Having already read the over novella I understood the bramble and the use of magic. Paolo took an item that everyone has and made it relatable to understand what was happening in a few pages. This was the key ingredient to me loving this story. I never gave much thought to a bed until this story, but I could not imagine having my bed taken from me. The pain and heartbreak of the opening scene where Jiala has to lose the bed just grabbed me by chest. I was hooked right away with the storyline. After reading this I am going to read through all the works. I know of the others work by Paolo, but just have not had time to read the books. Like Tobias Buckell, this is my first time reading Paolo Bacigalupi and like Tobias, Paolo has just gained another huge fan. I reviewed Executioness about a week ago. LOVED IT!! I just had to read this book after reading The Executioness by Tobias Buckell which is the paired novella to this one. Where he sought to save a cityĪnd its people, the balanthast has the potential to save the world entire–if it doesn t destroy him and his family first. But the power of his newly-built balanthast is even greater than he dreamed. Driven by desperation and genius, the alchemist constructs a device that transcends magic, unlocking the mysteries of bramble s essential nature. Threatening to strangle the city under poisonous vines. The bramble, a plant that feeds upon magic, now presses upon Khaim, nourished by the furtive spellcasting of its inhabitants and In the beleageured city of Khaim, a lone alchemist seeks a solution to a deadly threat. A world of glittering memories and a desperate present, where everyone uses a little magic, and someone else always pays the price. In paired novellas, award-winning authors Tobias Buckell and Paolo Bacigalupi explore a shared world where magic is forbidden and its use is rewarded with the axe.

Monuments to people who loved magic too much.

A little at first, and then more–until whole cities are dragged down under tangling vines and empires lie dead, ruins choked by bramble forest. It sprouts in tilled fields and in neighbors’ roof beams, thrusts up from between street cobbles, and bursts forth from sacks of powdered spice. Every time a spell is cast, a bit of bramble sprouts, sending up tangling vines, bloody thorns, and threatening a poisonous sleep.

The Executioness by Tobias S. Buckell