The world of Nettle and Bone feels like a grim place to live, a world where the evils of the universe are just out of sight, both supernatural and human.
This sets the kind of tone for the book early on, and from here it never really feels like it gets much brighter. When the book first begins we’re introduced to Marra as she crafts her Bone Dog from scavenged pieces found in a bone pit, deep in a land where disease and darkness has spread, leaving many of the inhabitants roving, cursed cannibals. Whilst I was at first surprised to see that this book was fantasy, given Kingfisher’s previous horror books, this is very much a dark fantasy story, and walks a very fine line between fantasy and horror much of the time. Nettle and Bone is a wonderfully dark, yet strangely funny book, that manages to include some absolutely wild things like a chicken possessed by a demon, yet manages to make them feel not only real, but one of the least strange things that happens. Setting out with a dog made from bones and wires, she begins to recruit a strange assortment of people to help her in her quest, including a witch who can talk to the dead, a fairy godmother, a former night, and a demon possessed chicken. Marra becomes determined to do something about this before the strain takes another sister from her. On a later visit, she learns that her sister is being abused by the cruel prince, and that the abuse and the constant pregnancies are taking their toll on her. However, when she travels to the Northern Kingdom to attend the birth of niece she begins to suspect that not everything is going well for her sister. Marra settles into her new life of not-quite a nun, finding purpose in the convent, finally free of the shackles of royal life. READ MORE: Dreadnaught (1981) – Blu-ray Review
Knowing that she might have to marry the prince if another tragic accident happens, Marra is sent off to live in a small convent, keeping her out of harm’s way, in case she’s ever needed. However, when her sister meets an untimely end, the middle daughter is sent off to marry in her place. We meet Marra, the youngest of the three daughters, who watches as her older sister goes off to marry the prince of the Northern Kingdom to ensure the safety of their people. Set in a small harbour kingdom, nestled between a Southern Kingdom and Northern Kingdom, our story follows the daughters of the royal family. Something about her writing is incredibly compulsive, making you want to read on long after you should have put the book down, and her new fantasy novel Nettle and Bone is no exception to this rule. Kingfisher has quickly become one of my favourite authors with her recent horror releases The Twisted Ones, and The Hollow Places two books that I found absolutely chilling and read very quickly.
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