A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – Lesson 1 of the Scholomance is the first of a trilogy. With a quirky female anti-hero it plumbs the depths of darkness making it more suitable for adults.
From the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver it transports the reader to a school where survival rivals learning.
El (Galadriel) Higgins grew up in the Radiant Mind commune in Wales with her hippie wizard Mother, who moved there after El’s Dad died. She is one of the few who will work for mundanes, (ordinary humans) and uses her magic for good, much to El’s embarrassment.
El, on the other hand, has ‘an affinity for mass destruction’ and is, therefore, well-prepared for the Scholomance and its many life-threatening scenarios.
Once inside you study, learn to survive, graduate or die!
After almost three years at the school, which has no teachers and no holidays, another student, Orion Lake, singles her out by saving her life, not once, but twice! To say the least, El is NOT impressed.
She already has her group of “friends”, but only for maximum protection. Unlike other students, who form strategic friendships, El goes her own way.
As the constant threat from a multitude of deadly creatures increases, El is tempted to use her darkest powers. But will they destroy the other students? El finds herself between a grogler and a hard place!!
This is a novel for mid-teens upwards, as it does have a modicum of bad language and romantic implications.
It is a tale of dark magic and a surly, but magnetic, sorceress, of great danger and of excruciating death. But lurking beneath there’s a feeling of mateship and a soupcon of burgeoning romance.
It’s HP and Morrigan Crow on steroids!!
Fast-paced from beginning to end, mega-imaginative, amazing!
A must read for 2020. Would make a great movie!
ISBN: 9781529100860
A Deadly Education is available in paperback, e-book and audiobook
About Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik has been an avid reader of fantasy literature since age six. Naomi is also a history buff with a particular fascination with the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She lives with her husband and daughter in New York City along with many purring computers.
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