The Bone Swans of Amandale has been one of my favorite novellas for a while, and I’d been meaning to read the full collection it was included in at some point. I finally got around to it, and while I don’t think any of the stories quite captured the genius of Bone Swans, there were a few other gems in here. Expect dark fairy tale vibes to run through the series of stories as a motif, and generally high writing craft quality.
Instead of talking about the collection as a whole, I’ll do a blurb for each of the five stories.
Life on the Sun: a story about a city in rebellion, interrupted by the invasion of a desert mage king. This story was fine but not particularly interesting. It suffered from a personal pet peeve, when our POV characters intentionally withhold information from the reader for a reveal, despite their full knowledge of it. While it isn’t as excessive as in Red Rising, it robbed the story of what could have been great narrative tension. As it stood, I didn’t think the characters were interesting enough for the twist to raise the stakes, which depended on my engagement with them to succeed. I also found the ending disappointingly saccharine.
The Bone Swans of Amandale: this one was just as good on a reread as it was the first time, and is utterly genius. In a town and forest where an Ogress mayor is on rampage killing swan-folk to turn into musical instruments, a rat-folk helps his crush (the last surviving swan) get revenge along with the help of the Pied Piper. Maurice steals the show as our POV character. As you would expect from a rat, he’s grungy, overly dramatic, and not at all the type of person you would want to spend much time with. But it was such a unique and captivating voice (even when he was a prick) that it dragged you in. A great example of how to use an unethical lead character in a way that doesn’t endorse their views. This one is worth the cost of the collection on its own. It’s that good.
Martyr’s Gem: an island nation with a strong cultural focus on bearing children to keep the population up. An undesirable young man chosen to wed the heir of a noble house in mourning for her murdered sister. This story was a more somber, but excellent read. The dynamic between our two leads (and the man’s sister) was a really strong foundation for the book, and the world had just enough detail to hold attention without overwhelming a 40 page story. Perhaps not as tightly plotted as I would have liked in the revenge department, but a satisfying read.
How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: a Rumplestiltskin retelling that I found really wonderful. Placed in a Salem Witch Trials-esque situation, a young girl strikes a deal with a ‘totally not fae’ to keep herself alive after her father drunkenly claims she can spin straw into gold. Great pacing, a fun twist on a classic fairy tale that didn’t try to mock the original and standing on its own even if you didn’t know the reference.
The Big Ba-Ha: I absolutely hated this one. It’s a post-apocalyptic novel where the 12 year old leader of a child gang dies but doesn’t go to heaven. Cooney swung for the fences in style and dialect here, but it just didn’t work for me and I didn’t finish it. I do appreciate the stylistic ambition, and if it works for you, you’ll probably love it.
The start/end stories were big misses for me, but the middle three were quite enjoyable. I want to try Cooney’s longer stuff, but it isn’t quite as much of a priority for me after reading this collection as it was when I’d only read The Bone Swans of Amandale.
Marked for Plot 