And Put Away Childish Things

Not sure what I feel about this one yet, but once again Tchaikovsky is unique and interesting. The first half of this I found somewhat dull as it felt like it took forever to get to the actual story. I was tempted to DNF and then everything clicked and I loved the last third. It helped me appreciate the setup in the first half more but I still think it could have been done a bit more efficiently.

This novella examines portal fantasy and the effect of fiction on us, and is definitely in conversation with Narnia and Tolkien (both of which are name dropped several times), but I also found it remiscent of Winnie the Pooh, if Christopher Robin had abandoned 100-Acre Wood and left Pooh and the others to fend for themselves. It also reminded me quite a bit of Stephen King, both in some of the plot reveals but also in the dialogue.

Tchaikovsky continues to impress me, even with the things I like less.

7/10 I think?