Tower of Thorns

Starred review from September 21, 2015
Often poignant and always engrossing, Marillier’s second Blackthorn and Grim Celtic fantasy (after Dreamer’s Pool) takes its wounded central figures on a perilous quest across a fantastical version of Europe. Their trials simultaneously demand physical strength, mental acuity, and emotional courage. Blackthorn is a wise woman traumatized by the arson murders of her husband and baby son. She’s bent on taking revenge on their killer, evil King Mathuin of Laois, but a mysterious fey has sentenced her to remain in Dalriada and do nothing but good for seven years. Her ever-faithful companion, Grim, badly scarred by his failed attempt to save his religious community from marauding Norsemen, accompanies her on their attempt to vanquish an eerie monster that’s disrupting Lady Geileis’s lands and folk by emitting agonized howls and screams from a tower encircled by vicious thorns. The characters fight on, even though they’re outnumbered, but are tormented by the thought of losing hope. Interspersing first-person passages told by Blackthorn and Grim with episodes of Geileis’s heartbreaking tale of cursed young lovers, Marillier enthrallingly spins out her graceful and mesmerizing tribute to heroes anywhere and anywhen. This immersive fantasy tale can be savored even by those unaware that Marillier’s stated goal for the series is to explore PTSD and strategies for coping with its effects, which she admirably achieves. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary.

October 15, 2015

For seven years, healer Blackthorn has abided by an agreement she made with the fae: to aid anyone who asks for her help, stay in the kingdom of Dalriada, and forgo revenge on the man who killed her husband and son. When a noblewoman comes to Prince Oran's court with a story straight out of a fairy tale (complete with a curse and a monster in a tower), and an old friend convinces Blackthorn that this is the perfect chance for her to travel to the border and get her longed-for vengeance, she agrees to go, even if it means lying to her faithful companion Grim. The curse affecting Lady Geileis's land turns out to be a serious threat, and Blackthorn throws herself into finding a way to end it, even while still planning her escape. VERDICT This historical fantasy, set in ancient Ireland and imbued with fairies and monsters, builds slowly. Its strength lies in the characters of Blackthorn and Grim, who have developed a bond from their shared pain, even while they continue to keep secrets from each other. Following the pattern set in Dreamer's Pool, there is a mystery for Blackthorn to solve, but the gradual unspooling of the riddle concerning the creature in the tower is secondary to witnessing Blackthorn and Grim struggle with their painful pasts.--MM

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016

In this sequel to Dreamer's Pool (Roc, 2014), the healer Blackthorn and her faithful companion Grim are trying to recover from the adventures in their first novel. Blackthorn is completing a sentence for the fey-she has to do what she is ordered and live in the area for seven years, serving the people as a healer. She's always a tad grumpy, but she enjoys the work and even tends to the expecting royal couple. At court, a visiting lady asks for help-a wailing monster is being held captive in a tower on her lands, and the curse is hurting her holdings and her people. Blackthorn agrees to help and uses her connections with Druid lore, healing herbs, magic, and common sense to save the day. Marillier is known for her fantastic fairy tale epics, and this novel is no different-the Celtic myths and fey are interspersed throughout. But the real gem is the friendship between Blackthorn and Grim-they aren't lovers, but their love bonds them together as they deal with post-traumatic stress disorder in their own ways. Their stories are what will make this series a hit with fantasy readers. Marillier's adult novel Daughter of the Forest (Tor, 2000) won the Alex Award in 2001, and her young adult novels Shadowfell (2012) and Wildwood Dancing (2007, both Knopf) are popular with teens. VERDICT Give this novel to young adults who love fairy tales and female heroes.-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Wise woman and healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, from Marillier's Dreamers' Pool (2014), are back in this fantasy of medieval Ireland. Because a member of the fey once saved Blackthorn from sadistic torture and imprisonment, she is now obligated to help anyone who asks. Called away from Winterfalls by Prince Oran, Blackthorn is reunited with an old friend, traveling scholar Flannan. The Lady of Bann requests help to end a curse manifested by someone or something who is imprisoned in a thorn-engulfed tower and whose tormented screams are driving people mad. When Blackthorn, Grim, and Flannan travel to Bann, they find a strange but loyal group of retainers and little useful information. When Blackthorn meets a tiny member of the fey who can't tell her what she needs to know about the curse, and observes more closely the oddness and reticence of the local inhabitants, she realizes that much more is going on than was first suspected. Marillier's enticing tale has just the right amounts of Irish mythology, magic, betrayal, and suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)