The Autumn Castle [Mass Market Paperback]

Kim Wilkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

In this first volume of Wilkins' Europa Suite, a woman's world is turned upside down when her childhood friend, abducted as a young girl into a place of magic and myth, rerturns. But now jealousies and betrayals threaten to destroy them both.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wilkins, a star in her native Australia, strikes a tantalizing balance between pastoral and grotesque in her American fantasy debut. Christine Starlight lives in an artist's collective in Berlin with her lover, Jude, and their companions. She is haunted by two memories from childhood: the gruesome death of her parents and the abduction of her best friend, May. May, it turns out, was not abducted, but was lost by her mother in a bargain with a faery; in the enchanted world May now calls home--and which now calls her Mayfridh--she is the queen. Circumstances bring the two worlds together, and when Mayfridh crosses over and reunites with Christine, she also falls in love with Jude. Jude, though, carries with him a whopper of a secret, which Wilkins manages to conceal nicely. Meanwhile, Mandy Z., a madman who has hated faeries since childhood and who happens to own the building in which Christine and Jude live, is hard at work on a "Bone Wife," made from the bones of the faeries he has murdered. The brutal scenes involving Mandy Z. provide a sharp contrast to the gentle, often touching story of Christine and her inner battles. The well-executed conclusion ends this fascinating adventure on a high note.
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About the Author

Born in London, Kim Wilkins moved to Australia when she was four. A variety of bad jobs (including 'indulging an embarrassing wish to be an alternative-rock goddess') preceded her first novel, The Infernal, which won the 1997 Aurealis Awards. It was followed by Grimoire, The Resurrectionists and Fallen Angel, and a young adult series about a teenage psychic detective. She is married and the mother of a young son, Luka. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044661663X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446616638
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Art from the Other Side, June 24, 2005

By 

Nicole Lowery (WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Autumn Castle (Mass Market Paperback)

When we find that our protagonist, Christine, is not only NOT an artist, but is fairly baffled by her boyfriend's art, we know we're in an urban fantasy of a different sort. Where other books of this nature generally romanticize art, this book does not (to put it mildly).

Although "The Autumn Castle" is in some respects a conventional fantasy, it approaches some common urban fantasy subjects from a different perspective, and the romantic possibilities are (for once) not clearly marked from the beginning of the story.

Most of the characters are quite flawed, likeable one moment and loathsome the next. One is quite evil, but believably so. Wilkin's fairyland is a little simplistic, but as a stand-in for the fantasyland that Christine, after years of loss and pain, yearns for, it works.

The only complaint I'll make is that somewhere in this mildly subversive look at fairies, art and giving in to fantasy lurks a much more subversive book, with a stronger, less happy, less satisfying ending. For those who prefer their stories to be wrapped up nicely, that isn't much of a complaint.

This one is for readers who enjoy the intelligent, sensitive works of writers like Kelley Armstrong, Charles de Lint and Emma Bull.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Story!, April 24, 2005

By 

A. McMullen "amcmullen4" (Evans, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Autumn Castle (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great story with well crafted characters. It has the lyrical words of high fantasy combined with some truely awful horror that works very well. Christine is a living in Berlin with her artist lover, Jude, who is being sponsored by millionaire Mandy Z. Mandy Z sponsors 4 artists per year and heavily supports the arts, however no one likes him and they don't know why. Mandy Z is also a madman who has been killing fairies for their bones.

Christine is haunted by the tragic, accidental death of her parents years before. Although she survived the accident, she has been in pain ever since. Suddenly, she starts remembering her life in Berlin when she was a small child and how her best friend May disappeared one day. Through an accident, Christine wakes up by the Autumn Castle and discovers that May is queen of the fairies. May comes into the Real World and falls in love with Christine's Jude. Suddenly, a woman who is used to having everything wants something that she knows she cannot have..

Meanwhile back at the Autumn Castle time is running out. The worlds are only aligned for a season. The witch Hexebart, holds the queens magic and won't return it. Hexebart is convinced that May killed the True Queen years before and will do anything to hurt her.

The stories is told in four voices: the mad self proclaimed fairy hunter, Queen May who is torn between her duty to her kingdom, her oldest friendship and being in love for the first time, Christine who is fascinated with the Autumn Castle and the angry witch Hexebart. It's a story about love, betrayal and murder. It works very well.

This is the first novel I've read by this author and can't wait to read more!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, but could be faster paced...., March 22, 2005

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Autumn Castle (Mass Market Paperback)

Christine Starlight has returned to Berlin after many years absence to be with her lover, Jude Upchurch, as he works in an artists' collective to hone his skills. Old memories are haunting her---especially those of 'May Frith' a childhood friend who was stolen from her bed one night and never found.

Mayfridh is the Queen of Faery. One day, a ghost from her past comes to her land and reminds her of the time before she ruled Faery. She returns to the Real World to seek more contact with that ghost.

Mandy Z is a rich sponsor for artists--while secretly he is an artist himself. He's a carver of faery bone collecting these grisly tokens from kills.

If that's not enough to whet your appetite, nothing will. "Autumn Castle" has some thrilling elements, but is not quite as fast paced as I would prefer. As a rule, though, a very satisfying and rich read.