GOLD AND GOSSAMER

In Quinn’s fantasy novel, a human king begins an offbeat relationship with a fairy queen.

Dante, the Mage King of Avonbend, needs more crops for his people. Dante eyes a piece of lush, untended land; the only problem is that it’s in Fairyland, which the human kingdoms fought in the Winged War a half-millennium ago. Regardless, Dante heads that way and asks the Fairy Queen to give him the land out of generosity rather than offering a trade. She humiliates him by laughing, and he vows to kill her, which the Fairy Queen sees as a challenge. She’s excited to have a nemesis, and she prompts one-on-one battles with the Mage King. But the more times these two adversaries meet, the more they’re drawn to one another. Meanwhile, there’s tension among the humans, some of whom believe magic, like the kind Dante wields, is corrupt. The Fairy Queen is also convinced that the people Dante has been helping will turn on him. Quinn masterfully develops the lead characters’ growing bond. The Fairy Queen is the more enthralling one; her frequent laughter is more playful than condescending, and she’s evocatively surrounded by spiders and their silk (in Fairyland, she’s the Queen of Spiders). Others in the cast shine as well, from Dante, who isn’t as impetuous as he initially seems, to Elvine, Dante’s trusted advisor and wonderfully blunt friend (“She told me you promised to destroy her, by the way. Best of luck with that. For your funeral, shall I order bluebells or larkspurs?”). While readers are treated to displays of magic (like teleporting fairy rings), the narrative focuses more on the political climate and potential unrest. (One particularly shocking incident puts everyone in peril and spurs on a suspenseful final act.) Throughout the novel, the author lingers on colorful visuals, describing the Fairy Queen draped in “glittering pink silk” and one king’s “cold, vivid eyes, blue as despair.”

Indelible characters ignite this magical tale set in an effervescent world.