They don't, however, fit conventional notions of what a fairy looks like: they aren't the tall, fair ones who carry you off under the hill, nor yet the tiny Peaseblossoms and sprites the Victorians loved, and they are most definitely not Tinker Bell. In that, they play in modern industrial England something like their role in the folklore of the past. They aren't visible to everyone, yet can affect the lives of people who don't see, or don't believe in them.

One of io9's best Science Fiction & Fantasy books of the year 2011Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.T his beautifully titled novel is, I suppose, a fairy tale, since there are fairies in it, or, anyhow, beings called fairies. One of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books 4 Teens titles of 2011 But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off.Ĭombining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled-and her twin sister dead.įleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England-a place all but devoid of true magic. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds.

Startling, unusual, and yet irresistibly readable, Jo Walton's Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. Winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel Winner of the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel

Among Others by Jo Walton