The novel powerfully imagines the lives of women and trans people in this setting, stories erased by a history recorded by generations of patriarchal straight white men. Mixing elements of historical fiction and Fantasy, Sistersong tells a story set in ancient Devon, of the Britons and their traditional pagan beliefs coming under threat of the Saxons and Christianity. Holland beautifully captures the dark, sinister feel of the original ballad, whilst crafting a powerful story full of compelling characters. I am delighted to say that Holland’s novel more than lived up to my expectations. As such my expectations for Sistersong going in were particularly high. The Child Ballads represent a strain of ancient British folklore rife with fairies, magic and blood that has served as an inspiration for some of Fantasy’s finest novels, from Diana Wynne Jones’ Fire & Hemlock (1984) to Ellen Kushner’s Thomas The Rhymer (1990). Lucy Holland’s Sistersong (2021) is a fantasy novel based on the Child Ballad ‘The Twa Sisters’. I’ve left our world for theirs – the nameless land where goddesses sing to the stars, where lost spirits linger in the twilight.” “I wander so long, it feels as though I’ve crossed some hidden boundary.
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