THE ISLE IN THE SILVER SEA

What if the characters in a fairy tale wanted out?

The titular Isle is a magical version of England, a patchwork of times and places ruled by the Eternal Queen and stitched together by a network of tales. If these tales are not strictly reenacted by incarnates—people born to play their roles in a specific tale—the land associated with it and all the creatures living on that land disappear, so the people of the Isle have a vested interest in ensuring that incarnates perform as expected. Sir Lavinia and Simran are the latest versions of the Knight and the Witch, the two main characters in a sad tale of evil enchantment and star-crossed love that concludes with a murder-suicide. But these two incarnates are not quite like their predecessors: Vina’s mother and Simran both come from Elsewhere, a fantasy equivalent of India. That culture has essentially been written over by the power of their tale, but their continued treatment as outsiders, their overwhelming love for each other, and Simran’s mysterious affinity with limni ink (used both to write tales and perform powerful, reality-altering spells), give them the strength to seek out a destiny beyond their foretold unhappy ending. The key to their quest may lie with a dangerous immortal who is killing incarnates and has kidnapped Simran’s dearest friend. Previous Suri works (e.g.,Empire of Sand, 2018) have featured unique, fascinating magical systems, and this book continues in that vein. It’s one of the more innovative and thoughtful uses of fantasy to explore colonialism and the potential poison of assimilation, popular genre themes in recent years. The novel takes two fundamental British myths—King Arthur and the concept of the British Empire as a realm on which the sun never sets—and uses them to show the thin line between preservation and stagnation. A desperate need to adhere too perfectly to an ideal and/or the status quo makes it more likely that it will come crashing down.

Beautifully inevitable and surprising at the same time; dark, sharp, clever, lovely.