Intisar Khanani: Thorn

I often peruse websites that promote diversity in sff writing (or YA writing, because to be honest, some of the best books coming out in the sff field today are being marketed as YA), looking for authors and books that may not be on my radar, but are at the very least being mentioned in diversity writing circles.

One such author is Intisar Khanani, who has written one novel, Thorn, and a novella, Sunbolt, which is the first in a series. (You can find out more about Khanani at her website http://booksbyintisar.com)

Thorn is at its heart a retelling of the Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl, and a very interesting one at that. All of the traditional elements of the tale are present, but woven into a larger (and darker) tale of revenge taken too far and justice denied. The central character, Princess Alyrra, is complex and well-delineated, as are the characters of her faithless and ambitious companion Valka and the mysterious sorceress known as The Lady who is the prime mover behind the magical exchange that places Alyrra in Valka's body and vice versa. The key male characters taken from the fairy tale - the king and the prince - are less well-developed, but I found that this does not detract significantly from the story, which is first and foremost about Alyrra's internal journey from reluctant princess (and abuse survivor) to confident and just ruler.

Khanani is at her best in the portions of the book in which goose girl Alyrra, now known as Thorn, interacts with the people of the city - other servants, street urchins and thieves. Through the lives of these characters, Khanani develops the themes of justice denied and justice fulfilled that are central to the novel. Alyrra, who has shown herself from the beginning to be a princess in touch with the common people and sensitive to the need for justice that serves both commoner and noble, finds herself faced with the tragic consequences of capricious injustice, justice denied, justice misplaced, and justice tainted by revenge, learning through these experiences what responsible and even-handed justice would look like.

It is this understanding, painfully gained, that enables her to counter the murderous vengeance of The Lady, and attain a position in which she may be able to bring true justice to her people. And find happiness with her prince.

Khanani had originally planned for this to be the first of three volumes about Thorn, but has instead found herself working on other projects. I hope she returns eventually to this story, because Thorn/Alyrra is a fascinating character and I'd like to see her again.