Naomi Novik, Uprooted review
received this book from NetGalley. And while I’ve seen it referred to as a Temeraire book, it’s not. It comes out May 19th, I think.
Uprooted is a total keeper. It reminds me of books by Patricia McKillip and Robin Mckinley, and that’s a serious compliment. It’s a kind of a fairy tale, the kind the Grimms might have told. The language is both plain and lyrical. The book celebrates magic, but it’s not a light book. It has a lot of darkness, both of magic and in the souls of people. It’s a story about choosing who you want to be, and right and wrong is not easy to choose or know.
I loved the magic–and there’s a lot of it. It’s a rich story with rich, deep worldbuilding. Agniezka (and I’m probably butchering that name) is a wonderful character. She’s young and foolhardy, yet wise and brave. She’s loyal to a fault. The other characters are less developed and maybe a little thin. I didn’t have trouble with that, because it fit with the fairytale nature, and they were full enough for me, plus Agniezka is well-developed. One complaint I have is about Dragon. While I can see why she comes to like him–whatever he says, his actions show loyalty, friendship, and kindness, even as they frequently show the opposite–I wanted him to have a few more signs of likeability. Possibly more demonstrated emotion aside from annoyance, anger, and frustration.
The book is very complete and stand-alone, though I’m hoping for more to come because I love the world and the history and I want to know more.
I don’t want to offer spoilers, so I’m not going to go into more specifics, but I totally recommend this book. It’s delicious to read and I didn’t want to put it down. Absolutely worth the time and money.