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Jan 13, 2013 Susan rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as its companion book, The Alchemist by Paoli Bacigalupi. Perhaps that's only because I read it second: I was already familiar with the unique environment where the use of magic nurtures deadly brambles, and therefore is punishable by death. Somehow this didn't offer much of interest beyond the environment. I appreciated the author's attempt, as expressed in the introduction, to portray a middle-aged woman as hero. I just don't think he quite pulled it off. For ...more

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Jan 26, 2015 Cora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: american-author, fantasy, kindle, favorites, novella, shared-world, magic

This novella takes place in a world where the use of magic has had dire consequences. Whenever someone uses magic, a deadly, unstoppable, invincible plant called the bramble feeds off the magic and begins to grow. Not only is bramble taking over the world, but it is also deadly. The plants are covered with sticky filaments that contain a deadly venom that is absorbed into the skin when touched. The poison quickly results in a coma that often leads to death. Since there is no way to stop the bram This novella takes place in a world where the use of magic has had dire consequences. Whenever someone uses magic, a deadly, unstoppable, invincible plant called the bramble feeds off the magic and begins to grow. Not only is bramble taking over the world, but it is also deadly. The plants are covered with sticky filaments that contain a deadly venom that is absorbed into the skin when touched. The poison quickly results in a coma that often leads to death. Since there is no way to stop the bramble once it takes hold, magic has been outlawed with the penalty of death, but still the bramble spreads as people secretly do little magics for what they consider very good reasons (such as healing a dying child). A nearby city has a culture that has never used magic since it is against their religious beliefs. When the bramble starts to grown in their city, they decide that it is their moral duty to wipe out those that use magic and force them to covert to their religion.

Tana lives with her father, husband, and two young children. Her father is one of of the villages executioners, but he is suffering from a debilitating illness that has him confined to a bed. Her husband is a drunk that spends most of his time passed out in the front yard. When the bell summoning her father to an execution rings, she has no choice but to answer it herself since the family depends on the additional income from executions to survive. However, before she can return home, raiders from the neighboring city attack and slaughter everyone that they find, except the children who they kidnap since they are young enough to convert to their religion. Faced with the destruction of her home and her family, Tana sets off on a journey to try to find her children.

I really liked this book. It has a strong female protagonist who finds herself becoming a legend, much to her dismay. Along the way, she empowers other women she meets and they use society's tendency to discount women to achieve their goals. Although she becomes the leader of a movement, her motivation was never to change the world, rather it was to save her children and prevent anyone else from suffering the way she had suffered. I liked that, although the culture of the neighboring city was violent and merciless, the reader is made to understand that their motivation is one of saving the world, even if you abhor their methods. Although this is a fantasy world, reading it had me pondering a lot of issues going on in our world today. I definitely recommend this short book. ...more

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