The Scorpio Races

Book Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Date Started: September 27th 2019

Date Completed: October 7th 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

To say this book wasn't what I expected means a couple of things, but mostly it means I didn't expect to be so knocked off my feet. The Scorpio Races is very different from a lot of things out there, and it's fearlessly confident of its worth; there's no feeling that things are being pushed in or hurried up to keep the reader entertained. It is a gentle, fierce book, and is proud of it.

I love that the writing is so understated. This story is slow-burning, and all the more satisfying for it. The stakes are sky-high for these characters in very personal ways, but the narrative ebbs and flows with the natural timing of things like waves. It seems to instinctively know when to introduce the little threads of feminism or class politics, when to give you a small thrill, when to fill you with dread. It almost feels like there isn't a writer at all, which is all the more impressive on Stiefvater's part.

The main crux of the plot is the annual race with people-eating horses - and yes, I've simplified that because I think the story is really about the people. Stiefvater basically gives a masterclass on how to unite character motivations with a narrative so that the audience both understands the person and fully backs in the story. On top of that perfectly structured groundwork, she starts laying worldbuilding and lore and vibrancy: a world that is grounded in its realism, set on an offshore island sometime in the late 20th/early 21st century presumably, but magical enough that we can fall head over heels into the dreamlike atmosphere.

Both protagonists, Sean and Puck alike, are equals in this story. The ending perhaps felt like it wrapped up Sean's story a little neater than Puck's, but I didn't feel like any part of the plot was favoured at all until then. Because we were watching two very different but still comparable stories at once, entirely balanced, their arcs (and the romance) was so much more interesting. I didn't know who I wanted to win the race, I just knew that I wanted them both to get what they needed in the end. And that's a stronger driving force than any material goal.

Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle was enjoyable, but I honestly believe that The Scorpio Races is a mini-masterpiece that deserves just as much recognition. Maybe it should even be added to the lines of classics that favour like Black Beauty and Flambards, not because it happens to have horses in it, but because it understands the thoughtful stories they seem to tell with those around them, and the fierce inspiration they seem to give to writers.