense forest in the dark with no idea what's important and what's not. We're relieved when it's over, sure, but not for the reason I suspect the author intended. 

T. Kingfisher's rendition, The Raven and the Reindeer, went through every single chapter of Anderson's pitiful, poorly constructed story and gave us worthy justifications that allowed for suspension of disbelief from start to finish. As I read "The Snow Queen", the same question kept come back from one scenario to the next: "How in the world did that work?" I never found out. The author had a really good idea for a story, but he didn't bother to write anything but this skeleton that was bloated with unsightly and painful boils. Mainly, he got sidetracked by silliness that does not story construction make. 

So now I'll tell you how Kingfisher told this tale: Gerta is in love with Kay, and though they're friends, he doesn't seem to know what to make of their relationship, though he does kiss her once--something that confuses her, as well it should. They grew up as neighbors. He's a strange boy who likes puzzles, but she doesn't mind his oddities, though she's put off by them sometimes, internalizing them. She has a nightmare one night, in which Kay is kidnapped by a frost queen in a sled. The next morning, she sees something is definitely going on because the boy she's known all her life has become cold and cruel. Not long later, Kay goes missing and Gerta realizes, after talking to her very knowledgeable grandmother, that it was the Snow Queen who took him. Gerta is determined to get him back. She thinks she may be in love with him, but she isn't sure about that. She sets off and doesn't really know where to go or how to get there, which is probably why she fumbles through so many bad episodes along the way. Boiled down, the series of events Gerta follows after this point are:

1)    Gerta is enchanted by a witch who isn't evil or particularly powerful, just lonely. She puts her under an enchantment. Every day Gerta works in her garden. Seven months pass. A memory of Kay jars Gerta so she wakes up to realize something bad is happening to her. She talks to the flowers in the garden, who tell her Kay can't be dead because, being one with the whole earth, they would know if his body joined theirs. Gerta confronts the witch, who repents and gives her the basic supplies she needs to survive her journey.

2)    A raven named Mousebones that Gerda can talk to joins her on the road. He's loyal and very helpful in his way, when he wants to be, but he's also sharp-tongued. Fun!

3)    Gerta is kidnapped by a band of robbers who want to eat her, but the robber girl with them, Janna, is also a prisoner of sorts. She and her reindeer (who Gerta can also talk to) decide to help Gerta instead. In fact, the reindeer is so old and lonely for a herd that he offers up his skin so Gerta can walk the reindeer road, which is the only way Gerta can get into the Snow Queen's realm. (In essence, the reindeer willingly gives up his skin so Gerta can wear it and become a reindeer.) When Janna kisses Gerta, she becomes very confused about her feelings for Kay.

4)    Traveling north, they meet an old storyteller who tells them to find Livli, a Lutheran and one who understands reindeer and cold in ways few others can.

5)    They find a tunnel into the Snow Queen's palace and, thanks to the very friendly and adorable otters that pull her sled, they're able to find Kay. The otters don't feel much loyalty to the monster they're forced to serve. Kay's been put to work on a puzzle all this time, and he's anything but friendly toward Gerta. He believes she's wasted her time trying to find him. Gerda has been wondering herself why she went to all this trouble. But she's reminded that he has ice splinters in his heart and eye, causing him to be cold and cruel to her and her new friends.

6)    The Snow Queen shows up, and she blasts Gerta with her icy powers. Gerta is, for all intents and purposes, dead--but remember how Gerta could talk to the flowers because they're connected with all things of the earth? Well, now semi-dead, Gerta is also of the earth and "Mother Nature" can talk to her directly. She tells Mother Nature that she's been under the Snow Queen's enchantment all this time, forestalling spring, and causing animals and other things of nature to go hungry, etc. This enrages Mother Nature, and she's coaxed into fighting back against this evil being. Gerta asks if she can be sent back to the world of the living, to Kay, sure, and her animal friends, but mostly to Janna, whom she's fallen in love with and intends to spend the rest of her life with just as soon as Kay is delivered home to his family. The friendly, flying otters are happy to assist now that they're also free. 

Even on the basis of this summary, I think you can imagine that this was a very well-constructed, tense, worthwhile story that has a more fitting and appropriate happily ever after than whatever the heck that was in the original tale. 

The Raven and the Reindeer takes the rattling bones of Anderson's bad, bad, bad story and makes it something unexpected, fully human, and intriguing. It's almost like a literal retelling in which all the important areas of the original that were foolishly left out are finally explained and logically played out. Gerta isn't someone who really understands herself or the world around her (like, at all), so she falls into a lot of traps, like believing she must be destined to end up with Kay as her soulmate, assuming everyone is honest and above-board, and taking so long to realize that her innate abilities are the very ones she needs to succeed in her quest. The character building here was fairly complex, unlike the original. To round all this out, we're treated to Kingfisher's trademark, animated, loveable creatures. In my opinion, they're what really made this particular story something special. 

The author herself (under her real name Ursula Vernon) designed the very cool and stunning cover art. 

I'm still hoping to get hold of Hemlock & Silver ("Snow White") soon to complete the circle of review of T. Kingfisher's fairytale retellings. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Miss Spitfire (Reaching Helen Keller) by Sarah Miller by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: Miss Spitfire (Reaching Helen Keller) by Sarah Miller

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

This post is a little late for National Teacher Day, celebrated annually on the Tuesday of the first full week of May, but better late than never! While it's touted as a historical children's story, anyone who loves Helen Keller and inspirational stories is sure to enjoy this one.  

My first experience with Sarah Miller was a novel called Caroline, a novelized take of the Laura Ingalls Wilder tales from the point of view of Laura's patient, gentle, long-suffering mother. I enjoyed very much seeing familiar, beloved scenes written from the viewpoint of another character--one who's so different from impulsive, headstrong Laura. This is one of Miller's great loves--fictionalized retakes of stories we know told in a unique point of view. Other accounts Miller's done are of Lizzie Borden, Lorena Hickok (friend of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt); Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed for her alleged involvement in Lincoln's assassination; along with an alternate view of Alcott's beloved Little Women from the perspective of Margaret March.

When I saw the author's first release in July 10, 2007 was a fictionalized version of Helen Keller from the point of view of her teacher Anne Sullivan, I knew I had to read it. I listened to the audiobook of Miss Spitfire (Reaching Helen Keller), which was wonderfully narrated by Terry Donnell, who's also voice-acted many of historical fantasy author Juliet Marillier's books. Her authentic Irish accent brings this account to life in a way few others could have done justice to. 

From the youngest age, I loved the story of Helen Keller, who was a spitfire in her own right. I didn't know too much about her teacher, though naturally one develops great respect for anyone willing to put up with the kind of bratty ill-treatment Helen dished out. Anne Sullivan went above and beyond. But she was a hard woman who'd had enough of bad behavior in her childhood (she was 20 when she became Helen's teacher) to refuse to tolerate it, so there were times it wasn't easy to listen to what came off to me as semi-abusive. That said, it was equally hard oftentimes to feel sorry for Helen because she was such a wild animal at first. Even when you understand she lived in a world she couldn't understand with her senses, the way most of us do, it's difficult to imagine the unwavering, compassionate determination of someone like Anne Sullivan after Helen inflicted such injuries and cruelty on her teacher. 

Anne herself was a spitfire, an orphan who lost everything, that was put in situations that could easily have broken her. She suffered from partial blindness herself (which became total a year before she died). With no other means to support herself, Anne is tasked with teaching a six-year-old girl how to communicate. Like Anne, Helen hadn't been born blind and deaf (she contracted a severe illness at 19 months old while Anne's partial blindness was the result of an infection when she was five). Both were highly intelligent. At first, Anne's not entirely sure how to go about such a monumental undertaking. At that time, there was little to guide her path when it came to proven methods of teaching the blind and deaf. Because she shares some of the same struggles, Anne can easily imagine what it must be like for this child to grow up feeling like an alien with little place of comfort nor understanding of the wider world she's forced to live in without explanation. In order for Anne to bridge connections between Helen and her world, Anne has to use manual alphabet and tactile methods combined with frustrating initial failures and incremental achievements. 

The author based this story on letters Anne wrote, excerpted at the beginning of each chapter. Full warning: This is not an upbeat, gentle tale. It starts out almost overwhelmingly tragic, filled with doubts and painful struggles. However, the thing that wins out above all is the inspirational message. Small, seemingly inconsequential triumphs can lead to success. Anne and Helen's story also makes you see the bigger picture when it comes to conceding defeat too early. Don't give up. The rewards we can reap from patient, dogged determination can domino through generations, far beyond what anyone might hope for or even dream. Helen Keller is and always will be known as a pillar of strength and perseverance--but let's not forget her tenacious teacher, Anne Sullivan, who never conceded defeat when she could so easily have done so and still gotten well-deserved credit for the effort she expended. Don't miss seeing both sides of this timeless, uplifting narrative that speaks boldly of human resilience and resourcefulness. 

 “Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” ~Lady Bird Johnson 

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~W.B. Yeats 

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” ~Henry Adams 

 “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” ~Helen Keller 

“There is always satisfaction in the reflection that, if there were no trials, there would be no victories.” ~Anne Sullivan 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/