Laini Taylor is one of my favorite authors, and I had been wanting to read her debut novel for a while, so I finally picked it up when it was re-released. As expected, I enjoyed the writing, and I loved the whimsical worldbuilding, such as cheroot-smoking, brandy-drinking crows. Those kinds of details are so specific and unexpected, and they create a strange but lived-in world. While the book is rated for middle grade, it could easily cross over into early YA due to the complexity of the prose and, at times, some slightly confusing dialogue because of the dialect used. I don’t read much middle grade, so I was surprised by how sophisticated the writing felt.
The novel follows Magpie Windwitch, who seeks out and eliminates devils that are being released into the world by humans. These devils had been defeated in devil wars thousands of years before, but humans evolved and, essentially, made a mess of things. As Magpie continues her work, she begins encountering signs of the worst devil she has ever faced, and this leads her toward unexpected help. There is also an interesting creation myth woven into the story, which helps explain the larger conflict. Taylor’s prose is often beautiful, even when describing something disgusting. At one point, an imp sucks on his own disgusting tail, and when he releases it, “it was a spot of shining pink on a lump of filth-caked imp.” I was both repulsed and impressed by such vivid imagery.
I liked the characters we met and just generally enjoyed spending time in this world. While this wasn’t quite on par with Taylor’s later books, which I love, it was still an enjoyable read and an interesting look at the beginnings of her storytelling. I’m hoping the sequel gets a re-release as well because I would absolutely return to this world.
