Cover Image: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower

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This was a lot of fun! It didn't go quite in any of the directions I'd expect an alternative princess tale to go. Instead it went a bit darker.

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Once upon a time, there was a witch who wanted to imprison a princess in a tower. But she wanted to do it properly, so she made it forty stories tall and filled with varying monsters at every level. Yet the princes never made it passed the first floor, and the princess languished away, as princesses do. Until one day something changed, and the princess decided the only way out was down.

I did not expect to love this Rapunzel retelling as much as I did, but that rather unexpected ending took this from 4.5 stars to a solid 5!

"I wish I might be rescued," wished Floralinda.
"Too large a wish; make it smaller," said Cobweb, after a moment.
"I wish that I didn't have to die," wished Floralinda.
"You are misunderstanding 'smaller,'" said Cobweb.

It is so deliciously amoral.

I loved the variety of monsters, the way the chapters are numbered, the love-hate-relationship between Floralinda and Cobweb. While I was annoyed by Floralinda's dunderheaded dullness, I did like her character growth and how she stumbled into killing things by accident (often nearly dying herself), and how she was aided in her unlikely survival by an angry, aspiring chemist fairy.

I also enjoyed how much attention to detail Muir placed on logistics, something often neglected in fantasy, particularly fantasy where the princess is locked in an unclimbable tower.

And did I mention the monsters?? There are so many that are nearly impossible to kill, and it's kinda like watching a video game, where the main character 'levels up' with each conquest...or levels down in some cases.

Definitely one to read if you're looking for a quick fairy tale parody with real bite.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

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What a great fun and irreverent twist on the classic fairytale/“princess in the tower” trope. Not what you would immediately associate with the author of the Locked Tomb books, but once you read you’ll see its filled with Muir’s resident wit and snark - and of course all sorts of twists of the status quo.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟: “𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠.“

Other than Dragon fodder there’s not a prince in sight, but theres plenty of beasties, an enterprising witch, and a very snarky Fairy who likes to sideline in chemical warfare and make things burn. I LOVE the ending, those last few lines!!!

Highly recommended, especially if you like the irreverence of stories like The Princess Bride.

“For if one prince being crunched up by a Dragon is inspirational, twenty-four princes being crunched up by a dragon is cautionary.”

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 Thank you to Netgalley for my eARC!!

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I got an ARC of this book.

I kept putting off reading this book, because Muir is pretty well known for lesbian necromancers in space. Those books are intense and they take a long, long time to get through. They are complex and they are wild. I was afraid that I would get sucked into this and not be able to read anything else for a week or more. But, when I started reading I finished. It was a really quick read.

The book is deceptively simple. The book is one of those twisted stories I love. You read what seems like a gentle fairy tale, but the more you think about it the more horrific it gets. This is the sort of thing that I am super into. Give me something that seems nice and gentle, then destroy me. Thank you.

The plot is pretty interesting at first, but after the first few floors things get a bit bogged down. It didn’t really slow down, but it felt more repetitive so I found my interest waning. A lot of the plot after the first two floors was survival, instead of moving forward. It had its place, but it still felt like it was dragging a bit. I didn’t really want to read a description of skinning a rat for example. The skinning of the rat made sense within the story, but it just didn’t hold my attention.

The cover is also a bit misleading. There is a dragon on the cover, but the dragon is not really seen on page. The dragon is mentioned as yelling in the night, but the dragon doesn’t really do much in the book outside of eat a few princes in the first few pages. I felt let down by not being able to really see the dragon. The name of the book is a huge yes, but the cover would not have brought me in.

Overall, the book was a fun read that I only really trusted based on the author. I am glad I gave it a shot instead of judging it as another fantasy novel I didn’t need in my life. That ending was pure perfection. Muir may rule lesbian space necromancers, but she is starting to take over my heart too.

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The premise of Princess Floralinda is simple: take the traditional Rapunzel myth, add monsters to each floor, then find out if anyone survives. Speckled with clever moments, the novella nonetheless feels lifeless and cliched. Floralinda's personality is highly inconsistent and the dangers to her never feel real. Those looking for a gruesome fairytale with no one to root for might find something to love in it - I did not.

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I read the description a few times but I was still surprised by this book. I was not expecting the turn it took.

Tamsyn Muir's writing is hard to get into and I had to reread a few passages, but the story made up for that. I did like many of the descriptions the author used, as it made the story more atmospheric. The author was very sarcastic at times and made fun of classic fairy tale tropes.

Even though the story was contained in one small room, with some adventures to the lower flights, it was action-packed and there was always something interesting that made me keep reading. I wish some of the flights were delved more into since the author focused a lot on some but rushed through others. I liked seeing how the two characters survived the tower, from day to day activities to fighting the monsters.

The characters were unique and fun. Princess Floralinda had fascinating character development for such a short book. She went from naive and sometimes had really funny and dumb thoughts, to a strong character. Cobweb was funny and had some of the best quotes.

The ending completely took me by surprise, Princess Floralinda got a different ending than I'd have thought, but it was a fun twist.

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h book but my biggest complaint was both books had point where I could not visualize, and this one did not have that problem. I have spoken of the brutality but this book also adds just the right amount of humor as well with many funny passages. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is my favorite of the three books that Tamsyn Muir has written. A special thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the advanced reader copy Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir will be published on November 30th 2020.

The Plot: A witch has put Princess Floralinda in a forty flight tower, with a monster or monsters on each flight. Floralinda tries to talk the witch out of this saying, wouldn't you want to ransom me, so you can gain financially, the witch explains it is not about that the tower is more of an artistic expression. So Floralinda is stuck at the top as she sees a stream of princes fight for her honor and all die on the first flight to the dragon guarding it. Weeks go by with nothing happening she has books to read and magical bread, oranges and water. she waits and waits while reading, then she finds a diary of a girl who waited and waited, until she could wait no more and jumped out the window. She vowed that was not going to be her and she decides maybe the lower floors aren't so bad, she opens the door and goes down bringing the magical bread to find gremlins below, she tries to offer bread and is brutally attacked, she fights back and trows one through the window before shutting her door, she wishes she had help, and a big storm brings a fairy, Cobweb, with a broken wing. Cobweb who is wise agrees to help the princess go down the tower in exchange that Floralinda give her tears which heal fairies.

What I Liked: How clever the writing is, it's a simple idea that I have never seen done before, and it works. I liked how funny and particular the witch was with her artistry. The Princess Floralinda and Cobweb relationship is the heart of the story, it is so rocky but as the story goes on you really care about it. The brutality of the fights make it real, the princess gets her butt kicked but her and Cobweb's cleverness keep them alive. I like the monster's and the creativity behind some of them. I really enjoyed the story it went in directions I didn't think it was going to go. The ending is perfect, not really a twist but a progression I did not see coming that is perfect.

What I Disliked: The library having Reader's Digest really through me off that felt like some inside joke the reader wasn't in on. The book skipped over one battle just showing the aftermath and not the fight, but it was the one I was looking forward to the most which felt a little cheapened by.

Recommendations: Read this short 200 page novella, it feels like a longer book in terms of how much story it covers. If you have read and enjoyed Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth then you will love this book who keeps the cleverness and good story telling. I hope she will visit other fairy tale tropes. I rated Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir 5 out of 5 stars.

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I received an advanced copy of Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower through NetGalley so I could share my review with you!

Princess Floralinda has been locked in a tower by a witch and her only hope of escape lies in the arms of some prince who may or may not ever arrive. You see, that is what is expected from princesses, princes, and witches. The tower itself is a bit outside of the ordinary, with forty flights each containing a unique monster that must be fought to reach the top. Floralinda, as a fairly typical princess, understands that she is expected to wait in the tower, but after watching countless princes enter the bottom of the tower and never come out, she begins to lose hope. None of them can get past the dragon on the first flight of the tower, which is quite far from reaching Floralinda. Soon, the princes seem to have all died or lost interest, and winter is coming fast to the tower. It’s up to Princess Floralinda to save herself or else die trying to get down all forty flights.

You can get your copy of Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower now from Subterranean Press!

I couldn’t contain my excitement when I saw that I was going to get to read Tamsyn Muir’s newest release early! Muir’s writing is easily some of the most entertaining I’ve found, and Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower was no exception! Tamsyn Muir perfectly balances comedy with heart-wrenching emotion, capturing the complexity of real-world human beings in fantastical settings. Watching Floralinda’s character grow and develop as she journeyed down the tower was hands-down my favorite part of this book. Though this story was novella length, it was absolutely packed to the brim with adventure, excitement, and more than a few instances of dumb luck saving the day!

My Recommendation-
If you’re still reeling from your Harrow the Ninth book hangover, Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower would be a great book to fill the void! Though the worlds and characters are remarkably different, I found that I loved following Floralinda’s journey almost as much as I enjoyed reading about Gideon and Harrow. This book would be a great choice for fans of non-traditional fairy tales!

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First of all, the dragon. Second of all, Tamsyn.

Love love love the premise of this book. For some reason all I can picture is leveling up in Mario and Tangled being bred and having a baby. Fun right?

That’s exactly what this book was for me, fun.

Tamsyn’s other books were kind of difficult for me. I love her writing style but I just wasn’t sure how I felt afterward. This one left me in a better place and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

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From the blurb and the cover, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a bog standard fairy tale of a princess patiently waiting in a tower to be saved. Indeed it wasn’t. It’s a “standard flipping” look at what happens to someone when they realize that there’s no one to save them except themselves. You go, Floralinda.

It’s not an especially long story and towards the end, we don’t see exactly how some of the monsters of the tower will meet their fate but then that’s not really the point. Floralinda starts out as a beautiful princess with curling golden hair and eyes as blue as sapphires. She has the usual initial responses to her situation of being princess-napped by a witch (with standards who also wants to try some avant garde things). Why not make things interesting, eh?

At first Floralinda waits for the princes to appear and rescue her. They do arrive – twenty four of them – but all she ends up hearing is the crunching sounds of the diamond scale dragon on the first floor munching on dead princes. Well, that’s not going to get her out. Before long, either all the princes currently of age to ride to her rescue are dead or are having second thoughts about how much they really want to rescue a princess. What now?

After starting out a bit hesitantly, Floralinda ends up clearing floor thirty nine all by herself. Thankfully a sulky and peevish non-binary fairy, who was battered by a storm, is blown in through the window and thus begins a partnership. For various reasons, the fairy can’t leave – something it bitches and complains about ceaselessly – but Cobweb is good with figuring out what can be done with the bits and pieces that are left as Floralinda works her way down through the various monsters in the tower.

Their sometimes – no, make that pretty much all the time – contentious relationship is fun to read about as is watching Floralinda heal her infected hands – the goblin inflicted wounds did leave scars but after a while Floralinda doesn’t seem to notice anymore, practice her spear work, strengthen her hands, run steps, and think enough that the cogs in her brain no longer squeak like rusty hinges from lack of use.

Neither Floralinda nor Cobweb are totally nice characters. They have their negatives to balance their positives but what I really liked seeing was each one change over the course of the story. By the end, they are like forged steel that has been heated in the furnace of hard work; hammered into shape by fighting goblins, giant spiders, cockatrices, and devil bears – among others; tested by time; and come out stronger. This was a blast to read. B+

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Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is Tasmyn Muir’s newest novella which moves away from gothic aesthetic to fairy tales. Full of humor and escalating situations, Muir’s voice that made Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth such successes is evident and just as strong. I found the novella enjoyable but rough in some areas.

Princess Floralinda manages to balance the equation of pacing and content which many novellas struggle with. I was satisfied at the ending and did not find the story too short. I thought the way each chapter was situated around a level of the tower was very clever and good use of structuring the plot. Princess Floralinda felt very timely with its themes of malicious ignorance and desperation. Floralinda is a princess and very naive and believes herself to be a nice person until she ends up in a bad situation without the tools to get out. Which honestly, that could be anyone if they end up in a bad situation. One of Muir’s strengths is writing sympathetic characters in bad situations who do bad things in an attempt to try to get out of the spot they’ve gotten stuck in. We see it in Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth. However, I wouldn’t call Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower a redemption story with the plot twist. The plot twist itself was a very funny way to end the story since it subverts all the tropes that Muir was using from fairytales.

The part of Princess Floralinda that fell flat for me was the treatment of Cobweb’s gender. This is a spoiler heavy section so I will be ROT13ing it. Pbojro vf ntraqre fvapr snvevrf qba’g qb traqre. Ubjrire, Sybenyvaqn vf engure qrafr yvxr gur irel jryy zrnavat pvf crefba fur vf naq ershfrf gb npprcg gung Pbojro qbrfa’g unir traqre naq ernyyl qbrf abg pner gung zhpu nobhg orvat n obl be tvey. Fb fur qrpvqrf gb traqre Pbojro nf n tvey naq znxr vg tvey pybgurf. Pbojro fnlf vg qbrfa’g pner ohg vs Sybenyvaqn vafvfgf vg’yy or n tvey sbe Sybenyvaqn. Guvf nf n genaf naq abaovanel crefba whfg ernyyl uvg gbb pybfr gb ubzr. Gur xvpxre sbe zr jnf gung Pbojro snyyf va ybir jvgu Sybenyvaq jub unf gerngrq vg ubeevoyl. V xabj vg vf fhccbfrq gb or na haurnygul qlanzvp ohg vg jbhyq or qvssrerag sbe zr vs vg qvqa’g unir gur genafcubovn nfcrpg. V jbhyq unir yvxrq guvf fgbel fb zhpu orggre vs Pbojro unq arire pbzr onpx. Onfvpnyyl gur gqye bs guvf vf gung Zhve ohatyrq traqre urer naq V ernyyl qvqa’g yvxr vg. Jr qba’g arrq zber aneengvirf nobhg pyhryrff pvf crbcyr orvat genafcubovp. Vg vf 2020 naq gurer vf fb znal tbbq obbxf bhg gurer hcyvsgvat genaf naq tap punenpgref vafgrnq bs qrnyvat jvgu genafcubovn sebz n pvf crefba’f crefcrpgvir. Fb gur aneengvir vf ernyyl cnffr gb zr naq bar V’q yvxr gb whfg arire frr ntnva.

Would I recommend this? Probably but with the caveats about treatment of gender.

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Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower
by Tamsyn Muir

This book was so much fun! Fantastic! Last year, I remember hearing more buzz about Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir than about any other ten books combined. Every sentence about it had at least one exclamation mark at the end. It was that kind of book. When I finally got a copy of it and read it, I was underwhelmed. I liked the characters and parts of the setting, but I found the language and style detracted from the plot. I also couldn’t keep the giant cast of characters straight. I wish I had read this book first.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is a fantasy novella that is about half fairy tale deconstruction, and half D&D random monster generator delightfulness. A princess, trapped in a tower by a witch, starts getting tired of princes to rescue her and starts to rescue herself. A delightful premise that is wonderfully executed. It is a joy to read and I look forward to more books by Ms. Muir in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:

1. There is a dragon on this cover and the book has a great title;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. I enjoy unusual fairy tales.

I liked the beginning of this book and other parts of it but did not love it overall.  When I requested this, I didn't recognize the author's name.  Turns out she wrote gideon the ninth.  I abandoned that book and disliked it enough that I did not review it anywhere because me opinion was so far out of the norm and I really didn't feel like taking time to explain why it irks and infuriates me.  So had I realized who the author was, I likely wouldn't have requested this book.

I really, really did enjoy the set-up for this one.  Floralinda is a weird princess in a weird tower.  I loved that the princes gave up on rescuing her and she is stuck there.  I loved the weird mean fairy.  I even loved how Floralinda dealt with floors 39 and 38 even though the plot moved slowly.  After these floors, the plot stalled and I began to get bored.  The humor from the beginning didn't change and grew stale.  The metatextual aspects became tiresome.  Once Florinda began descending floors again, the author sped through them in a blur.  I wanted to know about the floors that were just described by monster name and passed by.  And the climax and conclusion were basically nonsensical and rushed.  The very last line made me mad.  I don't like the commentary on how Floralinda's journey changed her.  It was too negative.  And I usually like negative.

This author and her style are not for me though I am very grateful to have received a review copy.  Arrrr! 

So lastly . . .

Thank you Subterranean Press!

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I really enjoyed this book. Fantasy, comedy, action, it had everything. We need to look for more books from Tamsyn Muir. Highly recommend.

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Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower delightfully subverts the damsel in distress trope; Floralinda’s transformation from delicate princess to something else entirely is unexpected and a refreshing take on a twisted tale. This is a hilarious, fast-paced story that is a must-read for fairytale lovers.

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A snarky, semi-satirical princess-in-the-tower tale where, after watching prince after prince fail to get past the dragon, Princess Floralinda has to take it upon herself to defeat the beasts inhabiting all forty levels of her tower. I went into this as a fan of Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series, but let me just tell you this story is not that. No necromancers or backtalking cavaliers here. So go into it prepared for a very different kind of story. That said, I really enjoyed this one. It's super snarky and a bit gory and really plays on familiar fairy tale tropes while also leaning into others. In some ways, I could see it appealing to fans of the Princess Bride for just those reasons, though the story itself is completely and totally different.

I will say it too me several pages to get into it, because the level of satire was so extreme it almost felt like too much. But once I leaned into it, I found myself really enjoying the voice. Not a fan of the first line which felt appropriative and I do think the story could've done more to explore some of the gender roles / gender identity concepts it played with, but all in all a really fun take on a fairy tale.

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Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower completely subverted all tropes of the damsel in distress and your typical fairy tale of princesses in a tower awaiting to be saved. At first we see Floralinda as the damsel, waiting patiently for a prince to come rescue her from whatever dangers lie in the Forty-Flight tower itself. From dragons and lava salamanders, to unicorns and murderers. It's a vast array of both fairy tale creatures and beasts meant to cause whomever seeks to rescue the princess a complete harder trial.

What subverted the cliché' trope itself though, was Floralinda's personality. How she goes from damsel to the person who must rescue herself. Allied with a gender indifferent fairy named Cobweb, she slowly descends the tower in hopes to reach her family by Christmas.

The characters were so well thought-out. Floralinda's own dramatics and bravery growing till the very end. Cobweb's dark and sarcastic humor. Watching both interact kept my attention completely and by the end I was entranced. Muir's writing is excellent, both in dialogue, and descriptions of the scene. Her taking the classic tropes and turning them on their head made for such a perfect novella for fans of darker tales like the Grimm stories.

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This book is so fun. I am a big Tamsyn Muir fan, and this book does not disappoint. Floralinda has been trapped in a tower by a witch, and each floor has a wicked creature placed there to thwart the princes who try to save Floralinda. (Though honestly none can get past the first floor dragon.) Floralinda is probably going to have to take things into her own hands if she ever wants to leave the tower. This book is dark and really funny and pretty gory and I loved it. Floralinda is pitiful at the outset, but she starts to transform with the help of an unwilling frenemy, and the ending is perfection. Highly recommended.

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I received a free e-copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I haven't read 'Gideon the Ninth', which I own, nor 'Harrow'. I was intrigued by a "middle grade" book by this author. It kind of pokes fun, or throws the fairy tale on it's head. It's done in a nice dry sarcastic way versus a parody type of way that can sometimes get overdone. I enjoyed Princess Floralinda's trials, tribulations, and her transformation. It seemed to lag a bit at some points where the events and humor weren't enough to keep me engaged. I did however want to see where the story would go, so I continued on. Another interesting part is the fairy 'Cobweb'. I loved Cobweb as a character and enjoyed her interactions with Floralinda. I was happy that she was very smart and wanted to do science experiments. I am not a "triggered" person. I don't look for them, nor avoid them. I did not understand the necessity of Cobweb having to be a boy or a girl. I don't know what it was trying to protray or imply, and it was brought up several times. I feel like it was all unnecessary, and will cause grief in some people. I very much enjoyed this very different twist on a twisted fairy tale.

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I received an ARC of Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower from Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

A princess is locked in a tower. The tower is guarded by a dragon. A prince slays the dragon and rescues—no, wait, that’s wrong. The dragon crunches up the prince. Another prince comes; the dragon crunches him up too. (The unidentified first-person narrator of Princess Floralina and the Forty-Flight Tower always uses that particular phrase, “crunched up,” which is at once both discomfortingly visceral and charmingly euphemistic.) Twenty-four princes get crunched up, and Floralinda is still stuck in the tower, each of the thirty-nine flights below her occupied by a monster—and the witch who set it all up didn’t provide insulation. “Winter is coming,” as the Starks say, but it won’t take thousands of pages to arrive in the world of Tamsyn Muir.

Princess Floralinda will have to save herself.

There are a lot of these stories on bookshelves these days, mythology and fairy tales turned subversive and feminist. Most authors are content to gender-swap. Women are strong and brave and have agency, and that’s all great. But it’s also boring. Strong female characters don’t (necessarily) make for strong female characters; give me women who are complex and dynamic and complicated; give me women who change and develop; give me women who are heroes, and give me women who make the most monstrous men look like garden-variety pests. I asked…

And on the twelfth day of Christmas, Tamsyn Muir gave to me: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower. (Christmas is actually relevant to the plot of this book; it’s not beyond me, but please be assured that I’m not pulling in random references just because I feel like it.)

This novella rocks. Princess Floralinda is everything I described above and then some, and the only other major character, a genderless fairy named Cobweb who reluctantly helps her defeat the monsters and descend the tower, is her perfect complement: sometimes they are friends and more often they are enemies literally trapped together by circumstance, but the sparks of great storytelling fly in every scene they share. Readers of Muir’s debut Gideon the Ninth will have a hard time not imagining Cobweb and Floralinda as the result of some mad experiment in which Gideon and Harrow wandered into a different genre, which may be a pro or a con depending on how badly you’re craving more of that relationship. (Emotionally, I love that dynamic and didn’t mind the similarities; intellectually, I would have preferred Muir branch out a bit more.)

Muir’s prose is, expectedly, both precise and playful. The syntactical dream-logic and horrifying humor of fairy tales pairs perfectly with her eye for technical detail, creating a world which feels simultaneously absurd and textured with the complex systems of everything from chemistry to economics. Witches and fairies and dragons abound, but wounds get infected, weapons are cleverly crafted from everyday items, and the encroaching cold of winter is as real a threat as the giant spider (the size of three beds) on the thirty-eighth floor of the tower. I didn’t notice any non-diegetic jokes, but Muir still manages some true laugh-out-loud moments, and the narrator flavors dramatic irony throughout by bending and compressing the chronology of the story.

Like Gideon the Ninth (and its mind-melting sequel, Harrow the Ninth, which came out only a few months prior to Floralinda), this is a book soaked through with pain, abuse, and trauma. If you read the Three Crows Magazine interview with Tamsyn Muir that was published in February 2020, you will find many echoes of the personal experiences she unpacked in that piece also in these pages. I prefer not to apply autobiographical readings to fiction, so I won’t say any more about that. But those who have had similar experiences will identify deeply, as I did, with Cobweb and Floralinda. This book might be even angrier than Gideon, but it is also more hopeful: it is fierce and transformative, bloody and funny and powerful. On second thought, “hopeful” isn’t the right word. That word isn’t interesting enough to describe how this book made me feel. You know when you’re physically or emotionally raw and every sensation is turned up to eleven? It’s not that feeling, but the feeling of falling in love with that feeling.

This is a Tamsyn Muir book. If you loved Gideon the Ninth, you’ll love this. If you didn’t love Gideon the Ninth, you won’t love this, and I don’t know how to help you. If you haven’t read Gideon the Ninth, Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is the perfect place to start with Muir: it hits many of Gideon’s beats, but the shorter length of Floralinda means it hits them faster and harder. I always imagine Tamsyn cackling while she writes. I don’t know if she does, although that would be absolutely delightful, but I do know that I always finish her books grinning and hungry for more. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is no exception.

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