Deborah KalinRecensioni

I wish there was a third book, I was so eager to see what came if matte and dieter

Holds together beautifully, with a overarching feel to the stories. The stories are all good, but hard work to get through. They are lush, and the world-building and characterisation are consistently strong. Strongly recommended.

I received a copy of this book as a judge for the Aurealis awards; I would have bought it anyway.

An archaeology grad student is leading a dig out on the salt pans, a dig which has found nothing and whose hired workers are getting restless. But then when she uncovers something that is potentially much more valuable, everything changes. I like the idea of this story better than I think I liked its execution – a large part of that is because I was thrown by the setting – I couldn’t tell if it was historical, or future Earth, or other-world, and that was really distracting to me. Also, for being (what seemed like) a senior graduate student, the protagonist seemed remarkably ill-trained for field work, especially one dealing with a culture other than their own.

Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin is the twelfth and concluding (sort of) volume of Twelfth Planet Press's Twelve Planets series. I have reviewed almost all of them (my review of The Female Factory will come after the Aurealis Awards are announced), and you can browse reviews of the other volumes here.

This collection is very strongly linked thematically. I think the stories are all set in the same world, but they needn’t be. What links them more clearly is the recurring idea of exclusion and of differences being consumed by a place or an idea or the ideal of a place. As usual, I've put my thoughts on individual stories at the end.

The writing in all of them is beautiful without weighing the story down with dense prose. When I read my first Deborah Kalin story, I knew this was a collection to look forward to. And I was right. Whether or not you've read any Kalin stories before, if you're at all a fan of fantasy or horror (especially the kind of horror I read, see: this blog you're reading), do yourself a favour and grab a copy of this book when it comes out (in a month).

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The Wages of Honey — A man comes to a town looking for his cousin. The locals creep him out a bit and are maybe a bit too enthusiastic about their local honey. A creepy but not overly scary tale. An enjoyable read.

The Briskwater Mare — It was a very sunny day when I read this book and this is not a sunny day story. With this story I’m starting to sense a theme of places that, metaphorically or literally, consume people.

The Miseducation of Mara Lys — Probably my favourite story. A girl goes to the school where elite watchmakers (loosely speaking) sacrifice everything to learn the craft. Of course there are secrets and Mara, rejected from the profession she yearns for, wastes little time discovering them. It’s less cliched than I think I've made it sound.

The Cherry Crow Children of Haverny Wood — Another enjoyable story. I felt like part of the landscape of this one had distinct Australian inspirations (although it was definitely not actually set in Australia). The story is about a mother and daughter who are different in a village with very strong beliefs and traditions.

4.5 / 5 stars

Read more reviews on my blog.½

The story of Shadow Bound has themes of betrayal, loyalty, friendship, leadership, hate and warmth.

Matilde now has a bargain with Dieter’s brother Sidonius; general of the Ilthean army that now holds power over her castle. Dieter has fled and allied with the drigtens against Matilde and Sidonius, but Amalia has stayed behind and aligned herself to Sidonius.

Matilde is now in a power struggle with Sidonius to maintain her hold on the throne so that it will stay in the House of Sanaten hands. However her cousin who is both Sanaten and Ilthean is in the wings to become the heir.

Matilde hope to use the kin connection with the Skythe to over through Sidonius but as she is still bound to Dieter they will not choose between the husband and the wife.

This book continues to develop who has the most power to hold or gain the throne, Matilde, Sidonius on behalf of the Ilthean hearted Renatus or Dieter.

Kalin develops the characters. Matilde learns how led others. The warmness that one felt for Dieter in the first book develops further. I felt pleased with Sidonius’ outcome at the end of this book after what he had done to Matilde.

I look forward to seeing what happens in the next novel between Dieter and Matilde and who will rule the throne by the end of that book.

Within the first few pages Kalin had me hooked. I was swept up in the character’s adventures and cheering them along as I read.

Matilde the up coming queen – if her grandmother ever steps down – of the Turasi tribes has moments of self doubt, weakness and strength. She has the gift of the shadows in which she sees visions but does not how to control the powers that she inherited from her mother’s ancestors the Skythe.

On the eve of the Aestival Feast aunt Helen returns from Ilthea. The Ilthean army is on the boarder of Turasi tribal lands and conquering tribes closer to the land of the Svanaten House.

An invader interrupts the Aestival celebration in the sanctuary, Matilde is the only survivor. After her escape she meets the leader of the coup Dieter from the Marrsachen tribe who takes her crown at their public wedding.

Matilde plots to regain her throne. However some of the deals that she makes in re-gaining the throne and keeping her life make her unpopular with her people, friends and cousins Roshi (Skythe) and Sepp (one of Helen’s sons).

Matilde is a young woman on the cusp of becoming Queen, if ever her grandmother would relinquish the title. It is a role she was groomed for since birth. It was hers by right and she waited impatiently for it. However the arrival of her exiled aunt sets into motion a series of events that would see her fight to keep control not only of her position but her very life.

As Matilde's world fall around her she finds her every turn bared. She may have escaped with her life, for now, but she is trapped in a cage of her own binding, and undermined and manipulated by those who have secured her in both mind and body. It was only a matter of time before those around her decided her life was no longer useful.

In a time where no one can be trusted and danger lies with one wrong move, Matilde must navigate the treacherous waters of diplomacy, assassination and war in order to gain back that which is rightfully hers. Every step she makes leads her closer to her goal, but brings with it unwanted allegiances and danger. In the end will her actions justify all she is able to win back, or has she just lost all to the most deadly enemy of all.

Shadow Queen introduces a world that is ancient and ominous, steeped with tradition, history and magic. It is a story as mysterious as it is complex and will have you hooked from the first, surprising you at every turn. Matilde is a character both honest and empathising; although questioning her own motives for the best way forward, she is able to read others recognising their motives. A book for any fantasy lover. Looking forward to Book 2.

Review by Lachlan Huddy

An Aussie we can be proud of, Deborah Kalin’s debut is a striking, infuriating, endlessly surprising and wonderfully disturbing work, penned in prose whose clarity, wit and elegance more seasoned wordsmiths must dream about. The first of two novels, Shadow Queen follows young princess Matilde, after her family is slain and her throne stolen by the power-hungry Dieter. Forced to wed him and bound by dark magic, Matilde searches for a way to reclaim her crown, but with everyone in the upheaved kingdom now against her—and the fearsome Ilthean Empire baying at the borders—prospects are grim.

The cover blurb calls Matilde an unforgettable character and it doesn’t lie; she’s a young woman trapped in everything but thought, constantly fighting for a way clear. If she’s not always sympathetic it’s because Kalin’s honest writing delivers a deeply human heroine, prey to fear, embarrassment and pride, and who, cornered with decisions upon which lives balance, doesn’t always choose rightly. She feels real, though, and even if you bemoan her actions you’ll understand them every time. As a study of an unbreakable young woman battling the manifold barriers that ensnare her, Shadow Queen succeeds as surely as we hope Matilde will.