Travelling through a fantasy world is exciting - I’ve had the privilege of visiting many amazing worlds in books! Sometimes I find myself drawn to reading more about the world than the story.

If a book has rich writing but a complicated plot, an interesting world could be enough to get me to turn the pages. This is the case with Winterspell, by American author Claire Legrand, a modern - and dark - retelling of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by German author E. T. A. Hoffman.

A young girl named Marie Stahlbaum receives a Nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve, and enters into a world of battling mice and toy soldiers, attempting to stop the evil Mouse King. It’s such a magical story full of childhood wonder and adventure. This is why I was drawn to Legrand’s retelling of my favourite childhood fantasy book.

Come on, let's go to world of Winterspell to see magical faeries and mechanical creatures!

The Crooked City and the Faerie Land

From a corrupt world to one filled with danger, mystery, and magic - are you going to follow the Nutcracker to the war-torn land of Cane?

In my last post, A Guide to Building a Steampunk World, I said that 19th-century England is a classic setting found in steampunk literature. Legrand chose a different setting, the main character Clara lives in a corrupt, crime-ridden version of 19th-century New York.

Specifically, she lives in 1889, at a period in which poverty is very common in her home-world. When Clara is plunged into the Faerie Land, it’s clear that Cane and her home-world share something in common: the humans are suffering, and most of them aren't in power to bring change.

In Cane, humans are under the control of the faeries, who they never trusted and never understood. The effects of the war on the people are indeed explored upon in the world, from the way the humans are treated terribly to how mages - a completely different species in the Winterspell world - don't have any influence or power any more than the humans do.

The faeries don't seem benevolent because of the way they treat other races. Can they be trusted?

The Races Inhabiting Cane

A race of beautiful yet dangerous magical beings are in control of Cane - will you trust them or the "honest" Nutcracker?

Before the faeries took control of Cane, humans had social structure, courts, rules, laws, and monarchy, while the faeries didn’t.

Faeries, on the other hand, lived in forests, villages on the seaside, or in dark caves. These two races are entirely different, but they have their way of living and understanding the world. It’s a shame the humans and mages are now at the mercy of the faeries.

Cane's beautiful faeries love iron, too. Their magic revolves around the use of iron and mechanics, which is a completely different take on faerie lore in which iron repels them. Not all of the races use magic, but it certainly has a way of creeping into their lives.

Next are the mages, the subjects of humans, who do not rule and have no control or power. It's very different from most other works of fiction in which mages rule or have more influence than humans do.

Then we have the mechaniks, creatures made of metal and clockwork. If you could even call them creatures, these dangerous hunks of living metal spare no time in killing living things. Encountering these races in Cane could be good or bad, depending on how you see it.

Finding Your Way Home

After exploring Cane and encountering the races, it’s time to go home - will you remember the journey?

After falling in love with Cane, I return to it now and then to explore more about the world!

If you are interested in travelling to Cane, I suggest checking out Winterspell on Claire Legrand’s website.

You may discover more about Cane during your magical journey, or get inspired to write your own adventure into a fantasy steampunk world - either way, you won't be disappointed!

Ashley Lalonde

Ashley Lalonde is a student at Algonquin College. In her spare time, she enjoys watching Asian dramas, playing video games, and writing her own fanfiction and original stories.