Uprooted in Beyond Reality

Feb 26, 2015 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Agnieszka lives in a little village bordered by the Wood, a forest so malevolent it almost seems to be sapient. In exchange for protection, one girl from the villages is chosen to serve the powerful wizard called The Dragon. Everyone knows that the girl who will be chosen is Kasia, the most beautiful, brave, clever, and kind child the villages have to offer. Despite knowing this, Agnieszka can't help but be Kasia's best friend. But when the Dragon comes for his payment, he chooses Agnieszka, who Agnieszka lives in a little village bordered by the Wood, a forest so malevolent it almost seems to be sapient. In exchange for protection, one girl from the villages is chosen to serve the powerful wizard called The Dragon. Everyone knows that the girl who will be chosen is Kasia, the most beautiful, brave, clever, and kind child the villages have to offer. Despite knowing this, Agnieszka can't help but be Kasia's best friend. But when the Dragon comes for his payment, he chooses Agnieszka, who is woefully unprepared to be anyone's servant. Especially for someone as persnickety and fastidious as the Dragon.

Agnieszka, it turns out, (view spoiler)

So, basically, this book is utterly awesome. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going--oh, this is the part where she reveals her true powers, or oh, this is the part where they fall in love--I was wrong. And I was so glad to be surprised--what Novik comes up with is better than my expectations in every instance! I loved the friendship between Agnieszka and Kasia, which is not just about sharing years of history and adventures, but also about acknowledging the petty hurts and differences between friends and then welcoming the friendship regardless. I loved Agnieszka's (view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 22, 2015 Jeffrey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2015, witches, magic, female-hero

Naomi Novik, the popular author of the Temeraire alternate history fantasy with dragons, latest book "Uprooted" is an instant classic, one of the best fantasy books on this year or any year. A beguiling, enchanting delight, this novel succeeds on every level, the first half being nearly flawless and the second half, a powerful magical tale with real relationships, conflict, valor and magical battles. A beauty and the beast story, but combined with a nasty evil character, humor, love and compelli Naomi Novik, the popular author of the Temeraire alternate history fantasy with dragons, latest book "Uprooted" is an instant classic, one of the best fantasy books on this year or any year. A beguiling, enchanting delight, this novel succeeds on every level, the first half being nearly flawless and the second half, a powerful magical tale with real relationships, conflict, valor and magical battles. A beauty and the beast story, but combined with a nasty evil character, humor, love and compelling in every way, this is the type of fantasy that everyone should be reading.

The Dragon, a great Wizard lives in a tower near the haunted Woods, the home of a malignant evil. Every ten years, the Dragon comes to all the towns where he picks one young lady to be his servant. Agnieszka thinks her friend Kasia, beautiful, perfect Kasia will be picked, but instead the Dragon discovers something about Nieshka, that she does not even know and takes her to his tower.

There he will treat her like a servant and force feed her simple magical cantrips but Nieshka is slow to learn the simple spells and the Dragon, a gruff, aristocratic master, does not know how to deal with the simple Nieshka, a village girl and not an aristocrat.

When a magical calamity threatens her town, and the Dragon is gone on a separate mission, Nieshka climbs down from the Tower via a long rope and makes her way to the threatened village with some stolen Dragon potions, but in the aftermath, the Dragon is wounded, and it is up to Nieshka to try to heal him of evil corruption from the Woods. She succeeds spectacularly, but in a way that shocks the Dragon and thwarts the Woods plan.

Novik's evil Woods is much more than a dark, monstrous foreboding place. Enlivened by an evil, malignant seemingly eternal monster who lives in the Woods, who uses magic to attack the humans of Nieshka's valley and her land, this Woods is a perfectly conceived enemy, which uses walking trees, animated giant preying mantises and wolves to attack.

The Dragon is nonplused and amazed, but her power is there and they start to work together. More than magic soon sparkles, as the ornate Dragon and the messy witch join their magic and lives to powerful effect. Soon they are able to save another young victim of the Woods.

But all is not rosy, and the Woods has deep tentacles. When a Prince finds out the Nieshka and the Dragon can counteract the Woods evil entrapment, he seeks to have them rescue his missing mother, the queen of the realm, who has been a prisoner of the Woods for years.

Nieshka travels back to the capital with the prince and his mage, without the Dragon. While her magic is acknowledged, her insights are dismissed. The Woods is not taking Nieshka and the Dragon's victories lightly, and is able to plan a magical assault again.

Nieshka and the Dragon will have to join forces against the Woods in the very heart of her empire.

This is a the type of book that you keep going back to - to read snippets of characters and action. It makes you feel good and want to read another book immediately after to capture the same feeling. But a book this good only comes along once in a while.

Read it.

...more

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Feb 18, 2020 Tani rated it it was amazing

Shelves: female-author, favorites, fantasy, five-stars, fantasy-romance, 2020-novels, sff-2020, sff-explorer-2020, sff-ladies-2020, sff-awards-2020

Why is it so hard to review the books that I love? Let's just say that this one felt like it was written for me, and leave it at that. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2015 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: fairy-tale-myth-fable, fantasy

A lovely and original fairy tale. Great characters, great use of magic, memorable villains. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2015 Adrienne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-tales, bookskype

I really enjoyed this book! Agnieszka was well-developed and a great example of a well-done female character. I did think the ending was a little rushed, compared to the slower pace of the beginning of the book, but not enough to bother me. I was slightly annoyed at the (view spoiler).

Also, the title is very well chosen. ...more

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Feb 01, 2016 Chessa rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf_fantasy, ya, sf-f-challenge, fairy-tales

Maybe even 4.5 stars, but I'm unwilling to round up on this. I really, really, really liked it. It was surprising - I thought I knew what the story would be about a quarter of the way in, and then it took a huge turn - maybe not exactly for the better (ugh, politics are SO BORING even in the fantasy realm), but surprising. But that small quibble aside (and it really is a pretty small part of the overall story, seriously) the magic of this book was exquisite. The Wood may be the Best. Villain. Ev ...more

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May 08, 2016 Words rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Once I realized, very belatedly, that this was of a retelling of Slavic fairytales, I began to enjoy the story more (reading about priests, saints, and relics really threw me off for a bit). I thought the best part of this book was the Wood, whose descriptions and influence bordered just this side of horror. The Wood's history and eventual resolution were also well told, I felt. The most inconsequential part of this book was the romantic element, which could have been excised without affecting t ...more

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