A review by deedireads
Spear by Nicola Griffith
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Spear is a gender-bent, queer, Arthurian/Percival retelling that’s rich, stunning, and timely. It’s especially good on audio. I’m so glad I read it!
For you if: You like fantasy retellings that feel a little more literary, kind of like The Silence of the Girls.
FULL REVIEW:
I’d never read Nicola Griffith before, but boy am I glad that Spear was shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, because now I have and she is excellent. This novella is rich, stunning, and timely — and, bonus, it has a distinct but accessible literary feeling to it.
This novella is an Arthurian retelling focused on Percival, here rendered as Peretur. It’s also (wait for it) gender-bent and sapphic. Peretur was raised by her mother in a remote cave but soon leaves to seek her fate by disguising herself as a man, earning a name for herself, (making maidens swoon,) and joining the knights of the round table. But soon it becomes clear that there are mysteries to uncover and a quest to embark on when it comes to her own history and upbringing.
Gender-bent Arthurian retellings will always catch my eye, but what makes this book so stunning is Griffith’s prose. She leaves a distance between the text and the story to give you, the reader, plenty of space to exist in between. That makes this novella-length story feel not empty, but rich and full and literary (in fact, Tor published this book but they gave her an FSG editor, soooo if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know!). Not a single phrase is wasted, and it’s not something to rush through but definitely something to get lost in. I think if you enjoyed the vibe in The Silence of the Girls, you might like this as well. (Also: genre is marketing!)
Finally, please do yourself a favor and listen to this one on audio (or tandem read print and audio, as I did). It lends itself beautifully to the form and Griffith herself narrates.
To Nicola Griffith’s backlist I go!
TL;DR REVIEW:
Spear is a gender-bent, queer, Arthurian/Percival retelling that’s rich, stunning, and timely. It’s especially good on audio. I’m so glad I read it!
For you if: You like fantasy retellings that feel a little more literary, kind of like The Silence of the Girls.
FULL REVIEW:
I’d never read Nicola Griffith before, but boy am I glad that Spear was shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, because now I have and she is excellent. This novella is rich, stunning, and timely — and, bonus, it has a distinct but accessible literary feeling to it.
This novella is an Arthurian retelling focused on Percival, here rendered as Peretur. It’s also (wait for it) gender-bent and sapphic. Peretur was raised by her mother in a remote cave but soon leaves to seek her fate by disguising herself as a man, earning a name for herself, (making maidens swoon,) and joining the knights of the round table. But soon it becomes clear that there are mysteries to uncover and a quest to embark on when it comes to her own history and upbringing.
Gender-bent Arthurian retellings will always catch my eye, but what makes this book so stunning is Griffith’s prose. She leaves a distance between the text and the story to give you, the reader, plenty of space to exist in between. That makes this novella-length story feel not empty, but rich and full and literary (in fact, Tor published this book but they gave her an FSG editor, soooo if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know!). Not a single phrase is wasted, and it’s not something to rush through but definitely something to get lost in. I think if you enjoyed the vibe in The Silence of the Girls, you might like this as well. (Also: genre is marketing!)
Finally, please do yourself a favor and listen to this one on audio (or tandem read print and audio, as I did). It lends itself beautifully to the form and Griffith herself narrates.
To Nicola Griffith’s backlist I go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Blood
Moderate: Animal death and Infertility
Minor: Rape