Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver

by Naomi Novik

'I couldn’t put it down'– Katherine Arden, author of the Winternight trilogy

Rumours have drawn unexpected attention – and now her life hangs in the balance. From the author of the award-winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver is a rich, original tale inspired by the folktale of Rumpelstiltskin.

Will dark magic claim their home?

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father is 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 a rumour that she can turn silver into gold, attracting the fairy king of winter himself. He sets her an impossible challenge – and if she fails, she will 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.

'I loved this book so much' – Laini Taylor, author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

'A gorgeous read. The sort of book one reads again and again' – Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library series

Reviewed by smartflutist661 on

5 of 5 stars

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"He would only shrug and look at me expectantly again, waiting for high magic: magic that came only when you made some larger version of yourself with words and promises, and then stepped inside and somehow grew to fill it."

I really enjoyed Temeraire, but Spinning Silver feels like it's on a completely different level. This line in particular has stuck in my brain, because it has the ring of a deeper Truth, but the quotes page has many gems. With echoes of Rumpelstiltskin, the Fae of many legends, The Firebird, and the story of Hades and Persephone, it weaves together many stories and many lives, possibly as closely as any book I have ever read, in a literal sense (at one point two plotlines coexist in exactly the same space and the same time without ever intersecting), to show that even the most grievous wrongs done in ignorance can be righted, that only in unity can we stand against powerful opposition, and that the unbroken will is perhaps the most powerful force we can harness (reminiscent of Nietzsche's Will to Power). Read it.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 January, 2020: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2020: Reviewed