“Heart’s Blood”, by Juliet Marillier (Tor)

Reviewed by Alyssa Mackenzie

An engaging and original take on a favourite fairy-tale.

A haunted forest. A cursed mansion. One girl running from her past and one man who’s more than he seems to be. A stunning tale of love, betrayal and redemption.

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan’s family and his people; the woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

And yet the derelict fortress, which houses both good and evil, is a safe haven for the troubled young scribe Caitrin who is fleeing her own demons. Despite Anluan’s tempers and the mysterious secrets housed in the dark corridors, this place, where nobody else is prepared to go, seems exactly what she needs.

As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home she realizes there is more to the broken young man than it first seems. And it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free…

In her adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast”, Juliet Marillier has, in some respects, taken a fairytale and turned it into a ghost story. Heart’s Blood has all the traditional elements of the story: a beautiful young woman, a curse to be broken, a bargain over a plant found in a charmed garden, and magic mirrors. However, Whistling Tor is not an enchanted castle with a monster for a master; it is unsettling more than anything else, and its chieftain is a human being warped by unhappiness. The curse has not turned him into a monster; rather, it has shackled him to a group of violent spirits he must struggle to control.

“Cybele’s Secret”, Juliet Marillier (Tor)

An ancient artefact… A perilous quest… A trail of magical signs… A startling love triangle…

At seventeen, scholarly Paula embarks on an adventure - a trip to Istanbul with her merchant father, to purchase an ancient artefact known as “Cybele’s Gift”. Paula’s fervent desire to return to the mysterious and magical Other Kingdom she knew as a child has been replaced by the more practical ambition of becoming a trader herself. But clues and whispers soon convince Paula that she has been set a magical quest, one that may lead to her lost sister Tati.

Competition for Cybele’s Gift is fierce, and Paula soon finds herself in danger in the great Ottoman city. Their hired guard and protector has secrets of his own, and what interest could the pirate Duarte possibly have in Paula? The hunt for the artefact is on! Riddles and tests of courage and strength lie before them, and the price of failure is death…

Perhaps best known for her popular Sevenwaters trilogy, Juliet Marillier delights with a fantasy novel set between the Istanbul of the early Ottoman period, and the mysterious Other Kingdom. Cybele’s Secret has some similarities with Sevenwaters: a strong heroine, mysterious clues, strange otherworldly creatures and their penchant for testing mortals. Marillier brings Istanbul vividly to life, with all its sights and sounds, the food, clothes, bathhouses, bazaars, and of course libraries of the ancient city.

The story is well-paced, driven by the bidding contest for Cybele’s Gift and Paula’s quest, with plenty of romantic interest and intrigue surrounding Paula and the unscrupulous Duarte, and Paula’s shy bodyguard, Stoyan. Marillier’s characters always seem to grow in maturity throughout her novels, and it’s a pleasure to travel with them as they do so. The tantalising clues and the mission Paula is entrusted with all keep the plot moving, and I found it an enjoyable read.

However, the emphasis for most of Cybele’s Secret is on the world of Istanbul, rather than the Other Kingdom, and perhaps for this reason there were moments when the two seemed to jar. For example, the clues that Paula follows up the mountainside seemed a little contrived and it was easy to sympathise with Duarte’s incredulity. Yet at other moments, such as when a woman who might be Paula’s lost sister Tati appeared standing high on the mast of a ship, the juxtaposition of the two worlds worked brilliantly.

Marillier is an accomplished writer whose characters always ring true, and whose fantasy worlds always enchant. Here, the world of Ottoman Istanbul is painstakingly and vividly recreated, but after the world of Sevenwaters, Cybele’s Secret left me wanting a bit more magic and a bit less detective work.

Overall, though, this is well worth reading. But, if you’re looking for an emphasis on Marillier’s magical Other Kingdom, it might be best to start with the Sevenwaters trilogy (Daughters of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, and Child of the Prophecy) and also the Sevenwaters stand-alone novel, Heir to Sevenwaters.

In addition to this, I would also recommend another couple of detective novel set in Istanbul: Orhan Pamuk’s My Name Is Red and Jason Goodwin’s The Snake Stone (along with the rest of the Yashim the Eunuch Series).

Reviewed by Emma Newrick

"Heir to Sevenwaters", by Juliet Marillier (Tor)

The tale of a young woman's brave quest to right a terrible wrong...

Heir to Sevenwaters is a stand-alone novel set in Juliet Marillier’s classic fantasy world. The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast and mysterious forest. Human and Otherworld dwellers coexist there, separated by a thin veil between worlds and sharing a wary trust. But everything changes when Lady Aisling finds herself expecting another child. A boy is born, the long-awaited heir, and is given into the care of his sister Clodagh. Then the family’s joy turns to despair when the child is taken from his cradle and something unnatural is left in his place. To reclaim her brother, Clodagh must enter the Otherworld and confront the powerful prince who rules there. Accompanied on her quest by a warrior who may be more than he seems, Clodagh will have her courage tested to breaking point. The reward may be far greater than she ever dreamed…

Heir to Sevenwaters is an atmospheric and absorbing tale with a varied and appealing cast of characters. Clodagh is a strong and sympathetic heroine, and Marillier’s fast-paced plotting never falters, holding together a diverse cast and varied story threads with ease. Full of mystery, romance and suspense, Clodagh’s quest to find her baby brother is full of twists and turns, ensuring your attention is hooked throughout, keeping us guessing as to the trustworthiness and motives of her characters. Clodagh’s developing relationship with the brooding warrior Cathal is vividly brought to life, as they are forced to rely on each other in a world neither of them truly understand. Marillier skilfully realises a large cast of characters and interweaves traditional folklore with a fantasy world that is so believable it seems to have a life outside the pages of her book.

Heir to Sevenwaters is a dark and romantic fantasy tale of changelings, warriors and chieftains, and one woman’s determination to thwart a malevolent faery prince and return her brother to his rightful place as heir. Recommended for fans of Lord of the Rings, Christopher Paolini, Alison Croggon, Anne McCaffrey and any discerning fantasy reader.

An epic and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Emma Newrick