‘Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travellers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.’

Agnieszka lives in a quiet village – but the wood growing nearby is full of malevolent power and grows stronger every day. The villagers rely on a wizard known as the Dragon to keep the wood’s power at bay. The price for his help is that he takes a young woman from the village to serve him for 10 years. The next choosing is fast approaching, and everyone knows that the Dragon will choose Agnieszka’s best friend, Kasia. But when he comes, it’s not Kasia he takes…

This is the first book I’ve read by fantasy powerhouse Naomi Novik, author of The Temeraire Series, and I think it’s safe to say that it won’t be the last. Fans of Robin Hobb and V.E. Schwab will devour this book.

Uprooted is essentially a dark fairytale, a lost Grimm story found in some abandoned library and complete with dark humour and terrifying monsters. The writing creeps with magic, the wood a wicked presence that is a character in its own right, and despite the fantastical nature of the plot the characters remain realistic and sympathetic.

Agnieszka (“ag-NYESH-kah”) is an excellent main character, a strong heroine who doesn’t sit down and weep when faced with a problem but finds a way to overcome it. She doesn’t allow the Dragon (or any other man for that matter) to take advantage of her and fights tooth and nail for what she believes is right. She is brave and intelligent, and confident enough in herself to question what she doesn’t understand. This is partly a coming-of-age novel and it is a joy to watch Agnieszka grow in both power and confidence.

Novik’s writing is beautiful. All fantasy writers approach writing magic in different ways, and Novik is amongst the best with her descriptions. The magic becomes a part of the character’s physical descriptions, intertwining with their bodies in the most thrilling and enchanting way. The monsters are original and truly frightening, propelled by a dark, corrupting magic that turns even the most virtuous character into a terrible demon.

This is fantasy the way I like it – with an edge. V.E. Schwab showed that fantasy doesn’t have to be about good characters fighting bad characters, and the good characters winning in the end. Both Schwab and Novik take a more realistic take on what would happen to those gifted with magic, and neither author feels any compunction about keeping readers’ favourite characters alive…

Unfortunately, I did find the structure of the book a little odd. It feels as though you’re reading a series of short stories concerning the same characters rather than a novel. Problems are encountered and overcome within a few pages, over and over again, so that it starts to feel a little formulaic and repetitive. But the writing is gripping enough to keep you reading, despite this fault.

The only other problem I had with the book was that, despite the overall quality of the writing, the magic system doesn’t seem to be developed particularly well. Whereas in most fantasy books we are introduced to the rules and costs of using magic, Novik doesn’t seem to set out any clear guidelines. This might not be a problem, except for the fact that it means that everything seems possible with magic. There is almost nothing that is off-limits, so characters in the most dangerous and life-threatening situations are able to conjure spells – seemingly out of nowhere – to save themselves. There also seems to be no learning curve for magic; one day a character finds out that they are capable of magic, and a few days later they are casting the most complex spells with impeccable results.

Because of the structural problem I was a little worried about how the story was going to end, but the ending was entirely fitting and satisfying. Novik ties up the loose ends without resorting to a forced, happy, fairytale ending.

A dark, magical fairytale with three-dimensional characters and beautiful writing – what more could a fantasy fan ask for?

Uprooted is published by Macmillan.