I bought Children of the Tithe directly from Tracey M Carvill at a metal / alternative bazaar, and I’ve previously had conversations with her at events. She seems like a very fascinating person with a wide range of interests, and I just had to buy her book. This is her debut novel, but I understand that she has published a book of short stories as well. This one is book 1 of the changeling trilogy, and after reading it I am definitely excited for the other two.
The story starts with Heidi, 12, who wakes up in a strange field surrounded by lots of children, all seemingly lost. With a little band they try to get themselves to safety and start wondering on how to get back home. Soon, they realise they’re in Faerie, surrounded by creatures they’ve never come across, many of them meaning them harm. The quest to find out what happened is dangerous, and trying to find out how to get back to their own world even more so.
Despite taking place in Faerie, this book definitely lands not in a fairytale for children but in the horror category for me. There are a lot of familiar and not so familiar creatures that are all interested in the main characters in one way or another, and the children are facing some hard challenges with very real struggles. I liked the prose, I found the way the children were portrayed and their decision making process very authentic, and I found the little snippets we got of “our world” were placed just right to give a break at an intense moment and a lot of background information. It all felt very realistic, as if something like that could happen to our world at any time.
The tone of the book was enjoyable and stable throughout, it reminded me a lot of the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski – a world where fairytale characters are real but not usually in the way you want them to be, and the world is dangerous and scary even for the little ones. But where the main character nonetheless tries to make the best decisions possible, and beats himself up about it when he fails anyone, be that monster or human. The emotions are what make it real, even if everything else is fantasy.
Altogether, it was a fantastic read and scratched an itch I wasn’t aware I had, as I’m always on the hunt for more books that make me feel the way the Witcher does. I can’t wait for the next one.
