Book Review: Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey + Signed Book Giveaway!
***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!***
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Tor (February 14, 2017)
Length: 352 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Few things get me more excited than a new book from Jacqueline Carey, and on the list of my must-read authors, her name definitely sits way up near the top. I also owe so much of my love for fantasy to amazing and talented woman. Her novel Kushiel’s Dart was among the handful of gateway books that first sparked my interest in the genre, and to this day I have not encountered anything else quite like it. But while Carey may have branched out into other areas like Young Adult and Urban Fantasy in recent years, I’ve continued to enjoy her work because I just love the way she writes, no matter what style or topic she decides to tackle. And with the growing trend in Shakespeare retellings these days, I suppose I wasn’t too surprised when I initially discovered that she was working on a retelling of The Tempest.
That project ultimately became Miranda and Caliban. As the book’s blurb states, many of us are already aware of how the original story goes, with Prospero and his quest for revenge against his usurping brother as well as the complicit king. But in her version of this classic tale, Carey has chosen instead to shine the light on Prospero’s gentle and kindhearted daughter Miranda, reimagining her in a coming-of-age romance with the other titular character Caliban, who was actually the monstrous antagonist of The Tempest. In this book, however, Caliban is the misunderstood feral boy who opens up to Miranda after being enslaved by her father, with the bond between them increasing in strength over the years as the two grow up together on the lonely island under Prospero’s overbearing tutelage.
Miranda and Caliban also presents a scenario to fill in what happened in the twelve years that Prospero and his daughter are stranded on the island after their exile. The book begins eight or so years before the great storm, when Miranda is just a six-year-old helping her father in a ritual to capture the wild boy they’ve seen lurking around the woods. After the boy is caught, Prospero attempts to civilize him by using harsh methods, but it is Miranda who succeeds in drawing him out of his shell by showing him kindness and compassion, convincing him to reveal that his name is Caliban. Seeing how his daughter has made such progress, Prospero decides to use the children’s friendship to his advantage, compelling Miranda to also ask Caliban about the spirit Ariel that the boy’s mother imprisoned in a tree.
Despite some of its close ties to the original play, you really don’t need to know a lot about The Tempest to enjoy this book. Case in point, I am in no way an expert on anything Shakespeare and yet I was still utterly enchanted by Miranda and Caliban. This is a love story, one that begins with the two eponymous characters meeting as children. With no knowledge or understanding into anything pertaining to the birds and the bees (Prospero may be a master sorcerer, but he was a complete failure of a sex ed teacher), awkward physical changes and confusing emotions eventually arise as both of them experience puberty and wind up falling in love.
But even if you’re not a big romance reader (and I don’t consider myself one either), there’s still plenty to appreciate about this tale. I found Carey’s portrayal of this world and its characters utterly fascinating, as well as the way she has flipped certain elements from The Tempest on its head. Caliban is of course a very sympathetic character here; his POV chapters show him gradually transforming from a wordless feral boy to a well-spoken young man, though he remains self-conscious about his physical appearance. Instead of being the protagonist you root for, Prospero is the menacing shadow that seems to hang over everything. Not that he was the nicest guy to begin with in the original play, but this story further plays up his use of magic to control everyone, including his own daughter, and exposes the hypocrisy of his faith and quest. At times Prospero’s love towards Miranda may seem genuine, but then his true colors will come out and the reader will despise him all over again. In this version, Ariel is also a villainous creature who constantly does things to thwart Miranda and Caliban’s relationship over the years, seeming to take much joy in making them both miserable. Still, it’s interesting to note that being able to arouse such powerful sentiments for even the most obnoxious of characters is one of Carey’s finest talents; you can’t help but connect with the people she writes about because she fleshes them out so well without having to resort to common tricks.
That said, Miranda and Caliban is very different from previous books I’ve read by the author. Much of it probably has to do with the constraints of this book being a Shakespeare retelling, which just goes to show what a versatile writer she is, though there’s also a part of me which feels immensely glad she wrote something like this. Carey’s last three novels were from her urban fantasy series Agent of Hel, and while I had a blast with those casual fun books, they certainly don’t exemplify just how spectacularly she can write. In that domain, they simply can’t compare to Miranda and Caliban, which perfectly showcases the gorgeous, lyrical prose that I love her for. I honestly believe that even if the story doesn’t appeal, one can still surely appreciate this book for the writing.
The Tempest fans will love this beautifully written and richly imagined retelling which approaches the story differently from an interesting and thought-provoking angle, but you also don’t need to be familiar with the original play to enjoy this book. After all, being able to appreciate ideas like the purity of love or the tumultuous emotions of growing up requires no prerequisites. Jacqueline Carey explores these themes and more in Miranda and Caliban, a poignant and heartbreaking novel that infuses a beloved Shakespearean classic with a welcome layer of depth, complexity, and feeling. Highly recommended.
Signed Miranda and Caliban Giveaway
With thanks to the publisher, The BiblioSanctum is pleased to host this giveaway of one signed copy of Miranda and Caliban. This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. To enter, all you have to do is send an email to bibliosanctum@gmail.com with your Name and valid Mailing Address using the subject line “MIRANDA AND CALIBAN” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Thursday, February 23, 2017.
Only one entry per household, please. The winner will be randomly selected when the giveaway ends and then be notified by email. All information will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and sending them their prize. Once the giveaway ends all entry emails will be deleted.
So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!
The BiblioSanctum 
A lovely review, I’ve never read this author but definitely will now. I toured for five years in a production of The Tempest, a play that is ultimately about having the strength to forgive “The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance”. We toured all over the world and were due to take the production to Tehran… the performances were cancelled because we were due to fly to Iran on September 18th 2001… The British Council wouldn’t let us go. 😦
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Wow, that’s some story. Given the way things were, I can imagine why 😦
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That was a really nice one I agree, and I confess that I’m curious to see where the story will go now
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My guess is that’s how it ends, i.e. poorly for Caliban, which is pretty close to the original in that sense.
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I just posted my review today too:-) This was my first Carey book and I can see why everyone loves her. I was mad at Miranda and the way she treated Caliban, I guess to me the romance felt too lopsided, but still, I love the way she incorporates the original story without rehashing it.
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Ah, first Carey! And now you have to read her Kushiel’s Dart 🙂
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THERE’S A GIVEAWAY?! *scurries off to her email because she really wants a copy*
Seriously, though. I’ve read three reviews of Miranda and Caliban today, and all of them have been 4 stars or higher. So I’d love to read it either way. 🙂
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I think you’ll enjoy it. Very nice coming of age romance, with all the beauty and awkwardness 😛
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Delightful review! If I was curious about this book before, now I need to read it for myself, and soon 🙂
I love the concept of the changes in character from the original and I’m quite taken by the idea of observing these two children’s path toward mutual understanding and deeper feelings: and for someone who’s not too keen on love stories, this says a lot!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
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I’m not keen on books that are purely love stories either, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked for me. But then again, it IS Jacqueline Carey 😉
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I love this one too! Couldn’t agree more about Carey’s ability to evoke such strong responses to her characters — there wasn’t a single character I felt lukewarm towards (I was even sad about Bianca, for goodness sake!). My first Carey book but definitely not my last; I need to read Kushiel’s Dart now so I can experience more of her fine writing!
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Yes, you must! I highly recommend everyone run out NOW and pick up a copy of Kushiel’s Dart, lol 😀
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Agreed, I really enjoyed this, and the language was part of it.
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JC is such a talented writer. Such gorgeous prose.
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I still have not tried her books
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I highly recommend them! Her UF is fun too, if you prefer that genre!
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Awesome! I’ve only read her book Santa Olivia (which was fabulous, I would definitely recommend!) but it sounds like I need to change that 🙂
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I enjoyed Santa Olivia too (though not so much the second book), and if you liked that one you should try her Agent of Hel series as well 🙂
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Oh no, what didn’t you like about the second book?
Yes, I’ve heard of that! Will definitely check it out!
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It was a long time ago, but as I recall, it just became too goofy for me! FWIW, I think Carey had fun writing it, but I just couldn’t deal with the absurdity anymore 🙂
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Wow, a lot of reviews for this one today. And each one is convincing me more and more to give it a try.
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Yeah, fantastic to see so much excitement for this book 🙂
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I can’t wait to pick this one up. Only briefly skimmed this but very encouraging review 😀
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Hope you enjoy it!
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Signed copy you say? I have never won anything from you so maybe all my luck was saved up for this moment.
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May the odds be ever in your favor 🙂
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I didn’t enjoy it as much as you did but there is definitely things to like in this book! The writing is gorgeous and the relationships between the different characters felt real.
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Agreed! I’m sorry to hear you didn’t take to the book as much as you’d hoped, but glad you enjoyed the writing. She really has a way with words.
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I loved Kushiel’s Dart and Kushiel’s Choice and became a fan of Ms. Carey. Couldn’t read the third one, though, needed to bite into the ARC pile for a while. My eyes are on Miranda and Caliban now. You have clearly enjoyed this book.
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Oh, her first Kushiel trilogy was amazing, I hope you get a chance to complete it soon! 🙂
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Oh I’m sad I missed the giveaway:(. Ever since I heard about this book, I’ve been very excited for it. I love the whole premise of it – shifting the perspective of a well known story – and picking The Tempest for that is brilliant! I actually have it out of the library right now but don’t know that I’m in the mood for a tragedy so may need to wait on it a bit. I’m glad this book is a good canvas for Jacqueline Carey to write some lovely prose which she can do very well.
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I love Jacqueline Carey! I can’t wait to read Miranda and Caliban!
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Sold! Great review! 😀
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