I have always liked fantasy and science fiction. So even now, I look forward to new fantasy by favorite authors. I am reading my way through Diana Wynn Jones work slowly so I can savor them all. Recently I read two books I enjoyed a great deal, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde and The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne Valente.
I have read almost all of Fforde's Thursday Next series and his Nursery Crimes series, so I would have been able tell this YA book was by him even if his name were not printed on the cover. He has such a distinctive tone and voice. The main character Jennifer Strange is a foundling who runs Kazam Mystical Arts Management, an employment agency for magicians, not the birthday party type. Sadly though over the years, magic has been fading from the world. Not too far into the story Jennifer finds out that she is in fact the last dragonslayer who now needs to manage the death of the last dragon. Jennifer's exceptional management skills, and orphan street smarts make this task a bit easier for her. Fforde manages to make this a clever story about the strength of the individual as well as some rather adult political machinations. I look forward to more in the series.
The next fantasy I read, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, also took
place in a rich and detailed world. Before read the story, I read commentary that said this sequel was darker than the first book, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. This was said as a negative , but I believe this is exactly as it should be. September is a year older and longing to return to Fairyland for another adventure. When this finally happens, she returns to a very different place than the one she left. This time September's story is about accepting the consequences of ones actions and doing something to make it right. This is certainly dark, this is the darkness of adulthood. September has turned 13, which in our world is rarely considered adulthood, but Jewish tradition marks the passing into adulthood for boys and girls at 13 and 12, respectively. September's life in her world certainly is fraught with as it seems they are immersed in the deprivations of World War II with rationing and the absence of her soldier father. I do not think the story has made an inappropriate leap. Valente's world building is once again strong as September goes beneath Fairyland. She must awaken the rightful prince to take his place and recapture her own shadow who has become a queen. Because the Hollow Queen is September herself the novel is also about the darkness within us all and our acceptance and control of that darkness. I am hoping there will be a third book in this series.