Hemlock & Silver

Hemlock & Silver blends the genres of detective mystery and portal fantasy. Explore how the structural conventions of a procedural investigation frame Anja’s discovery of a magical world. How does this generic fusion shape the novel’s pacing?

The mirror-gelds are often described using insect-like imagery. Choose two to three passages featuring such imagery and close read them, discussing the function this characterization of the mirror-gelds serves.

Consider the Mirror Queen not merely as a tragic antagonist motivated by the desire for an authentic existence but also as a suppressed aspect of the “real” queen’s personality. How does her plight serve a broader feminist commentary about the roles available to women?

Anja’s skeptical, first-person point of view often includes humorous asides about what she is observing and experiencing. How does this humor serve Anja’s characterization and/or the novel’s themes?

In reflecting on mothers who kill their children, Healer Michael remarks, “[Y]ou kill their children because they’re part of you” (131). How does this remark relate to the novel’s broader depiction of motherhood, and how does that depiction of motherhood intersect with the depiction of identity as fluid and plural?

The novel features extensive worldbuilding related to a religion based on animal spirits called “saints.” How does this narrative element intersect with or complicate the novel’s portrayal of empirical science?

Explore the role that grief and trauma play in driving Princess Snow’s actions. To what extent can her experiences be understood as an allegory for the grieving process?

How might the motif of poison and antidotes function as a metaphor for knowledge itself? Explore instances where the discovery of a truth is necessary and dangerous.