It was many years later that a knight came up to the edge of the hedge and stood there, gazing inward. The fairy was broadly aware when people came too near the hedge, with a sensation like a mosquito on her skin. This one stung and she crept toward it, first toad-shaped, then woman-shaped, seeking the source.

The sleeping Beauty by Viktor Vasnetsov - image from Wiki - Showing the somnolence of the entire household - not so much in this telling Immensely charming, unexpected, full of heart, I was utterly delighted by this incredibly original retelling of Sleeping Beauty." —Katherine Arden, bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale Mind you, I am not saying you can't or shouldn't make Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty the villain. You absolutely can. But give reasons. Give a damned reason, don't just make her be. Nobody is born evil, evil is made, evil is nurtured, evil is grown. But Fayette here is evil from the cradle, literally and not figuratively, unless you want to say the botched gift made her be, which isn't what the text implies. She watched the travelers with interest, for those were the only human faces—save one—that she saw. They were so very different, in so many different shapes and colors. Pale, fair-haired men striding down from the north and dark-skinned men in beautiful armor riding in on horses from the east. Men in caravans who looked like the old royal family, serfs and peasants in homespun, the Traveling Folk in their wagons—a great cross section of humanity who would pass one another on the road and nod and sometimes stop and speak in unfamiliar languages. I mostly came for answers,’ our knight tells Toadling, ‘ or maybe just the story.’ Unlike most knights, this one is more interested in winning a story and seemingly not a beautiful princess, though I’m sure it has crossed his mind. Kingfisher plays with some expectations here as well, making him a Muslim knight and also describing him as not particularly attractive as well. Though this does touch on how it is sort of unclear when this story is supposed to take place or if it is actually our Earth or a fantasy world with most of the same elements and general vibes. I mean, I do enjoy that we are going for an inclusive story but Toadling was just describing people waving crusades banners and now monks are just hanging with the Muslim knight talking about god like everything is just cool? It seemed a missed opportunity to discuss the religious violence or at least find a way to frame the story in history. Which I guess we are supposed to brush aside for the sake of the story, but at least the world building for the world of fairies is rather lovely and I especially enjoy the way time works in this book with decades passing in the fairy realm being only a few days in the human one. Anyways, an interesting dynamic is that the knight has to confront the version of the story he has heard with the existence and warnings of Toadling, who is pretty charming in her quirky shyness (poor fairy girl has been in solitude for centuries, so you’ll forgive her awkwardness) but doesn’t really fit the bill for a heroic knights quest. His stubbornness in thinking he can lift a non-existent curse on her (does he think she’ll turn beautiful?) makes for some rather cute and charming scenes.

I've often hated her snarky commentary on fairy tales (see her inserts for the Halcyon anthology) because that's shown her as one of those who take tales literally and miss the metaphor and symbolism alongside the point of the story. But this is frankly too much. Toadling stole my heart with her unselfishness and kind demeanor. She wants so badly to do the right thing and I admired her dedication. She has been alone for a long time and when a knight appears, everything changes.

Haunting and unusual—a unique retelling of a classic tale!" —Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of the Tortall series After a time, there were neither bird-men nor screamers. There was no one at all. The road filled with weeds.The fairy did not like that look. It had too much behind it. He was actually looking at the thorn hedge and thinking about it, and that might lead to questions about what was on the other side. Minds are easily enchanted by tales of heroic journeys with the promise of a beautiful maiden in need of rescuing. It’s a staple of fairy tales and also a point that has inspired many retellings with gender-bent twists or heroic heroines who don’t need saving. All of which might have us considering what the romanticization of tales like this suggest are social values and what constitutes as heroic. Thornhedge, the latest novella from T. Kingfisher in Tor’s recent line-up of her works (though, according to the author’s note, the first manuscript she submitted), probes such questions through her loose retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale. It is a quiet, sweet story, if a little sauceless at times, where we find the fairy who has cursed a young maiden to a lengthy sleep is not evil at all. Toadling ‘ had lived with dread for 200 years’ standing sentry outside the tower where the young princess rests, though when a knight comes ‘ because of a story’ seeking some sort of adventure or at least to know if it is true, the truth behind the myth comes out for why she would prefer he did not continue his quest. While this is admittedly fun with a lot going for it—especially Toadling who is so endearing—it simultaneously feels like it doesn’t lean into it’s own retelling enough while also relying to much on it as the bones to hold the whole structure up. Sweet and imaginative, though perhaps needing more nuance and room to breathe to allow the long history of events stretch their narrative legs a bit, Thornhedge is still an interesting look at how stories can twist to romanticize a tale at the expense of the truth. In this story we meet Toadling, who as an infant was stolen and transported to live in the world of the faeries. They treated her well, and her early life was undeniably warm and comfortable. She couldn't lodge many complaints.

To me evil is actually scarier when it’s an evil kid who’s evil just because, and your love and devotion and care is not enough to change a sociopath into something less horrifying. (Some people are just born cruel assholes and you can’t convince me otherwise). (Maybe that stems from reading The Omen at the tender age of eight and getting terrified out of my mind by the idea of an evil toddler who’s pure evil, evilly* ). Human brain wants explanations and reason for evil because it’s more rational then, rather than “just because”, and probably susceptible to fixing it with enough effort and care. Toadling, however, has different thoughts on this so-called curse and she'll do anything to uphold it. You'll have to read this enchanting story to find out why. Her first instinct was to go to toad shape, but that would have meant another motion, even a small one, as she dropped to the earth. Instead, she stayed absolutely still, unmoving, not even drawing breath. Once she came into adulthood though, the faeries asked a favor of her that ended up changing everything.This time, what if it was not a dark force, but a kind one that had caused all those zzzzzzzzzs? What if there was a good reason for doing so? What is someone was charged with making sure that no one disturbed the sleeper, however many years, decades, centuries might pass? One thing I like to do with fairy tales is to look at them and go “How can I make this even worse?” - from the Grim Dark interviewI am not so sure that Kingfisher’s tale really is a worse version. Well, maybe worse that the Disney version. But far from the worst. There is one (and there are others as bad) in which a wandering king happens by the castle where a sleeper named Talia is housed. He decides this is a great opportunity for him, absconds with her virginity, and leaves the unconscious Talia pregnant with twins. What a guy! Highlights: lovable characters, enjoyable subversion of the fairytale tropes, fairies that are inhuman in all the right ways