s.penkevich's Reviews > Thornhedge

‘I came because of a story.’

Minds are easily enchanted by tales of heroic journeys with the promise of a beautiful maiden in need of rescuing. It’s a staple of fairy tales and also a point that has inspired many retellings with gender-bent twists or heroic heroines who don’t need saving. All of which might have us considering what the romanticization of tales like this suggest are social values and what constitutes as heroic. Thornhedge, the latest novella from T. Kingfisher in Tor’s recent line-up of her works (though, according to the author’s note, the first manuscript she submitted), probes such questions through her loose retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale. It is a quiet, sweet story, if a little sauceless at times, where we find the fairy who has cursed a young maiden to a lengthy sleep is not evil at all. Toadling ‘had lived with dread for 200 years’ standing sentry outside the tower where the young princess rests, though when a knight comes ‘because of a story’ seeking some sort of adventure or at least to know if it is true, the truth behind the myth comes out for why she would prefer he did not continue his quest. While this is admittedly fun with a lot going for it—especially Toadling who is so endearing—it simultaneously feels like it doesn’t lean into it’s own retelling enough while also relying to much on it as the bones to hold the whole structure up. Sweet and imaginative, though perhaps needing more nuance and room to breathe to allow the long history of events stretch their narrative legs a bit, Thornhedge is still an interesting look at how stories can twist to romanticize a tale at the expense of the truth.

There seems to be a recipe for romantic knight’s quests and rescue missions, usually involving a “fair maiden” who has been captured away by some great evil. A dragon perhaps, or an evil sorceress, and it seems almost a given in these tales that the princess is beautiful and the sorceress…lacking in beauty. Enter Toadling, sweet, shy, lovable Toadling, who we are told many times she is not beautiful (the knight tells her as much, but does say she is interesting which is either a condolence or perhaps more valuable anyways), and she is watching a tower where sleeps a princess. Who is trapped for a fairly valid reason. I won’t give away the plot but its pretty fun and sets up what could have been a really interesting look at how the Sleeping Beauty tale is merely a misunderstanding of what happened but instead becomes almost overly good and evil flipped on its head.

Anyways, regardless, knowing the recipe for knight quests, this story doesn’t seem to fit and gossip has a way of trying to make the events much sexier and we learn “the truth” which is then juxtaposed with the stories around these events that are circulating 200 years later. Unsurprisingly, what we hear is a very romanticized version (a retelling of its own, I suppose) that leans into the rather masculine “knight saves the day to win the princess.” Or, as David Foster Wallace discusses in his essay Back into the New Fire (in an essay that is a bit problematic but we are going to use this for a different purpose so that's a discussion for another time), ‘the way the story always goes, good Sir Knight risks life and lance against the dragon not to “rescue” the good-looking virgin, but to “win” her. And any knight, from any era, can tell you what “win” means here.’ Which is a huge bummer for Toadling because she’s become a villain and the real villain is now the sought after “prize.” Nevermind the fact that, while being an ancient evil, she is in human form forever asleep as an 8 year old girl. Which, perhaps is part of the subversiveness of how the romanticization of the story is sexualizing an 8 year old girl for knights to “win,” but either way Kingfisher is directing us to how pretty gross the whole idea of a knight “winning” a captive princess is.

‘I mostly came for answers,’ our knight tells Toadling, ‘or maybe just the story.’ Unlike most knights, this one is more interested in winning a story and seemingly not a beautiful princess, though I’m sure it has crossed his mind. Kingfisher plays with some expectations here as well, making him a Muslim knight and also describing him as not particularly attractive as well. Though this does touch on how it is sort of unclear when this story is supposed to take place or if it is actually our Earth or a fantasy world with most of the same elements and general vibes. I mean, I do enjoy that we are going for an inclusive story but Toadling was just describing people waving crusades banners and now monks are just hanging with the Muslim knight talking about god like everything is just cool? It seemed a missed opportunity to discuss the religious violence or at least find a way to frame the story in history. Which I guess we are supposed to brush aside for the sake of the story, but at least the world building for the world of fairies is rather lovely and I especially enjoy the way time works in this book with decades passing in the fairy realm being only a few days in the human one. Anyways, an interesting dynamic is that the knight has to confront the version of the story he has heard with the existence and warnings of Toadling, who is pretty charming in her quirky shyness (poor fairy girl has been in solitude for centuries, so you’ll forgive her awkwardness) but doesn’t really fit the bill for a heroic knights quest. His stubbornness in thinking he can lift a non-existent curse on her (does he think she’ll turn beautiful?) makes for some rather cute and charming scenes.

But for all the sweetness, the atmosphere is rather lacking. I found Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead to be an unsettling delight, particularly for the way it felt electrifying in the tense tone and eerie atmosphere. Toadling is great and quiet, but the story is almost too quiet and soft as well, seeming like the whole thing is far removed in soft flashbacks bathed in a sepia tone with little contrast to emphasize the sinister shadows and thorns of the story. Not that there aren’t some great scenes, but it all feels a bit unhurried in a telling that is also too truncated for the scenes to really land. I think Marquise explains all this much more efficiently in her review, but the elements of Fayette simply being a pure evil being felt too much like a shortcut past what could have been a tension building exploration of childhood cruelty giving way to unbearable darkness. The novel decides this is just an evil child beyond redemption and that’s that—the nature of who she is supposed to be and all the changeling lore is pretty cool, granted, but it all happens too quickly to really give you much to grip onto even with one pretty dramatic and violent scene.

I did, however, really enjoy the way the magic mixes with the world and the kingdom falling into a state of disrepair as ‘the people bled away drop by drop and nobody tried to staunch the flow.’ You do feel Toadling’s sadness and longing quite strongly, and I found her to be such a well constructed and lovable character you really do root for.

Despite some aspects that didn’t quite work for me, i would still encourage you to read Thronhedge as it is quite a fun little tale. I would have enjoyed more space given to let the story flow and at times it seems it would have benefitted by playing around with its own elements more. It felt unsure if it was a retelling or an homage at times, and I think it could have been more successful by just really leaning into itself. Still, I read this in a single sitting and found it quite engaging the whole way and I really appreciate the aspect on seeing how history can get twisted into myths and legends that fit the needs of those who desire conquest or an romanticized tale at the expense of the truth. While I may have been a bit critical here, Thornhedge was enjoyable and I will certainly continue to read more T. Kingfisher.

3.5/5

‘The only choices for her father’s house had been a quiet, peaceful ending or a prolonged horror under Fayette. It had needed Toadling to put it out of its misery, nothing more.’