All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.
But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.
Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.
Release Date: February 7, 2017
I remember when I first heard about this novel. It was in an email from one of the publicists at St. Martin’s, and she was trying to get us excited about the upcoming titles for Fall 2016, but she included a quick preview of Wintersong; it was the first five chapters. I was enraptured from the first sentence.
I grew up on Labyrinth, Terry Jones and Monty Python, Bowie, and Jim Henson, so even the marketing of her saying that we’d “get introduced to the Goblin King,” peaked my interest back in September. Side Note: I’m actually watching Labyrinth while I write this review…
First things first: S. Jae-Jones is such a strong writer. Not only did she provide such a succinct world, it honestly makes it feel like this was the story that should have been told in the movie.
In a lot of ways, I think that this is the story that David Bowie wanted to tell about the Goblin King. This might be a slight spoiler, but a quote from Bowie prior to the release of Labyrinth is particularly fitting for the character of the King in the novel, “…(he) is, at best, a romantic; but at worst, he’s a spoiled child, vain and temperamental (sic)…I think he has inherited his Kingdom of Goblins reluctantly, and runs it under duress.”
I know I keep talking about the movie, and I will more later, but let me focus specifically on the novel itself. Jae-Jones weaves music into the narrative as if it gives the story its soul. The German roots of the story and the use of it’s language give it so much authenticity and contributes so much to putting the reader immediately within the story world. Jae-Jones has truly created something extraordinary and a narrative that will stay with you. This is a novel that I’d want to live in regardless of the peril and darkness. Her lyrical word choice and the eloquent sentence structure is that of true beauty and art. It’s been a long time since a novel has touched me as deeply as Wintersong.
While, yes, it pays deference to the movie and the original story, Jae-Jones’ take has made it so much more beautiful with a side of painful feels. I’m so glad that Jae-Jones expanded upon this enigmatic world and the Goblin King, who was such a sensual character.
Let me talk about Elisabeth. She was everything that I wanted in a reluctant heroine/love interest. She was talented, frustrated, and loyal as hell. If only Toby had Elisabeth instead of Sarah, Toby (Kathe) would have been saved much sooner. So many praises to Jae-Jones for creating this character and for making me adore her, flaws and all. Those are the best types of characters, after all.
Jae-Jones’ Goblin King is a handsome, cruel lithe blonde man with dual colored eyes. Sound familiar? I’m so glad she had this homage to Bowie. Please, please don’t think that this is all the novel is: a basic re-telling. It is SO MUCH MORE. I just really don’t want to give too much away, because I’d rather you read and fall in love on your own. I just love both so much; so for me, knowing the movie really enriched my reading of the novel.
I want to thank S. Jae-Jones so much, for giving me back the Goblin King, and for giving the Goblin King so much more than the original story ever did. I always felt sympathy and love for him, but her novel makes everything so wonderfully complex and beautiful. I know at this point I’m repeating myself, but it is worth it to showcase how much I adored this book.
I’ll end this on the quotes from the book that saluted the movie:
“I’ve given you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’m tired of living up to your expectations.” – The Goblin King, Wintersong
“I am exhausted from living up to your expectations.” – Jareth, Labyrinth
“I am a generous soul, Elisabeth…” The Goblin King, Wintersong
“I have been generous up until now.” – Jareth, Labyrinth
“I see the echoes of it within you.” – Elisabeth, Wintersong
“I can’t live within you.” – Jareth, Labyrinth
Seriously do yourself a favor and fall into the pages of Wintersong. You won’t regret it, I promise…or curse me to the Underground with the Goblin King.
5 Bards.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. Jae-Jones (called JJ) is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and erstwhile editrix. When not obsessing over books, she can be found jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, co-hosting the Pub(lishing) Crawl podcast, or playing dress-up. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she now lives in North Carolina, as well as many other places on the internet, including Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, and her blog.
Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.
musician. Both are ashamed of their backgrounds and are vilified in their communities because of said background. Let’s see, both harbor feelings for a woman that they feel is out of their league, and neither of them think they are worthy of college.
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