Thornhedge
- 122
- Pages
- about 2 h
- Reading time
- Hugo Award for Best Novella
- Locus Award for Best Novella
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Our view
“Thornhedge” turns “Sleeping Beauty” inside out in just over 120 pages, with the supposedly wicked fairy as its heroine. The loneliness of the opening stretch is the strongest thing in it, and a light touch of horror keeps the fairy tale from going soft. Some readers find the heroine too naive and the late revelation more irritating than surprising. A quick read for those who like old stories told from the other side.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Thornhedge is a 2023 novella by Ursula Vernon, writing under the pen name T. Kingfisher. The novella is a reimagining of the story of Sleeping Beauty. It won the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella and 2024 Locus Award for Best Novella.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 336 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 70% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 8.2 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 336 | 100% |
Frequently asked
How long is Thornhedge?
It has 122 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 8.2, the closest to this book.
