Author: Laini Taylor
Cover Artist: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Penguin
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: June 21 2007
Magic, smoking crows, Djinn, and faeries-what more could you possibly need?
“The Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer” is a first novel by artist Laini Taylor. Don’t let the fact that she’s an artist worry you. She successfully writes an amazing fantasy story that should keep kids and adults happy. The book is targeted for young readers, most likely in the 8-12 set, but it could easily hold the attention of older readers who are looking for a good story but aren’t quite up to the rigors of the latest epic doorstop.
The novel follows Magpie Windwitch, a young faery who travels the world hunting devils who were released from their bottles by humans. That might sound like a typical Djinn to you, but rest assured, while there are Djinn in this book they are not devils and the distinction is made abundantly clear. There are also imps (both good and bad) along with good and bad faeries. Magpie travels with an actor’s troupe of crows who serve as her surrogate family. A routine hunt turns into a much bigger journey when they discover that they aren’t hunting the typical devil.
I found the book to be original and imaginative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the particular bent Taylor uses for her Djinn and while the overall laws governing the magic have been done before, the style the author gives the explanations for how the magic works (and there are explanations, rather than the overdone and oversimplified “magic works here, doesn’t matter how”) really turns it into a fitting method of introducing how the peculiar physics of Dreamdark work.
I wouldn’t give this book to a child with a particularly vivid imagination if they’re predisposed to nightmares. Taylor’s descriptions are vivid and call forth very particular images. One of the imps in the book is a particularly vile little creature and he’s got some rather disgusting habits, which means that even though the main character is a girl, there are probably more than a few little boys out there that won’t mind the fact too much. There are fight scenes, killings, dragons, skeletons, skulls, and a clan of tattooed warrior faeries in the book as well. It’s tightly paced, which means that there’s little chance that attention to the story will wander.
The only other thing that gave me a little concern is that the crows in the book smoke cheroot cigarettes. Many of the characters refer to the smoking as being smelly and gross and it’s considered a very low class thing to do. I don’t think that the smoking warrants ignoring or deriding this book however, because it’s really just a little character tic that gives the crows a little more depth.
The characters are well written and the reader will get a sense very early on that each character acts within the realm of their established personality nearly flawlessly. There are no moments of shocked questioning of a character’s motives or sudden flips in teperament that cause confusion. They’re very solidly and believably written.
The illustrations in the book, as well as the cover, are by Laini Taylor, I believe. (My proof copy doesn’t actually credit the cover illustrator, and I couldn’t seem to find the information elsewhere) The illustrations are sparse, but well-placed. They are black and white drawings that are appropriate to the story, even though very few of them appear to be an actual scene in the book. The illustrations seem to be there to help the reader envision the characters as the author sees them, which adds to the book rather than detracting from it. It’s clear that the centerpiece of this book is the story, the pictures are just small treats hidden between the pages, to be uncovered unexpectedly in the midst of reading.
The story is self-contained, wrapping itself up satisfyingly and at a reasonable pace, though not so neatly as to seem completely pat. There are a few loose ends, including indications that the particularly nasty little imp mentioned previously is going to return in future novels, but they aren’t the sort of loose ends that make the reader feel gypped. Instead, I’m honestly looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I want to know what else is going to happen in the realm of Dreamdark and what will become of Magpie Windwitch. It’s the first new fantasy series I’ve gotten excited about in a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good fantasy adventure.
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