Silenced
Published on 25. April 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-80336-058-4 (ISBN)
Description
A powerful fairy tale of four women each cursed by the same abusive man. Gripping and essential, it will captivate readers of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Heather Walter's Malice and Menna van Praag's The Sisters Grimm.
Four women. Four enchantments. One man. But he is no handsome prince, and this is no sugar-sweet fairy tale. Jo, Abony, Ranjani, and Maia all have something in common: they have each been cursed by the CEO of their workplace after he abused his power to prey on them. He wants them silent and uses his sinister dark magic to keep them quiet about what he did. But Jo, Abony, Ranjani and Maia are not fairy-tale princesses waiting to be rescued. They are fierce, angry women with a bond forged in pain, and they're about to discover that they have power of their own.
In this sharply written, bitingly relevant modern fable, the magic is dark and damaging, and the women are determined to rescue themselves.
Four women. Four enchantments. One man. But he is no handsome prince, and this is no sugar-sweet fairy tale. Jo, Abony, Ranjani, and Maia all have something in common: they have each been cursed by the CEO of their workplace after he abused his power to prey on them. He wants them silent and uses his sinister dark magic to keep them quiet about what he did. But Jo, Abony, Ranjani and Maia are not fairy-tale princesses waiting to be rescued. They are fierce, angry women with a bond forged in pain, and they're about to discover that they have power of their own.
In this sharply written, bitingly relevant modern fable, the magic is dark and damaging, and the women are determined to rescue themselves.
Reviews / Votes
"A brilliant use of fairy tale lore plus wonderfully complex characters make this dark thriller a satisfying must-read."Kelley Armstrong, author of A Rip Through Time "Andersen and Grimm blend with a gut-wrenching #metoo scenario in this gripping story of abused women struggling to regain their agency. Stylish writing, memorable characters and a touch of fairy tale scholarship combine to create an absorbing and highly original novel."
Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim series "Ann Claycomb is a name in speculative fiction that all readers should know. Her newest novel, Silenced is not always an easy story, but it's a necessary one. Read this book; it will break your heart in all the best possible ways."
Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals "Silenced is a gripping modern fairy tale with its foundations firmly in our folkloric past. Claycomb's constructed a perfect story for the #metoo moment and beyond. Silenced is also a frank acknowledgement that a fairy tale can be just as much a nightmare as a dream, and only our own voices can set us free."
A.G. Slatter, author of The Path of Thorns "A sharp, sassy, searing novel, where life is like fairy tales and fairy tales are like life... where those fairy tales are of the most dark and dangerous kind, of course. I loved it."
A. J. Elwood, author of The Other Lives of Miss Emily White "Brutally dark and compulsively readable, this fresh and original modern fable unravels the traditional fairy tales and places female empowerment at their core. Bold, relevant and subversive, I couldn't put it down."
R.L. Boyle, author of The Book of the Baku
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
264 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80336-058-4 (9781803360584)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Ann Claycomb is a life-long reader and writer of fairy tales, including The Mermaid's Daughter (William Morrow, 2017), a modern-day reimagining of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid. She currently writes from Colorado, where she lives with her family, including a silly hairless dog and two enormous cats. When not writing, she is determined to master perfect brownies at high-altitude. She can be found on Twitter (@AnnClaycomb44) and Instagram (ann.claycomb).