Once there were three sisters: the first went off to earn her fortunate making carpets, the second became a fighter, and the youngest was stolen away by the wind to be his wife. She is allowed to ask him anything, but must spend a day in silence for each question. When she becomes unhappy, her two older sisters come to rescue her.

Another delightful story from Victoria Goddard, who really impresses me with her ability to write different story lengths and tones that fit what she's trying to do. This one reads like a fairy tale, and what an inventive tale it is. I was carried along by how it all unfolded and enjoyed the writing. It's not my favorite of hers - I prefer to get to know the characters a little more, and as in most fairy tales they're sort of kept at arm's length - but she does what she sets out to do well. ( )

Two Avramapul sisters use their crafts and skills to rescue the third whose beauty has caught the attention of an ambitious deity. ( )

Really wonderful short story in the 9 Worlds universe, a prequel to the Red Company. What I loved was the fairy tale aspect — flawlessly mythic, but keeping the traditions of testing in order to achieve impossible goals. Loved that while it calls on familiar tales (Bluebeard, genies, hill of glass), this is a wholly original story.

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This is sort of the origin story of two of the members of The Red Company that is mentioned in The Hands of the Emperor/The Return of Fitzroy Angursell. Goddard is a chameleon: none of her books I've read have the same tone. There are disparate series and stories that all take place in the same world, and together make one glorious mosaic. This is the first story of the three Sisters Avramapul. It's told in a very fairy tale manner and is loosely based on Bluebeard. Recommended, but it's definitely an odd story with some storytelling quirks that aren't for everybody. ( )

A very odd story - partly because it's written in mythic language, at least in part, and partly because it's very hard to perceive the characters through their roles (see: mythic language). But I definitely want to read the next. ( )