~Juliet Marillier Website~
Wildwood Dancing Reviews
Author Juliet Marillier's fantasies usually blend
history with folklore. With its nods to Grimm's Fairytales' The
Frog Prince and The Twelve Dancing Princesses,
Wildwood Dancing, a fantasy aimed at adults of all ages, brings
the folklore much more centre stage ... Marillier specialises in
atmospheric, absorbing tales of romance and suspense. She stacks the
odds against her engaging protagonists, and piles injustice on top
of injustice, forcing the increasingly outraged reader to turn the
pages in the hope that all will turn out right at the end.
Wildwood Dancing is no exception, and Marillier as deftly
depicts the terrifying dark side of the Other Kingdom as she does
the delicate and damp art of frog keeping. You'll have no trouble
rooting for plucky Jena or hissing at misogynistic Cezar, but you
may find Jena's love interest rather, well, wet.
(Excerpts from review by Barbara Davies in Starburst, January
2007)
Wildwood Dancing is a stand-alone fantasy
novel for readers ages 12 and up, set in Transylvania, in the
crumbling old castle of Piscul Dracului and the neighbouring
wildwood. Juliet Marillier weaves a frightening but compelling story
of relationships and magic, of mystery and betrayal which keeps the
reader guessing and turning pages. A gripping and satisfying read.
(Excerpt from review by Ann C Whitehead in Buzz Words August
2006)
In this first novel for young adults,
Juliet Marillier tackles Transylvania. While vampires appear, this book eschews
their cliched representation. It also, like Neil Gaiman's Coraline, revisits
folktales. Five sisters go dancing in fairyland each full moon. They are not
idealised princesses, but realistic girls. Though a talking frog appears, he is
no prince either. The novel plays with expectations, while also managing to
entice. Teenage Goth girls should love it.
(Review by Lucy Sussex in The West Australian August 2006)
The story is well-written and creates a wonderful atmosphere,
both in the evocation of life in an old brooding castle set in a part of the
world where winter isolates the community from the surrounding country, and in
the imaginative Other Kingdom, where the reader is challenged to re-think
preconceptions of legendary stereotypes.
(Excerpt from review by Lynne Babbage in Magpie, July 2006)
Link to reviews of Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret in Strange Horizons (April 08)
Link to review in ASif (Australian Specfic in focus)