Split Tooth is like nothing I have ever read before, and likely nothing I will ever read again. Calling on her own life and experiences growing up as part of an indigenous Inuit community in Northern Canada, Tagaq begins with a mixture of memoir and poetry, which slowly merge and morph into something different entirely.

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The atmosphere Tagaq creates is palpable; you are instantly transported to the Arctic tundra, where there are months with no sun and then months with no dark, where the delicate balance between humanity and nature are still reeling from the effects of colonisation. As the story progresses, mythology, magical realism and spirituality all come together for a devastating conclusion. Nothing is as it seems, and yet so much is heartbreakingly plain to see. Tagaq doesn’t shy away from the brutality of life, especially a life lived so closely to nature, in some of the most extreme weather conditions on earth, and in a community where, thanks to Canada’s ‘boarding school’ policies, every adult is a survivor of abuse.

I’m struggling to be less vague when I describe the story, but there really is no way to explain it. To tell you the plot would make no sense without Tagaq’s expert writing, and would ruin the bizarre twists and turns the story goes through. There was a point where I knew I was reading non-fiction, and there was a point when I knew I was reading fiction. Where the one became the other, I have no idea.

Tagaq has created an incredibly moving, profound, and affecting depiction of life for Canada’s indigenous population. While her work as an activist is clearly central to many of the novel’s themes, never once does it overpower the strength of her storytelling, the two working together perfectly. I will be trying to work this book out for many months to come, but it will definitely stay with me for many years.

I read Split Tooth as the ‘Arctic/Antarctic’ challenge in the Round the World Book Challenge.

‘Everything is geography’. (Well, they’re not wrong...)

Mud and Glass tells the story of Dr Celeste Carlucci, a young geography lecturer who just wants to make tenure and get on with her research. After her best friend gets caught up in a plot to overthrow the powerful Praxicopolis family, Celeste finds herself on the hunt for the Littoral Codex and the key to freedom of knowledge. She needs all the help she can get, from retired professors to underground organisations to the university drama department in order to get the university out from under the Praxicopolis thumb and prevent them from becoming all-powerful.

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This book was a classic adventure story, with high stakes, a wonderful cast of characters, and a plot that twists and turns through a really fun, wacky world. While the adventure aspect definitely takes centre stage I really enjoyed some of the secondary themes. The societal structure and culture of Krasnia, and how that influences the characters, was really enjoyable and added a lot to the story and our understanding of the characters. The academic shenanigans brought me a lot of joy – really, who doesn’t want an underground library?! It really centred the key theme of the novel, which is the importance of freedom to learn, research and discover, without overpowering the plot.

Celeste is a fantastic character; witty, headstrong to a fault, and loyal to the people and causes she believes in. Her relationship with her best friend Pace was so interesting and layered, and the way it evolved throughout the book felt very true to the experiences they had shared. I would love to read a prequel about all of their adventures. Some of them were alluded to or mentioned in this book and it’s clear they’ve been up to a lot in their time! There was a romantic subplot too, which usually I’m indifferent too, but I really rooted for Celeste and Russ. They were sweet and hilarious while also having a deep and meaningful relationship.

This book was just what I needed to escape from the current crazy world for a few hours. If you’re craving a bit of adventure from the comfort of your own COVID-safe home, I would highly recommend it.

Thank you Odyssey Books for giving me a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tired of waiting for Winds of Winter? Delve into GRRM’s back-catalogue with this self-insert sci-fi romp with a God complex…

Perhaps that’s a little too scathing of me. Set in the far-off future where humanity has colonised planets across the universe, Tuf Voyaging follows Haviland Tuf, a portly middle-aged man who wears a duck-billed cap (remind you of anyone?) who manages to get his hands on the Ark, an old seedship built for dispersing sustainable food across Earth’s colonies. Originally written as several short stories, each section follows one of Tuf’s adventures and the various characters and worlds he encounters along the way.

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I enjoyed the middle section of the book the most. Tuf isn’t a particularly likeable character, but he does start out entertaining, bartering his way across the universe with his spaceship full of cats. As the book progressed, however, the religious imagery used went from being used sparingly and to great effect, to being about as subtle as someone banging a saucepan in your face. By the end, Tuf seemed to solve everything with an ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ attitude, and instead of the witty, smart business tactics employed earlier on, would deliberately offend and shock just to prove his point.

The start held so much promise, and I was pleasantly surprised by the first half of the book or so. I just wish the witty commentary and observational humour had lasted right to the end. It was a shame to see so much potential go to waste. Will I read this again? No. Will I read more of GRRM’s books? Meh, probably. Fingers crossed I enjoy them more!

To quote Once Upon A Time’s Rumpelstiltskin, “Magic always comes at a price”. The price of magic – the price of anything, be it material goods or the choices we make – is a running theme through Spinning Silver.

Spinning Silver is a Rumpelstiltskin-inspired fantasy, set in the depths of Russian winter. The story follows Miryem, the daughter of a hapless money-lender, who takes the reins of her father’s failing business and quite literally turns silver into gold. While her family enjoy the change in their fortunes, she also attracts the attention of Staryk, the mythical king of winter, who makes Miryem his bride. Thrown into her new life, she is soon drawn into a world of dark magic, deals, and betrayal.

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Miryem was a fantastic lead character, as were Irina (the daughter of a local lord) and Wanda (a village girl hired by Miryem). As a core set of characters they were really interesting, nuanced, and I felt invested straight away. (It did take me a few chapters to come around to Irina, but her character growth was just *chef’s kiss*). All of them had such different journeys but you couldn’t help but be with them every step of the way, desperate that everything should turn out alright. Naomi Novik has created a vivid, spell-binding world, and you couldn’t help but be transported across the world and right into the story alongside them. I did find the first half of the novel more convincing than the second half, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The thing that was hardest for me was the changing perspectives. Novik jumps around different first-person perspectives without announcing who’s perspective we have moved to, and I really liked it at the beginning. There were only two or three perspectives to start with, and I found it challenged me and kept me engaged and more focused than I would have been otherwise. As the story progressed, however, we had half a dozen different first person perspectives, often in the same chapter, and I kept having to go back and remind myself who the narrator was at any given point. Had she stuck to just three perspectives I think it would have added to the experience immensely; by the end though, there were just too many.

That being said, the story kept me gripped right the way through, full of unexpected twists and an enchanting world. It’s one of the best and most imaginative fairytale retellings I’ve read, and I’m sure it will stick with me for a long time.