Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Peniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.
I love a good fairy tale retelling. I think Shannon Hale was the first I read, but there have been plenty of others. It never ceases to amaze me, the depth and the different stories authors can dig out of a (fairly basic, let's be honest) fairy tale. This one sits beautifully in that group.
Shiori is the only daughter, youngest child, of the emperor of a vaguely Asian-ish country. As the daughter, and the youngest, she's been coddled and indulged for most of her life, but now her betrothal is upon her, and she's also trying to hide her forbidden magic. Princess or not, if her father finds out he will have no choice but to banish her. Attempting to hide it (and to avoid her betrothal, let's be honest) she finds herself abruptly in the company of a dragon. Although he does nothing but be vaguely condescending in her general direction, the interaction catches the attention of Shiori's nameless stepmother, and she casts her spells. Left with no one to rely on, voiceless and helpless, Shiori will have to learn to harness her own strength and magic to save herself, her brothers, and her realm from evil powers.
In case, like me, you didn't realise; this is the first of a series, at least two books. Don't expect things to wrap up at the end; one problem is solved, but there's plenty more to worry about.
Now, the real review.
I adore the tone of this book. Elizabeth has captured the feel of the very best fairytales while crafting something entirely new. Western audiences will probably be most familiar with the base story as The Raven Brothers, but there are variations all over the world, with the brothers variously numbering two, six or even twelve. (This is so that, with the princess, they are three, seven or thirteen, important and powerful numbers.) In this version, as you can guess from the title, they are six and turned into cranes. Six is a good number; they each have a little space to develop a personality, without being so many that they blur together. There are elements of other fairy tales in here too, all mixed together to create something wonderful.
The only (very slight) complaint I have is that the huge revelations near the end all came very quickly, crowded together, and I had trouble following them; I had to read back a couple of times to make sure I had everything right. I'm sure other readers will follow it without a problem, but for me it was a bit much all at once.
However, that was just one tiny thing that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of this beautiful, magical tale. I can't wait to read the next part (and maybe part three? I don't know how long this series is going to be.) I'm excited to see if Elizabeth is going to wind in even more fairytales - there's plenty of scope for more elements to show up!
A fantastic, beautiful read. If you enjoy fantasy or folktales, this is the book for you.
Six Crimson Cranes publishes on the 8th of July, 2021 in the UK (top image) and on the 6th of July, 2021 in the US (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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