Glass Coffin is the third book in the high fantasy Darkwood series by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch. Released 3rd June 2021 by Duckworth on their Farrago! imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.
I've enjoyed this series from the start. This is a strong female-led ensemble high fantasy with whimsy, humour, and a lot of heart. The cast is full of fractured fairy tale and fable tropes, alongside good vs. evil, the meaning of friendship & truth, and found family. I highly recommend reading the trilogy in order, but for readers who want to jump in, the author has included a handy list of dramatis personae at the beginning to get up to speed.
I've been consistently impressed with the quality of the writing throughout. This 3rd book has a more sombre feel with fewer laugh-out-loud moments, but there's still a healthy dose of whimsy and fun. The story arc is well engineered and, as stated earlier, quite capably written. The disparate story threads do culminate in a satisfying denouement and resolution. I hold out fond hopes, despite this being the third book in a trilogy (in the author's own words), that we will be able to revisit the world in future stories. If not, it's resolved well and fairly; but I do have hopes.
The language is clean, the spelling and vernacular are British/UK English (rubbish, honour, dwarves named Oi, etc), but shouldn't present any difficulties in context for readers in the USA. Highly recommended for readers of fantasy and humour. It's not (sadly) Pratchett, but it's in the same school of fantasy/humour and it made me go back and re-read the Discworld and that's a good thing.
Five stars for this installment and four and a half for the series overall.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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