darkwood – Terence Eden’s Blog

Book Review: Glass Coffin by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (Darkwood Book 3) ★★★★⯪

@edent — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 12:34:05 +0000

The tyrannous Huntsmen have declared everyone in one village to be outlaws, since they insist on supporting the magical beings of neighbouring Darkwood. Why won’t they accept that magic is an abomination? Far from being abominable, the residents of Darkwood are actually very nice when you get to know them, even Snow the White Knight, who can get a bit tetchy when people remind her she’s a Princess. In order to stop the Huntsmen from wiping out all magical beings, Snow and her friends have to venture into the Badlands of Ashtrie, and seek the support of the Glass Witch – but she has plans of her own, and let’s just say they’re not good ones.

As soon as I finished the first book in the Darkwood series, I immediately picked up the other two. That's rare for me but, at £2.99 for the pair, I couldn't resist.

This is, unsurprisingly, not much of a departure from the first two. It carries on expanding the fairy-tale universe and introduces us to some delightful new characters. The tone is darker - but still punctuated with little absurdities to keep you giggling.

It is a brilliant adventure, and a fine finish for our fictional friends.

A comfortable read on a winter's night - and a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Book Review: Such Big Teeth - by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (Darkwood Book 2) ★★★★☆

@edent — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 11:34:25 +0000

The Battle of Nearby Village is over, and deep in the Darkwood, Gretel and her friends journey into the hostile mountains of the north, seeking new allies in their fight against the huntsmen. There they find Gilde the Bear Witch, along with a Werewolf named Scarlett and a winged man named Hex. Meanwhile, Hansel and Daisy set off on a dangerous trip of their own to the Citadel, where they end up in the middle of a political battle for the future of the whole country.

Can Gretel and her friends persuade Gilde to join forces, or at least stop fighting them at every step? Can Hansel find a way to heal the land’s divisions and make the huntsmen change their ways before disaster strikes them all? And how did Trevor the spider get hold of a wig? Discover the answers to all these questions and more in Such Big Teeth.

As soon as I finished the first book in the Darkwood series, I immediately picked up the other two. That's rare for me but, at £2.99 for the pair, I couldn't resist.

This is more of the same. It's a Pratchetty/Ffordian frolic through the tropes of fantasy. Bit of politics, bit of social commentary, bit of mild peril. All good clean fun. A couple of nice twists to keep things interesting - but nothing too taxing.

It is properly funny - not just in a "sensible chuckle" sort of way, but the sort of thing where your partner rolls over in bed and demands to know why you're laughing so much.

You can pick up the first book in the series for free:

Book Review: Darkwood by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch ★★★★⯪

@edent — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:42:12 +0000

Magic is forbidden in Myrsina, along with various other abominations, such as girls doing maths.

This is bad news for Gretel Mudd, who doesn’t perform magic, but does know a lot of maths. When the sinister masked Huntsmen accuse Gretel of witchcraft, she is forced to flee into the neighbouring Darkwood, where witches and monsters dwell.

There, she happens upon Buttercup, a witch who can’t help turning things into gingerbread, Jack Trott, who can make plants grow at will, the White Knight with her band of dwarves and a talking spider called Trevor. These aren’t the terrifying villains she’s been warned about all her life. They’re actually quite nice. Well… most of them.

What a joyous book! It has plenty of laughs right from the start. A rather fun and gentle adventure through a forest - with clearly defined goodies and baddies. What if all the characters from fairy-tales had to work together to defend the village? Not exactly an original idea - but it has enough modern touches to make it worthwhile.

Is it mining the same tropes as Terry Pratchett and Jasper Fforde? Yes, absolutely. But it does it with such style and panache that it's hard to object.

An uncomplicated and unabashedly happy tale of spider spies, cake, and witchery. It had me giggling all the way through - although it swaps comedy for polemic towards the end. But by then it has earned it.

The first book in the series is currently free:

The next two books are available as a £2.99 bundle.