Magic by Sarah Pinborough

I would like to thank Gollancz for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Gollancz

Published - 31/10

Price - £9.99 paperback £2.99 Kindle eBook

Imagine a tower wreathed in legend, a powerful witch, a foolhardy king, an imprisoned girl, and a secret waiting to be discovered . . .

And then imagine them all again . . .

This is the tale of Rapunzel, retold as it always should have been.

The fairy tales of old are often supposed to be cautionary tales - respect your parents, beware the forest and don’t tell to strangers. However some tales themselves create problems - a woman’s role is to find a husband and settle down or beauty is all that matters. But writers to come that played with classic tales and Sarah Pinborough is returning to her re-imaginings of fairy tales in Magic with a very unusual spin on Rapunzel that is rewarding in its own right and opens up the other stories too.

You should be soon aware that these are not for children when Aladdin is revealed to be a psychopathic thief who murders a guard because they remind him of his father, who he also killed! Yep these takes are deliciously adult. Elsewhere in this land Rapunzel lives happily in a magical tower with her ‘Aunt’ Gretel who keeps her safe and warns her of the dangers of men. But a kindly woodcutter leaves her a very adult tale of princes and their loves which makes her curious about men and she decides for fun to tell some drunken soldiers that she is a prisoner of a witch. This gets eventually to a newly crowned King in hiding who feels this may be the last adventure he needs to go on and his new servant Aladdin is very helpfully having a cunning plan with no agenda.

This is an enormously fun and smart tale to read! The plotting is beautifully done to juggle all these characters and their agendas and created something a bit new riffing off the classic tales. At the heart we have a tale challenging why fairy tales keep making us think Prince Charmings are all. For Rapunzel we can see a sexual awakening begin; for Gretel who is much older she is haunted by past experiences and see men as nothing to trust. The truth as the story unwinds is more inbetween we see our King is indeed very shallow but perhaps that too is a cautionary tale that helps us in the future? Gretel finds that her own past (which is told in a chilling flashback that changes our view of her) damages Rapunzel and the kindly woodcutter Conrad seems immune to her insults.

But this is ultimately a fantasy tale and magic indeed plays a role. We have bodyswapping, enchanted spindles, genies and curses and a fascinating take of Aladdin who is both dangerous and strangely sympathetic (to those he may like) which also leads to a little homage to Cyrano de Bergerac! The magic plays tricks on our cast and upsets the apple cart and perhaps teaches everyone a lesson (or not). The character work in this tale is something to savour as we see these characters all grow up in different ways.

Magic is a very intelligent and delightfully twist on the classic stories. Thought-provoking funny and more it’s definitely worth becoming a Halloween treat for you. Highly recommended!