In KA Linde’s latest fantasy series, humans and monsters live together under a tenuous peace treaty in an alternate New York.
Kierse’s latest contract – to break into some rich guy’s house and steal a ring – seemed simple enough until she realised the rich guy, Graves, wasn’t human. Caught red-handed and with no hope of escape, Kierse expects death to be her punishment for trespassing on a monster’s property. The existence of beings such as vampires, werewolves, goblins and wraiths is now common knowledge, with a fragile treaty in place to stop humans from being exterminated, but Graves is like nothing Kierse has seen before. Perhaps not everything from the dark monster underworld has come out into the light.
Instead of killing her, as is his legal right, Graves offers Kierse a job stealing a powerful magical artefact for him and the opportunity to learn what she is. By evading his security system, it becomes clear that Kierse isn’t entirely human either. Despite the risks, this could be her only chance to learn more about her own abilities and perhaps even have somewhere to start searching for her long-lost family.
The war with the monsters, the resultant flimsy, barely enforced international treaty and economic fallout all feel very believable, especially with the continuing wealth inequality. The poor had their lives upended by the war and are forced to live in (worse) slums, ruled by gangs, while the luxuries of the rich remain largely unaffected. It is quite tragic and very topical at one point when the main character is fondly looking back to a time she imagines existed before she was born, when Americans could afford healthcare. Oh, honey, no.
The novel is full of casual, understated humour:
As she hauled herself back up onto what she thought was an empty platform, a hand reached out and grasped her wrist, yanking her up. She snarled, reaching for one of her pistols. She had it out and levelled at the man’s head before she recognised him.
She didn’t lower the gun.
Similarly, Kierse’s sardonic observations of other characters and the world at large are a treat throughout:
’I think we … got off on the wrong foot.’
‘You think?’ she asked. ‘You tried to kill me.’
‘A miscalculation. You’re perfectly safe with me.’
Why did men always say that? As if they thought that women would believe them.
The not-exactly-human, long-lived characters are very set in their ways, often to their own detriment. This can be a source of amusement at times but is also very realistic and somewhat sad too. It does make you think how easy it would be to become disconnected from other people and unable to deal with change if one was immortal and ‘better’ than everyone else.
As KA Linde says in the Author’s Note at the start, this book is the result of her falling in love with Ireland and its stories after going on holiday there. Even though the story is set in an alternate-future New York, you can see the Irish influences and they lend a certain charm to the book. It’s nice that the author achieved this without overstepping into the bizarre habit of some American writers of pretending to still be Irish, as if their ancestors never left.
The term ‘romantasy’ seems to be getting thrown around a lot at the moment, despite fantasy books generally having an element of romance to them anyway. There was perhaps a bit more detail here about the central relationship than I was really after, but again, that has happened often enough in fantasy books without the ‘romantasy’ label.
At first, it seemed like the story might fall into the common trap of showcasing a really toxic relationship as if it’s something to aspire to, just because both people are described as being physically attractive. Without saying too much, it was a pleasant surprise that The Wren in the Holly Library didn’t end up doing that.
It’s clear that the author enjoyed writing this story and that certainly counts for something, with a lot of fun descriptions thrown in:
With a deep inhale of the frigid air, she cloaked herself in a shroud of over-confidence and climbed the stoop to the devil’s mansion.
Kierse is a very engaging main character with relatable emotional baggage, and it’s good that she isn’t always quite as smart or manipulative as she thinks she is. That lends her even more depth.
In short, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining start to a new fantasy series. It’ll be exciting to see where it goes next.
KA Linde The Wren in the Holly Library Tor 2024 PB 400pp $34.99
Amelia Dudley has degrees in plant biology. But despite spending a lot of time in the garden, her plants still occasionally die.
You can buy The Wren in the Holly Library from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW.
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