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  • Spinning Silver

  • Written by: Naomi Novik
  • Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
  • Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (283 ratings)

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Spinning Silver

Written by: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

“One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels” (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the best-selling author of Uprooted.

Nebula and Hugo Award Finalist

Named one of Paste's Best Fantasy Books of the Decade

Named one of the top 10 books of the year by The New York Public Library and one of the best books of the year by: The New York Times Book Review; NPR; Time; Tor.com; PopSugar; Vox; Vulture; Paste; Bustle; Library Journal

With the Nebula Award-winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik opened a brilliant new chapter in an already acclaimed career, delving into the magic of fairy tales to craft a love story that was both timeless and utterly of the now. Spinning Silver draws listeners deeper into this glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty - until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk - grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh - Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered.

She will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.

Praise for Spinning Silver:

'“A perfect tale.... A big and meaty novel, rich in both ideas and people, with the vastness of Tolkien and the empathy and joy in daily life of Le Guin.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Gorgeous, complex, and magical.... This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Cool and clever and . . . dire and wonderful.” (Laini Taylor, author of Strange the Dreamer)

“The Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale has never been as captivating.... Spinning Silver further cements [Novik’s] place as one of the genre greats.” (Paste)

©2018 Naomi Novik (P)2018 Random House Audio

What the critics say

"A perfect tale... This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them.... A big and meaty novel, rich in both ideas and people, with the vastness of Tolkien and the empathy and joy in daily life of Le Guin." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Gorgeous, complex, and magical... This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“Cool and clever and... dire and wonderful.” (Laini Taylor, author of Strange the Dreamer)

“A book as cool and mysterious as a winter’s night, with two marvelous heroines at its heart, Spinning Silver pits the cold of endless winter against the fires of duty, love, and sacrifice. I couldn’t put it down.” (Katherine Arden, New York Times best-selling author of The Bear and the Nightingale)

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What listeners say about Spinning Silver

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a wonderful story

I really enjoyed the book. sometime if found it difficult to tell when switching between characters but it's didn't spoil the listening exeprince

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Wow!!

It was awesome
It held you in
Very original and creative ideas playing with some old fairytale lore but not in the same way other series do
We Will listen to again in a year or two again

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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complicated and fascinating

Loved it. Two stories intertwined. Brilliant imagery. Excellent narration and characterization. Complicated plotline. The many voices sometimes made the story confusing .

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I loved it

it is very original and is enticing to reader you are on the edge of your seat. the ending is a happy one. wonderfully characters and clear world building

is like a twist on the story of hades and persephone

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Didn't want to stop listening

The reader was excellent. The story was intriguing and the characters were well developed.

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the narrator was simply fantastic

a great story, well told. the narrator brought the characters to life for me, I especially enjoyed her portrayal of Chanabar.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb fairy tale reinvention, and great narrator

I love fairy tales, and fairy tale retellings, and this was one of the best I've come across (right up there with Jane Yolen's "Briar Rose"). It has elements of Rumplestiltskin, in that one of the first characters we meet is a young woman (Miryem) whose skill at making money is such that she boasts she can turn silver into gold. Overheard by otherworldly beings (the staryk) who value gold above all else, she is trapped by the staryk king into agreeing to change his purse of silver into gold.

Slowly through the book we're introduced to more characters - Wanda, a peasant girl who comes to work for Miryem, then her parents and brothers; Irina, a duke's daughter to whom Miryem sells some jewelry; and the staryk king and the czar to whom the duke wants to marry Irina, and Irina's nurse. The narrator's perspective starts with Miryem but then slowly changes to some of the others as we meet them. The primary narrators are the three main female characters: Miryem, Wanda, and Irina, but others add in to contribute different perspectives.

Without giving too much plot away, the three women face three similar and inter-related dilemmas of the types women often face - forced marriages, family problems, and powerlessness - and as they find solutions instead of giving up, their plots all tie together.

Overall, loved the writing, enjoyed the constant twists and surprises of the plot, enjoyed the stories about the types of problems that women have historically faced and very much enjoyed that even the "bad" characters aren't just one-dimensional and some of them actually win some sympathy once you learn more about their perspectives. Very much enjoyed this book, even more than Uprooted and the Temeraire series which were also great.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

If it weren't for the logic...

Parts of this story deserve 5 stars, but I find that this particular author takes too many liberties with logic and verisimilitude.
Some stuff just seems to come out of nowhere or happen without any logical explanation within the frame of the story. I also found the heroine's propensity for choosing to run around like a dirty ragamuffin, although she had the power to change her appearance with just one word, slightly irritating and distracting. At times I seemed to stop listening, because I kept thinking: please, just say the darn word!!
On the positive side: Overall well written and a very worthwhile read.
And last but not least: FINALLY a stand-alone book - not a trilogy nor a series, just one stand-alone book - THANK YOU for that Naomi Novik!

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Amazing

The best fiction purchase I have made all year. I have looked forward to this book since Uprooted, I plan on getting a hardcopy as well as the audio version.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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the acting,

it was great! the story was really engaging and classic high fantasy. I really liked the strong female characters.

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