Into the Windwracked Wilds

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 25/07/2022

In this enchanting third installment (after Along the Saltwise Sea) of the metafictional companion series to 2020's Middlegame, Seanan McGuire, writing as Baker, continues to mix alchemical and metaphysical themes with tropes from early 20th-century children's literature, presenting a darker, weirder, more mature take on the fantasies of Frank L. Baum and Edith Nesbit. Still lost in the magical world of the Up-and-Under, young Avery and Zib continue their journey along the improbable road toward the Impossible City, accompanied by their new friends, Crow Girl and Niamh. Their quest to find the missing Queen of Wands—who they hope can help them return to their own world—takes yet another unexpected turn when the improbable road drops them off in the Saltwise Sea. Surviving that, they wind up in the Land of Air, where wishes come true—but at a bitter price. There, the children get trapped at the court of the terrifying Queen of Swords, and must find a way to escape her enforced hospitality. There's an episodic quality to this entry, though the protagonists do make some progress in their series-spanning trek and, while the self-aware omniscient narrative voice is occasionally a little too intrusive, the story remains fascinating and provocative. It's a worthy series addition.