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Spinning Silver

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What to expect

Will dark magic claim their home?

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s too kind-hearted to collect his debts. They face poverty, until Miryem hardens her own heart and takes up his work in their village. Her success creates rumours she can turn silver into gold, which attract the fairy king of winter himself. He sets her an impossible challenge – and if she fails, she’ll die. Yet if she triumphs, it may mean a fate worse than death. And in her desperate efforts to succeed, Miryem unwittingly spins a web which draws in the unhappy daughter of a lord.

Irina’s father schemes to wed her to the tsar – he will pay any price to achieve this goal. However, the dashing tsar is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of mortals and winter alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and Irina embark on a quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power and love.

As with her standalone novel Uprooted, Naomi Novik has once again been influenced by classic folktales. Taking Rumpelstiltskin as her starting point, Spinning Silver is a rich, multilayered new story which is a joy to read.

Critics Review

Cool and clever and warm and satisfying and dire and wonderful; I loved this book so much
Laini Taylor
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
Dauntless women, cruel lords and wayward fairies come together in a beautifully realised world. Brimming over with fairy-tale magic, SPINNING SILVER proves Naomi Novik to be a master fantasist at the top of her game
Zen Cho
Lovely, intricate and strong. A gorgeous read. The sort of book one reads again and again
Genevieve Cogman
Enchanting, in every sense of that fine old word. A charming and inviting story that looks unflinchingly at the strangling roots of hurt and revenge
Robin Hobb on Uprooted
I didn't know how much I wanted to read a book like this until it was already in my hands. Uprooted has everything I love about Novik's writing style, with the added bonus of some old world magic and the flavor of a dark faerie story
Patrick Rothfuss on Uprooted
The magic in Uprooted, with its realistic moral dimension, is so vividly believable that it almost seems you could work the spells. But the book will do that for you
Ursula K. Le Guin on Uprooted
Uprooted has everything I love: a great heroine, new takes on old myths and legends, and surprising twists and turns. A delight
Cassandra Clare on Uprooted
This gorgeous, complex, and magical novel...rises well above a mere modern re-imagining of classic tales…Novik probes the edges between the everyday and the extraordinary, balancing moods of wonder and of inevitability. Her work inspires deep musings about love, wealth, and commitment, and embodies the best of the timeless fairy-tale aesthetic…This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
A remarkable achievement... Confirms a huge step forward for Novik
SFX Magazine, 5 Stars
Novik outdoes herself in Spinning Silver... A fairy tale in the most epic of ways, but one with a strong, proud and beautiful heart at the centre of it
The Bookbag, 5 Stars
Novik has created something that deserves to be a sure fire hit - a tale that's ancient, contemporary, traditional and yet forward thinking
The Bookbag, 5 Stars

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 3.0
Author Naomi Novik
Narrator Katy Sobey
Duration 16 hours and 10 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781509899050
Format Audiobook
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Genre Fairy and Folk tales, Historical fantasy, Myths and Legends
Availability GB, IE
Rating
4.0 (1 review)
Narration
3.0 (1 review)

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