Book of a Thousand Days
posted in fantasy, book challenge, myths/fairy tales, young adult, book review, children's literature |
“I’ve decided. We’re going to live. It’s such a relief! I begin to feel more my mucker self just to settle my mind on it. A mucker survives. No matter that we’ve not enough food. We’ll find a way.”
As a mucker (the simplest of commoners and people of the wild steppes), Dashti is a survivor. She survives the death of her mother by moving to Titor’s Garden and becoming a Lady’s Maid. Now, she must survive as a Lady’s Maid which in this particular case is much tougher than it sounds.
Dashti’s oath of fealty to her lady, Lady Saren, entails spending the next seven years locked up in a tower with her lady. Lady Saren has chosen imprisonment over marriage to Lord Khasar, lord of Thoughts of Under, the most powerful of the Eight Realms. Because Lady Saren has refused (and is deathly afread of) Lord Khasar and because she has already pledged her hand to Khan Tegus of the Song of Evela, she and Dashti are tower bound.
Fortunately, in Dashti’s lady’s maid training, she learned to write, and she occupies some of her tower time in chronicling her experiences. The quote that opens this review comes from Day 918 of their seven year forced imprisonment in a tower.
Without giving to much away, Dashti continues to record the events as rats threaten their food supply, as Lord Khasar and Khan Tegus pay visits to the tower, and as she and Lady Saren eventually escape the tower only to find devastation in the land outside. Much of the plot revolves around Lady Saren’s fear of, well, everything and, by consequence, Dashti’s impersonation of her lady. Dashti must use all of her knowledge of the healing songs and all of her resourcefulness in order to save herself and her lady. Dashti is a strong protagonist and her strength is eventually rewarded.
In Book of a Thousand Days, Hale has provided a reworking of the Grimm brothers fairy tale “Maid Maleen” while adding some elements from medieval Mongolia. Romance, dark fantasy, a strong protagonist, and a richly imagined landscape coalesce to make this a satisfying read. Readers who enjoy entering into other lands and following the adventures of strong and talented female protagonists who face and overcome challenges will gravitate towards Book of a Thousand Days.
