BookBrowse Reviews The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry

BookBrowse:

An enchanting fantasy for adults, with strong YA appeal, set in a world of fairy tales and folklore.

"Magic isn't there to be hoarded like dragon's treasure. Magic is kind. It comes into the world to help. Our job is to make sure it gets to where it needs to go."

In H. G. Parry's novel The Magician's Daughter, sixteen-year-old Biddy lives on the wild, remote, hidden island of Hy-Brasil, cloaked from the world by powerful magic. Her home is an island of fairy stories and folktales, shadowy forests and mysterious castle ruins, black rabbits and a golden-eyed, shape-shifting animal spirit known as a Púca. Since she washed up on the island in a lifeboat as a baby, Biddy has been brought up by the mage Rowan and his familiar, a rabbit-sometimes-turned-human named Hutchincroft, the only companions she has ever known. Through them, she learns that magic is everywhere; in every star, every leaf and every grain of sand.

Rowan, a powerful magician, regularly transforms himself into a raven to make trips to the mainland for supplies. But Biddy never leaves Hy-Brasil, and as she grows up, her entire worldview stems from the books she reads and the lessons in spells taught to her by Rowan. Even though she understands that she is not a mage herself, with her origins shrouded in mystery, Biddy dreams she is destined for a great purpose. No longer a child, she finds herself caught between worlds: between her idyllic past childhood and the adulthood for which she yearns and has read about in books; and between the isolated, magic-infused realm of Hy-Brasil and the world beyond that she longs to see.

However, Rowan's trips soon turn ominous; he comes home wounded, and one night he does not return at all. Biddy's use of a spell to find him sparks a series of devastating revelations about the outside world, the perilous place of magic in it and the true mystery about herself. At last, Biddy will get to leave Hy-Brasil, but only to embark upon a dangerous journey to discover the truth and save magic…

The early chapters of The Magician's Daughter superbly evoke the beauty, wonder and fairy-tale aura of Hy-Brasil, the joys and adventures of Biddy's childhood and adolescence and her deepening relationships with her adopted father and his familiar. The sense of place on the island is powerfully rendered, lending the vivid descriptions an air of enchantment and mystery while invoking a history that reaches far back into the mists of time. But, like all fairy tales, the initial idyll cannot last, and darkness must ultimately be faced and fought.

In the novel's second half, the tone effectively changes to reflect Biddy's impressions of a human world new and unknown to her, dealing perceptively with the sudden shock of crowds of people, trains, chimneys, noise, smells and smoke. Biddy's memories of Hy-Brasil and her earlier knowledge gleaned only through books provide a stark contrast to the later chapters' gritty, haunting rendition of the outside world: London in 1912, ravaged by poverty and illness. At the orphanage where she goes to work undercover, Biddy must awaken to a grim reality that would have been hers but for a twist of fate. Her journey of discovery makes it clear that outside of Hy-Brasil, the magical world mirrors the darkness and cruelty of the ordinary mortal world in many ways, and Biddy's choices in the face of her new knowledge make her a sympathetic and compelling protagonist.

Given that the entirety of the novel is told from Biddy's teenage point of view, it is understandable that the narrative offers less insight into some of the other characters, though at times it does feel that the story might be better served by better exploring some of their motivations. One of the more sinister, complex and resonant villains is built up powerfully throughout the narrative, only to make a rather abrupt volte-face towards the end, making the dénouement somewhat too easily resolved as a result. The ending, too, feels a little unfinished, as though there is more of the story left to tell, but, nevertheless, The Magician's Daughter is a captivating, erudite, beautifully written fantasy about growing up, being unselfish, showing courage and doing the right thing.

This review first ran in the March 15, 2023 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.