House of Asterion

Throne by Phil Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fairy story worthy of mention perhaps in league with the works Laini Black, Holly Block and Melissa Marr. While I would not put these fairy writer on par with Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe it does make for some exciting reading. The fairy world here is filled with both light and dark. The fae here are very believable and for all those Pagans out there the phooka is a bad guy.

There are two tales that run independently then intersect at the end. The story starts of with Maribel coming to a hospital in Barcelona totally hysterical. She has miscarried in the hospital and she cannot come to terms with her loss. She believes her baby Sofia is alive somewhere. She even sees a dark shape abduct the daughter. While in the park she comes into contact with the horned phooka who tells her the one who abducted her child is named Kubu. The phooka is a trickster. The phooka and a trister aid her in finding her child

Maya is an immigrant from Brazil forced to work in sweatshops, and as underpaid work in restaurants. Harassed in many ways when she decides to fight back she find herself unemployed and things are going down hill. She dances with the Greenman in the park and end up with some pretty cool abilities. When she is locked away she escapes into fairy land . Guided by the Old Oak and Guillame the fox she is pursued by a knife wielding psycho fairy.

In the end it is a battle between the Seelie and the Unseelie court. Mourning and loss can bring out our darker aspects. Just when it seems evil is about to win , the reclamation of humanity and love ultimately win out. Both Maribel and Maya have a part to play.


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