Spinning Silver

Reviews

“A perfect tale . . . This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them. . . . A big and meaty novel, rich in both ideas and people, with the vastness of Tolkien and the empathy and joy in daily life of Le Guin.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Gorgeous, complex, and magical . . . This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Cool and clever and . . . dire and wonderful.”—Laini Taylor, author of Strange the Dreamer

“A book as cool and mysterious as a winter’s night, with two marvelous heroines at its heart, Spinning Silver pits the cold of endless winter against the fires of duty, love, and sacrifice. I couldn’t put it down.”—Katherine Arden, New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

“Masterly . . . Novik addresses weighty questions of power, choice, prejudice, beauty, and identity with aplomb.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Naomi Novik knows how to weave words into magic, and Spinning Silver enchants the reader from the first page. This magnificent tale of three courageous young women who find the power to change their fates will catch you in its spell and linger long after the last chapter is read.”—Christina Henry, bestselling author of The Mermaid

“A brilliant reclamation of ‘Rumpelstiltskin,’ digging deep into that story’s anti-Semitism and pulling up something nourishing from the roots . . . One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels . . . I’m in awe of how Novik spins moldy, hateful straw into warm and glimmering gold.”—Amal El-Mohtar, NPR

“A thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Novik has a knack for creating richly layered fantasy worlds with complex social dynamics, ruthless rulers and epic plot twists; her poetic narratives often recast magical motifs in unexpected ways. . . . This one, a stand-alone retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s ‘Rumpelstiltskin,’ includes a feminist exploration of the politics of money.”—Newsweek

“The Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale has never been as captivating. . . . Spinning Silver further cements [Novik’s] place as one of the genre greats.”—Paste

“Deftly woven and highly immersive.”—Tordotcom

“An inventive retelling.”—Bustle

“A stroke of genius . . . Novik’s characters are compelling, and the moral choices they are faced with are genuinely difficult. . . . Her tone can move from gently humorous, to sweepingly epic, to piercingly sad easily, and back again. . . . Even better than Uprooted.”—Locus

“Spinning Silver follows in the tradition set by Robin McKinley of fairy-tale worlds populated by fairy-tale characters who feel like real people, and of princesses with strength and agency. But it moves the tradition forward.”—Vox Expand reviews