Trainee meadow witch Anwen is having a bad day - which gets much worse when a dead giant falls from the sky and destroys her village. But when she examines the body she discovers something interesting. This giant was murdered, which means a killer is on the loose! Tasked with sending a message to the giant kingdom via beanstalk, Anwen and her nemesis, trainee sorceress Cerys, accidentally find themselves whipped up into the sky and deposited in the giants' royal palace - where the king is missing. Using their perfect spy-size and witchy skills, the girls must track down his killer. But how can you investigate a murder mystery when you risk being stepped on by your suspects?
Introduction
A world where Jack and the Beanstalk is history, not folktale! Here, the beanstalks are a way to pierce dimensions; the giants aren't literally 'above' the humans, that's just how the beanstalks get there. It's all history to Anwen, of course, no one has passed between worlds in years...
Plot Summary
Anwen's having a bad, but perfectly normal, day. At least, until a giant falls out of the sky, from a thin spot between their dimensions, and crushes her village. Accidentally whisked away to the giants' land, she takes the opportunity to do some investigating...very, very careful investigating...
Characters
Anwen is smart, dedicated and brave, but impulsive and quick to judgement. Cerys is snobby, but she has her good points - I don't want to give too much away! Anwen's grandmother, meanwhile, is the perfect 'cool old lady' as she keeps things together in the village while the girls are gone.
Writing Style
PG writes in a fun, fast paced style, with great descriptive passages. The story is really imaginative, and great use is made of the difference in scale between the two groups.
Personal Connection
I really enjoyed this. It's clever, it's heartfelt, there's some really clever twists I didn't see coming. It's going to do really well, and hopefully it'll be the start of a great series!
Further Reading/Viewing
P.G. Bell has written a trilogy with the same blend of magic and fairy tale. There's the original fairytale of course! And for another story with people of different sizes, try Gulliver's Travels - there are several children's versions available!
The Beanstalk Murder publishes on the 1st of August, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment