A girl lies dead in the forest, cracked glass slippers on her feet. A beast stalks innocent hearts through the shadows of the trees. The Woods lie at the junction of Twelve Kingdoms ruled by magic and the law of story, but someone is changing the endings and the balance of power is shifting. Only one man can set things to rights, a man at one with the Woods who knows the law and knows the stories. He is the keeper of the borders and defender of the Kingdoms; he is the Woodcutter.
Danley plays with fairy tale conventions to create an intricate web of stories, where all is connected, from the blood on Snow White's hands to the giant beanstalk and the travelling hall where twelve ladies dance each night away in shoes worn ragged. Holding much in common with The Book of Lost Things or Reckless, The Woodcutter remains its own thing, not least through its protagonist, a stoic man rooted in the earth even as he walks in wonder, and shielded by the ordinariness of his own life.
The Woodcutter is one for anyone who loves fairy tales with the claws still on them.
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