Autumn K. England’s A Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous is a lovely fantasy in the vein of a Becky Chambers or Travis Baldree. It’s cozy with a focus on community and healing. Growing up, I read a lot of fantasy books about the farm boy who goes off on adventure and saves the kingdom. Oaklin is the farm person who left the farm for a big adventure that went very badly and now they have to live the rest of their life with those scars.
Oaklin Nettlewood ran away from the place their disapproving family lived and farmed, and joined a cult that promised to teach them magic. Instead they became a mind-controlled agent of evil. Just before A Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous begins, Oaklin has been freed from the mind-control, legally absolved of responsibility for the harm they did while in the cult (because of the lack of free will), given a little money for a fresh start, and pledged never to use their magic again. Oaklin buys a suspiciously cheap farm and finds out quickly why – it’s haunted by the ghost of its former owner and only someone with magic could buy the farm.
A patch of squat, wide-brimmed mushrooms in a vivid cerulean blue sparkled in the shade of the log’s hollow end. They smelled faintly of berries, and the magic they whispered felt sweet and gentle. Small freckled purple mushrooms popped up cheerily in a line along the log’s spine. They exuded a vaguely floral scent, and the magic swirling around them was light and airy, reminiscent of the spring breeze itself. The small clusters of red and black fungi lurking in the shadow underneath the log would have been easily missed, if not for their pungent smoky scent and the bright, sharp threads of magic.
Only listening, Oaklin reminded themself. Hearing and feeling. Not using. That’s all.
Over the three seasons in Field Guide, Oakland heals and becomes a part of the community. It’s cozy fantasy high stakes – when one person is able to thrive, they contribute to the health of the community. Reading this felt healing in the same way that reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry, and Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian’s Forest Euphoria felt.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
