The Bee King, by Mathilda Zeller

This book caught my attention for a number of reasons.

It's somewhere between folk horror and fairytale.

The Strong Female Protagonist is genuinely not like any others I've seen (looking at you, Katniss!).

The author is fully aware of current trends/tropes, and actively plays with that knowledge.

The story of The Bee King is as entrancing as anything Neil Gaiman or Angela Carter has written, but is entirely its own beast. Strange, addictive honey-based magic, the titular Bee King seeking a Queen, unnamed robed and masked servants, twisted body-horror, ancient powers, swarms of monsters…

But it's not that simple, not at all. The honey-allegories aren't just wordplay. The world of this book is that of a hive, with drones serving their rulers, men guarding their power to control the crucial commodity that is women, and those who see past The System numbering in single digits.

The men aren't heroic and the women aren't damsels, yet each seems trapped in their role. It's never clear or predictable, and I love it. Even with many pages yet to go, I was caught up so many times in wondering just how the protagonist(s) would deal with a given situation. A clever heroine is one thing, but when they discover new twists around every tree, the reader is compelled to keep up - because they might actually not survive.

The writing is fearless and beautiful, with social commentary that's deep-rooted but never heavy-handed. I suspect many women of all ages will see themselves in at least one of the heroines, and discover more layers as they return to re-read the book again.

Clever, compelling and sweet as fine mead.