Book Review: The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black

‘The Folk of the Air’ Series by Holly Black consists of three books: ‘The Cruel Prince’, ‘The Wicked King’, ‘The Queen of Nothing’, and an accompanying illustrated novella, ‘How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories’. An affiliated duology ‘The Stolen Heir’ is in the works.

The first book ‘The Cruel Prince’ was released in January 2018. The story follows a human girl, Jude, descended from the estranged, and presumably dead wife of a faerie warlord, as she grapples with the trauma of being raised in a culture that deems humans as insignificant. It is only in her home, with her surrogate father, the murderer of her parents, that Jude can, supposedly speak her mind.

I loved the introduction to this world, the rage, trauma, and horrors that come from the prologue alone. It explores themes of infidelity, betrayal, and morality. Surely, if she faked her death when she was pregnant, she knew she wasn’t safe under her husband’s roof. But it is the power and fury that is exhibited by Jude’s father in the prologue which stuck with me. Upon discovering that his wife had left him, and burned his estate to the ground to convince him of her death, Madoc seeks his wife out to bring her, and her children, of which one is his, Jude, Taryn, and their faerie sister, Vivienne, are raised among the faerie aristocracy.

I loved seeing how Taryn and Jude attempt to assimilate into this world that dubs them inferior. Despite being educated among the gentry and invited to events and lavish parties with their adoptive father, stepmother, and stepbrother, seven-year-old Oak, we see many dimensions to how faeries believe themselves better than mortals. Even as an infant, Oak revels in violence and cruelty, seeking amusement in enchanting his mortal sisters into hurting themselves on his whims, without council or instruction. It echoes the theme of nature versus nurture that lingers in the book. I really enjoyed seeing it come through in multiple forms in the story.

Then there are the politics. Since the story deals with the gentry, the Royal family, and siring heirs to the throne, etc. there are a lot of politics to deal in. I think that the first book offers us a slow but manageable descent into the chaos of directly serving a Prince, it means subsequent events throughout the series are far easier to digest!

‘The Wicked King’ came out the following January, and offers a deep dive into the politics of Faerie, and how each of the courts and various courtiers can influence their ruler, or at least, make attempts to. I enjoyed getting to wade deeper into the behind-the-scenes areas of royal life that you don’t necessarily see in all media about royal families and rulers. I particularly loved the context that is given about the late king Eldred’s courtier and poet, Val Moren, who is considered mad, and yet offers Jude the raw truths of being a human in a Faerie court, despite making a spectacle of himself.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed getting to see how the enemies-to-lovers dynamic between King Cardan and Jude as the story progressed. The dynamic between the two is filled with simmering romantic tension, and I loved how instead of just throwing their hatred aside, they keep their masks up and maintain their facades of hating each other, all the way through. It was delightful!

I feel like the plot twist and thus the betrayal that takes place during ‘The Wicked King’ was very exciting. All the way through the book, like Jude, I was questioning everyone’s intentions, and yet, I was still left flabbergasted when the traitor was revealed. I wished, however, that we could have learned more about the inner conflicts of the aforementioned traitor, particularly in ‘The Queen Of Nothing’.

Speaking of, ‘The Queen Of Nothing’ was released the same year, at the end of 2019! Firstly, Holly Black, do you rest? Please, take care of yourself! Secondly, wow! After the second book, I was eager to continue with the story. The cliffhanger was mortifying and I was so glad I didn’t have to wait for the publication of another novel to find out what happened next. What can I say, I am a girl that yearns for immediate gratification.

I really liked how ‘The Queen Of Nothing’ answered a lot of the lingering questions from ‘The Wicked King’ within the first few chapters, and from then, you’re thrown into the fray.

Taryn forcing Jude’s hand was an exceptional motivator to allow Jude back into Faerie, and I loved how in her time masquerading as her twin, we get more insight into the ways that Madoc treated both his adopted daughters. While Jude relished in being made in his image during her formative years, Taryn sought comfort and guidance from her father figure.

My favourite part of the book was in how Jude and Cardan’s relationship continues to develop as the story progresses. They must find their feet, accept their feelings, embrace the changes on the horizon, and overcome what plagues them. I felt like Jude’s story, although not necessarily over after the events of ‘The Queen Of Nothing’, was certainly brought to a point of presumed resolution, though something that piqued my interest came from the offers from some of Cardan’s brothers in previous books: like the human protagonists in other books about the fae, can Jude be turned into a faerie? Would they even consider that now? It’s certainly intriguing.

I am looking forward to reading more of Holly Black’s work in the future, including ‘How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories’ and ‘The Stolen Heir’.