Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Uprooted

Naomi Novik

This novel draws heavily on Polish folklore and the commonplace fairy-tale themes of an evil wood and a protective wizard, but you always know there is much more going on than nightmare creatures and headstrong princes being blasted with magic. The aspects of female loyalties and the roots of revenge create a true moral value within the epic dimension.

Extract
I kept reading, pushing onward, and I managed to reach the end of the page. When I had finished it, the story was flowing smoothly for me again- but only because it had become my story again, and when the Dragon began to read this time, the jarring was even worse. I swallowed against my dry parched mouth and looked up from the podium - and Kasia was looking at me from the wall where she was chained, smiling with a hideous light in her eyes, with delight.
Parallels
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk
  • The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard