“Calling on Dragons” by Patricia Wrede

This is the third book in the Enchanted Forest chronicles, I talked about the first book here and the second book here. This book keeps the pattern of going with a different narrator, and for this one we get the witch Morwen! Which is incredible because that means that we can understand her cats as well.

Morwen lives in the Enchanted Forest, and one day her cats discover a huge rabbit. The rabbit’s name is Killer, and he was eating some innocent-looking clover when he started growing. So they head over there and discover evidence of wizards using the clover to change their size, as well as a small wizard that Morwen promptly melts. They take this to the King and Queen of the Enchanted Forest, Mendelbar and Cimorene. Kazul the King of the Dragons is visiting as well, and their magician friend Telemain. While there, they discover that the wizards have stolen Mendelbar’s magic sword that maintains peace and prevents the wizards from draining the forest of magic. As a result, Morwen, Kazul, Cimorene (who we learn is pregnant), Telemain, and the increasingly cursed rabbit Killer (who ends up a blue donkey) all set out to find it. Mendelbar wants to come, but he has to stay in the forest to maintain peace in the absence of the sword.

On the way, the group runs into a fire witch who helps them find the wizards’ lair. Once there, they steal the sword back. However, they are too late. By the time they get back the wizards have attached the castle with Mendelbar inside. Now there’s a bubble preventing anyone who isn’t a wizard from entering. The sword could disperse it, if the King of the Enchanted Forest wields it. But he is trapped inside. The group resolves that their best course of action is to wait for Cimorene’s baby to grow up and wield the sword, finally releasing Mendelbar.

Alright so the ending. That’s a hell of an ending. And quite the lead up to the last book in the series. It almost feels like… a bit too much for the series. Up until now, things have been able to wrap up so neat and tidy, it feels ridiculous that their best course of action is to do nothing and wait for another sixteen years or so. Having said that, the book does say that Cimorene never gives up trying to get to Mendelbar. So at least she’s putting in the effort.

There is a subplot about the witches being accosted by some guy who wants the witches to look “traditional” and things like that. I really enjoyed how Morwen bucks those trends, she has nine cats and none of them are black and wears what she wants and in general does not look like a stereotypical witch. And even though this is just a side-plot, the entire series is about characters rejecting the stories that are set for them and doing what makes them happy. It’s a really sweet and important message to bring along with the upending of fairy tale tropes.

There are few ways to make these middle sequels stand out, but that ending really does nail this one. I think I’ll be thinking about that one for a while. And it does make me really excited to finally get to the last book of this series.