Das dunkle Herz des Waldes by Naomi Novik

Knowing that no one returns from it alive, the Dragon writes her off as dead. Kasia is captured by creatures from the Wood. Recognizing that her powers differ from his, he reluctantly allows Agnieszka to teach herself Jaga's more intuitive magic. Returning them both to the tower, Agnieszka saves his life after she intuits a spell from one of the witch Jaga's notebooks which the Dragon had thought useless. The Dragon arrives and saves her, but is wounded. She successfully uses magic to help destroy the cattle, only for the wolves to return and to try to kill her and Kasia. Defying the Dragon, she escapes from the tower and returns to Dvernik, where she learns that wolves from the Wood have infected the cattle and a man.

In his absence, Agnieszka notices a call for assistance from her village. Agnieszka finds these acts of magic difficult and unnatural.Īs part of his duties, the Dragon leaves to deal with a Chimera. But the reason for his choice is that she has magical abilities, and he starts teaching her simple spells. Through notes left by previous girls, Agnieszka gathers that her role is mostly household duties. But the Dragon picks Agnieszka and takes her to his tower. Despite being born in a tribute year, Agnieszka does not fear being taken, as the Dragon only chooses the best and brightest girls and she is clumsy and slovenly – unlike her beautiful friend Kasia, who has been groomed to be selected.

Every ten years the local wizard ('the Dragon') collects one teenage girl as payment for protecting the local valley from the magical forest (the Wood) that borders it.

It was a finalist for the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novel.Īgnieszka lives in the village of Dvernik in the kingdom of Polnya. It won the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2016 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and the 2016 Mythopoeic Award in the category Adult Literature. The book has been warmly welcomed by critics and other fantasy authors, who have praised the portrayals of both Agnieszka and the Wood. Together they battle the nearby forest, the Wood, as it seeks to take over the land. The story tells of a village girl, Agnieszka, who is selected by the local wizard for her unseen magical powers. Uprooted is a 2015 high fantasy novel by Naomi Novik, based on Polish folklore. The Middle Ages, in a land reminiscent of Poland

Das dunkle Herz des Waldes by Naomi Novik