"In all though, this is a well-written collection of weird and wonderful stories, filled with fantasy, magical realism and a touch of the absurd."
A surrealist, dream-like fantasy collection of stories. From overcoming witches in lucid dreams to duels with the Headmaster of the magical Bleak Academy and protecting against the invasion of vampires, ‘The Night-Bird's Feather’ by Jenna Katerin Moran is a chronicle of fantastical fairy tale stories. The dreamy introduction of ‘Valentina and the Heron Witch’ sets the surrealist tone for the rest of the book, with lots of dream-like logic and absurd back and forth between the characters. Valentina Grigorievna Sosunova is a young child within a family of dream guardians, and must try to save her family from the Heron witch that has them lost in an enchanted slumber. As the stories progress, Valentina appears, either as the main character or as a side character sought out for advice or support. I liked that the different stories were connected in this way, with some shared characters. Written in linear order, you could read this chronicle from cover to cover, it is epic and detailed so it would perhaps take more than one sitting, and readers can go back to their favourite instalment afterwards. I was drawn into the sunless world of Fortitude and ‘The Night-Bird’s Feather’ has a lot to offer fans of fantasy and surrealist fiction, there is action and humour, twists and a paranormal romance within the tales. However, I don't personally like the use of footnotes in fiction as I don’t find them necessary, the information is either important enough that it should be woven into the main body of writing, or not and can therefore be left out. In all though, this is a well-written collection of weird and wonderful stories, filled with fantasy, magical realism and a touch of the absurd.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Indie Author Books |
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