Summer in Orcus

T. Kingfisher

★★★★★

An odd but appealing mix of whimsy and horror, turning portal fantasy tropes on their heads. Baba Yaga, the ultimate witch of Russian folklore, is the quest-giver. Summer’s home life is shaped by her mother’s severe anxiety. A wolf isn’t a threat, but a staunch ally (and a were-creature who turns into a migratory house at night – you thought Baba Yaga’s house was the only one that walked around?). A lich refuses to move on until he finishes his to-read list. Geese are fierce warriors (OK, that part’s realistic, except these geese carry spears too), which is fortunate, because 11-year-old Summer herself isn’t going to be able to take down the mysterious Queen-In-Chains causing the rot that’s slowly destroying Orcus all by herself…or is she?

It’s a bit less cohesive than some of Vernon/Kingfisher’s more recent YA/older kids’ novels like Illuminations and A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, partly because it was originally a serial and partly because it’s a very kitchen-sink kind of fantasy world where anything goes, from an officious but kind-hearted goofy birds to creepy spider-horses. But it’s stuck in my head more than Minor Mage.