Cold Hillside
by Nancy Baker
Introduction
Nancy Baker ends her long break from writing with a novel in a different genre.
Genre / Intended audience
Fantasy / teen or adult
Narration
Shifting - Teresine (1st person relating her past); Lilit (3rd person past tense, current story)
Characters Teresine - a foreign-born woman
Lilit - Teresine’s 17-year-old grandniece
Sarit - Sidiana (Queen/leader) of Lushan; a friend of Teresine’s
Raziel - Sarit’s younger sister and successor
Amaris - Teresine’s niece, Lilit’s mother
Veradis - the Faerie Queen
Daen - half-mortal Champion/lover to Veradis
Many others - listed in a helpful appendix
Setting
A fictional world
Theme
Love and family
Plot
The stories of Teresine and her grandniece Lilit are interwoven in the remote mountain city of Lushan. Each year the Sidiana (the city’s ruler) travels to the high plateau to host the annual fair and pay tribute to the Faerie Queen. Young Lilit wants to attend, but Teresine doesn’t want her anywhere near the Faerie. Euskalans (citizens of Lushan) see the Faerie as dangerous and untrustworthy, so much so that they subject their children to an iron test to prove their humanity. Teresine has her own treacherous history with the Faerie.
About the Author
Nancy Baker is the author of three vampire novels (recently re-released in e-book format).
Find out more on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/155651.Nancy_Baker or the author’s website http://www.nancybaker.ca/.
My Opinion
I count this novel as a hidden gem, because it’s one of my 2015 top ten, yet it has few reviews on Amazon. Nancy Baker’s vampire series is one of my favorites, so I jumped on this book as soon as I heard she had written something new. Cold Hillside is a different sort of story in a different genre, but Ms. Baker brings her signature lyrical writing to the game.
If you are looking for an action-packed adventure or an epic fantasy, this is not that story.
Cold Hillside is, at its heart, simply the story of two women. Aging Teresine decides to record her life, and the resulting tale, intertwined with Lilit’s coming of age story, was nearly impossible to put down. I was sucked in from the first chapter.
Ms. Baker’s immense talent in character voice quickly makes the story an immersive experience. Chapters alternate between Teresine, an old woman nearing the end of her life and focused on the past, and Lilit, who is rooted in the present.
The author doesn’t waste time on exposition or world building explanations. It is all there — a rich culture and complex world — but it is shown through the character’s eyes and revealed through the story.
In addition to the detailed and well-grounded world of Lushan, Ms. Baker paints an exquisite portrait of the Faerie Court. The inhabitants are blindingly beautiful, but petty and cruel. Veradis, the Faerie Queen, is terrifying and cunning. Everything about the Faerie world is cold and foreboding. The result is a haunting and memorable story.
This novel made my top 10 list for 2015 and I give it a strong five star rating. I recommend it without reservation to all fantasy fans.