Book! - Borderline by Mishell Baker
Today's book came by a recommendation from Seanan MacGuire who blurbed the book and tweeted about it while she was reading. BBH pre-ordered it and I finally got around to it today.
So, I am not actually a big fan of modern-world-meets-fae-courts books these days. (Seanan MacGuire's Toby series being an exception.) Mostly this is because honestly, there seems to be one standard template for it and frankly, I've read enough takes on it that I'm jaded. This is why it took me so long to get around to reading this book.
The second immediately notable thing is the heroine, Millie. Millie starts out pretty unlikeable - partly because we meet her at a residential mental institute and partly because Millie has Borderline Personality Disorder. Millie is also disabled - having lost both her legs in her failed suicide attempt. It would be very easy for Millie to be a Tormented Soul heroine, bravely struggling through her disabilities to shine. I was half braced for this but instead, Millie stays damaged.
There is no magic fix. Millie makes mistakes, Millie mistakes good intent for bad and vice versa. She is fallible, aware of it and her Borderline issues remain issues through out the story. Millie's disabilities grant her some insights and advantages but they stay disabilities and Millie learns how to adapt around them.
This was an interesting take on the idea of the Fey and one that I would give a lot to see explored. The idea that the Fey crave language and 'human' civilization is a fascinating one and I hope that Baker will explore this world some more. There is mention of the difference between Seelie ('pretty') and Unseelie ('scary') Courts but we don't actually get to see it in action, something I'd like to see more of. Our only in-narrative encounter with an Unseelie Fey is with an exiled noble which leaves a lot of scope for exploration.
One thing that was left a little vague was what exactly the Fey get out of their association with humanity and the existence of Echoes (or cross-world soulmates of a sort) is very intriguing and sort of suggests that there's more to the connection between Arcadia and Earth than we've been told.
I liked Millie's tenacity and I loved her willingness to keep fighting but the character who stole my heart was Caryl. A warlock changeling of the Unseelie court with a dragon familiar? SIGN ME UP!!! I love her for her flaws, her courage and how much I think we still have to learn about her. I for one am all the way signed up to find out what more there is to learn.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I'd expected to and I will be keeping an eye out for sequels/other books set in this 'verse.
Originally posted here Please comment there using OpenID.
So, I am not actually a big fan of modern-world-meets-fae-courts books these days. (Seanan MacGuire's Toby series being an exception.) Mostly this is because honestly, there seems to be one standard template for it and frankly, I've read enough takes on it that I'm jaded. This is why it took me so long to get around to reading this book.
The second immediately notable thing is the heroine, Millie. Millie starts out pretty unlikeable - partly because we meet her at a residential mental institute and partly because Millie has Borderline Personality Disorder. Millie is also disabled - having lost both her legs in her failed suicide attempt. It would be very easy for Millie to be a Tormented Soul heroine, bravely struggling through her disabilities to shine. I was half braced for this but instead, Millie stays damaged.
There is no magic fix. Millie makes mistakes, Millie mistakes good intent for bad and vice versa. She is fallible, aware of it and her Borderline issues remain issues through out the story. Millie's disabilities grant her some insights and advantages but they stay disabilities and Millie learns how to adapt around them.
This was an interesting take on the idea of the Fey and one that I would give a lot to see explored. The idea that the Fey crave language and 'human' civilization is a fascinating one and I hope that Baker will explore this world some more. There is mention of the difference between Seelie ('pretty') and Unseelie ('scary') Courts but we don't actually get to see it in action, something I'd like to see more of. Our only in-narrative encounter with an Unseelie Fey is with an exiled noble which leaves a lot of scope for exploration.
One thing that was left a little vague was what exactly the Fey get out of their association with humanity and the existence of Echoes (or cross-world soulmates of a sort) is very intriguing and sort of suggests that there's more to the connection between Arcadia and Earth than we've been told.
I liked Millie's tenacity and I loved her willingness to keep fighting but the character who stole my heart was Caryl. A warlock changeling of the Unseelie court with a dragon familiar? SIGN ME UP!!! I love her for her flaws, her courage and how much I think we still have to learn about her. I for one am all the way signed up to find out what more there is to learn.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I'd expected to and I will be keeping an eye out for sequels/other books set in this 'verse.
Originally posted here Please comment there using OpenID.