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Snake-Eater

by T. Kingfisher

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James Uscroft said: " Another therapy journal passing itself off as a novel. One in which, just like in "The Hollow Places," Ursula's self-insert protagonist runs away from her ex-partner to an eccentric place which the 21st century forgot for reasons which are never prop Another therapy journal passing itself off as a novel. One in which, just like in "The Hollow Places," Ursula's self-insert protagonist runs away from her ex-partner to an eccentric place which the 21st century forgot for reasons which are never properly explained. Ostensibly because her ex is a bastard who was emotionally destroying her, but with absolutely no evidence that this was the case. However, I'm not Ursula's therapist and know nothing about her life and past relationships. And while it doesn't appear that she's ever been divorced in real life, she could have easily left a previous, emotionally domineering partner in such circumstances. But even if it's all fictional, then I've no doubt that countless other women who've been is such situations will find this relatable and empowering.

Likewise, the fact that Ursula's self-insert protagonist is a neuro-atypical woman who spends the first part of the story literally planning and practicing everything that she's going to say because her Jesus Freak of a mother made her believe that everything she ever said or did was an embarrassment that offended everyone... Yes Ursula, we get it! You're still processing your childhood trauma and abusive upbringing. And while I'm certain that somebody, somewhere will be able to relate to and draw comfort from this, there's a reason why I describe T. Kingfisher's 'Contemporary' novels as her therapy journals; the defining example of an author writing a story for themselves, not for the reader. Because while in "A Sorceress Comes To Call," Ursula's processing of her childhood trauma formed the basis of a truly magnificent story, the fantastical elements in this therapy journal are merely tacked on as an after thought.

So in the end then, while this novel is a little shorter than "The Hollow Places" and actually gets to the spooky part much sooner than in that other therapy journal, the truth is that it's all effectively incidental. Because in both cases, Ursula seems to have taken the Joseph Campbell-esque advice that every monster, villain, challenge or what have you in a story is merely a manifestation of our own internal struggles a little too literally. And now, at time of writing, she's written at least two novels in which the 'Monsters' are merely the final barrier between Ursula and her dream of escaping her ex and past life in the city to live in the middle of nowhere, cut off from the modern world with a handful of close friends while gardening, cataloguing junk and what have you. (As opposed to all of the novels in which she's working through her complex feelings for a late relative who everyone absolutely despised.)

Oh, and finally, speaking of 'Internal Struggles,' having the protagonist constantly insist that she can't stay and will be leaving soon when she literally has to stay in order for the story to happen is incredibly annoying and only serves to remind us just how contrived it all genuinely is. ...more "

14 hours, 5 min ago · see review

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The Fringe Worlds Series: Books 1-3

by Kevin Hardman (Goodreads Author)

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Mar 07, 2026 06:51PM

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