One-word review: Extensive. Let's get one thing out of the way first: I haven't read The Dresden Files . I don't even really know what The Dresden Files are about. Bottom line, I'm incredibly intimidated by The Dresden Files . So, now that I've used the words "The Dresden Files" in four consecutive sentences, I will not be using them again. If you're looking for any comparison between Butcher's old (and much more famous) book series and this one, look elsewhere. Commence review: In my mind, there are three ways to write a book set in a new fantasy/sci-fi world. There is the rare standalone novel like Good Omens or Elantris , there is the exceptionally common trilogy-setup-where-the-whole-series-should-be-one-book (which, keep in mind, includes heavy hitters like The Fellowship of the Ring ), and, finally, there is the epic series starter. As far as books that I have reviewed so far on this site go, The Aeronaut's Windlass i
In this new slate of reviews, I'm going to be publishing my backlog from books I liked the least to books I liked the best. So, what book ranks only slightly above A Court of Thorns and Roses? Well that would be The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. This book is simply... bleh. Not supremely boring, but certainly not interesting. Not exactly playing it safe, but definitely not taking any big risks. To be honest - I'm not sure I'm going to have a ton to say about this book, it's just not really what I like to read! Full disclosure before we dive in: It took me a long time to read this book. I generally have that problem with "just okay" books: I can read them no problem if they're very good or very bad, but when they're middling, it becomes a slog.
Short synopsis (light spoilers): Alice has always had bad luck, and is constantly forced to move with her mother to avoid bad things happening. Alice's grandmother, whom she's never talked to, wrote a fairy-tale book with a cult following that might be based on truth! (they are). She then holed herself up in her hidden mansion "The Hazel Wood," then died. Shortly after her death, Alice's mother is kidnapped, and she needs to go rescue her. She recruits a boy from her class, Finch, and together they go to find her grandmother's mansion. There, they find a whirlwind of dark fairy tale characters, and jump from story to story in the world that is blurred between earth and "The Hinterland."
My main gripe with this book is that it simply contains no engaging growth, dialogue, or characters. Alice is an angry, reactionary narrator, and simply yells her pouts her way through the entire plot. Her relationship with Finch never seems to change, grow, or be something I want to know more about, ever. I've complained about the overabundance of travel scenes in fantasy novels over and over, and I feel that the opening 200 pages of this book are a really good example of why: the characters spend an incredible amount of time travelling, and, when that is the case, the slack of the story needs to be picked up by character development, which, in this case, it is simply not. Take one scene where Alice and Finch are playing a game to get to know each other better. Alice spends the entire game not saying anything meaningful, then they get in a huge fight from which their relationship never really recovers. This lasts for upwards of 30 pages - it kills any pacing the story might have!
This lack of engaging storytelling is coupled with an even more brutal lack of suspense. In a fairy-tale world where anything can happen, I never end up surprised when anything does happen. There's no moment in the book that makes me gasp "of course!" because of course that's possible, because of the magic of fairy tales. This may be more of a complaint about the existence of "soft" magic in storytelling, but still it simply seems like the problem that the writers of Superman comics have: when superman can do anything, how do you add any suspense or conflict to a story?
The one thing I really liked about this book: the fairy tales are good! I think I actually would have preferred to read "Tales from the Hinterlands" instead of this story. And this is remarkable, because fairy tales hold no special place in my childhood (which I usually say is their main appeal, though that is likely a controversial opinion). Big props to Albert for them being so original! No angel, fairies, goblins, warlocks, etc.
All things considered, yes, I gave this book a low score, but not necessarily because it's bad, simply because it did nothing to engage me. Grab this book if you really, really like fairy tales, and if mother-daughter relationships hold a special place in your heart, but don't look for a magical whirlwind of adventure and suspense. I think I'll be steering clear of fairy tale-inspired books in the future.
