I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow Published by Redhook on September 10 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A delightful adventure filled with mystery, danger, romance and a dog named Bad. Oh, and lots of Doors.
She accumulated the dust of other worlds on her skin like ten thousand perfumes, and left constellations of wistful men and impossible tales in her wake.
I’ve been reading glowing reviews of this book for weeks now, and so it was with a great deal of anticipation that I finally dove in. And I’m happy to say I absolutely loved it! It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. Harrow has written a handful of short stories (and in fact she just won the Hugo for one of them!) but reading this felt like being in the presence of a seasoned writer. If you’re the sort of person who loves the emotional rewards of reading, then you will most likely love this as well. I went through the whole gamut of emotions over the course of the story—worry, terror, happiness, the depths of sadness, surprise, exhilaration—and I can’t say I ever knew exactly where the story was headed, or should I say, which Door Harrow would take me through next.
Harrow’s tale is a story within a story. We start with the first person narrative of January Scaller, as she relates her adventures from the time she was seven, living with her billionaire benefactor William Cornelius Locke. January’s father, a restless man named Julian, has been hired by Mr. Locke to scour the world looking for rare treasures and antiques, while his daughter remains behind in Locke House, closely watched by the household staff. One day, January discovers a door in a nearby field that, when she writes the words “She opened the door” in her notebook, miraculously opens to another world. But her joyful discovery is short-lived. Mr. Locke punishes January by throwing away her notebook and keeping her inside the house, away from any mischief she might get into.
Ten years later when she’s seventeen, January finds an old book called The Ten Thousand Doors which describes the adventures of a girl named Adelaide Lee Larson, who leaves her loving but stifling family to explore the world. Ade, as she’s called, is desperately looking for something, but it’s not clear at first what that is. The more January reads, the more she realizes that there is a shocking connection between herself and Ade. Just what that connection is and why it’s important is the main thrust of the story.
I know this is a terrible job at a story recap, for which I apologize! The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a tough book to sum up. It’s an unexpectedly complex tale that weaves its two threads—January’s story and Ade’s story—around and around each other until it’s hard to separate the two. Harrow is a true storyteller, and her prose brings everything to vivid life: the characters, the settings, the complicated relationships, and of course, the mysteries that are at the heart of her story. This is one of those books that you just need to start reading, and I guarantee you will be swept away by the magic of the words before you know it, just like I was.
Harrow’s book is full of wonderfully drawn female characters, and I loved all of them equally. January’s situation was rather sad, even though she’s brought up in a pampered environment and never seems to want for anything. She’s of mixed race heritage and no matter how hard she tries, she never seems to fit in anywhere. The story takes place in America in the early 1900s when people of color had little or no rights, and even though January is under the protection of Mr. Locke, her skin color is always commented on by strangers, and even Mr. Locke makes racist comments from time to time. But she has such a tenacious personality that she never loses sight of her goal. Then there is Ade, who is also on a quest, and she defies all the societal norms of the time to be her own person. Telling you too much about Ade’s story will give things away that I fear would be spoilers, so that’s why I’m being so vague. Finally, there is a character named Jane Irimu who is January’s “nursemaid” and companion for a time. Jane carries a gun and knows how to kill, and she has an interesting connection to January’s father. All three women all delightfully strong and feisty and do everything they can to go against the men who are trying to keep them down.
As for the men, not all of them are villains, although there are a couple of good ones, most notably Mr. Locke, who is nice to January until he’s not, and then he’s horrible. This is also a love story, did I forget to mention that? Ade is desperately searching for the “ghost boy” she met briefly near a Door, a boy who came from elsewhere and stays just long enough for Ade to fall in love with him. This might be a good time to mention that I was thrilled to discover there is a dog in this story, and my fellow dog lovers will not want to miss it. Sinbad, or Bad as January calls him, is her constant companion from the time she gets him as a puppy, and she and Bad have many adventures together. It’s not all smooth sailing, and there’s plenty of danger involving Bad and all the characters, but rest assured that Bad survives the danger, even though there are some harrowing scenes. (Sorry for the spoiler, but it’s my policy to report on all stories involving dogs and what their fate may be.)
One of my favorite parts of reading this book was being able to connect all the dots as the story goes along. Harrow’s story is meticulously plotted, and she doles out information slowly, allowing the reader to experience “light bulb” moments as various things are revealed. She even leaves lots of clues in the beginning, clues that I didn’t realize were there until I went back later to write my notes for my review. This is one of those reading experiences where I found myself exclaiming out loud at times, and I was thankful that I read the book at home and not in public!
As for the Doors, well, I certainly can’t finish my review without talking a bit about the most important element in The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Harrow’s story is a portal fantasy that suggests there are indeed “ten thousand doors” to other worlds, and even though we don’t come close to reading about all ten thousand, I loved her descriptions of the worlds we do get to experience. January has a unique talent and ability for opening Doors that the other characters do not, and I loved that aspect of the story. And Harrow’s Doors are metaphors for change. Stepping through one means changing your fate in one way or another, something all the characters are trying to do.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a magical tale that shines with delightful characters, evil villains, true love and even truer friendships. This is one of my favorite books of the year, and I’ll be recommending it every chance I get.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Great review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, I can’t wait until payday so I can get my hands on a copy. 😀 I loved Harrow’s Hugo Award-winning short story, so I’m very excited to check out her first novel and you’ve made me even more eager to pick it up.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Shelf Control #40 & Reading Right Now 18/09/19
It’s so pretty too, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Also, I haven’t read her short story yet but I will very soon.
Great review, great book.
Thanks Drew! Yes, this was fantastic:-)
Beautiful review Tammy! It is really hard to review this one without spoilers. Some of the doggy parts were really hard for me and Bad was so great!
Yes, poor Bad definitely gets his share of horrible moments, but I knew he was going to be OK so I actually didn’t stress too much:-)
Yeah- I didn’t know that he would be okay- so that was actually really nerve wracking for me! I sort of panicked for a while because that scene was so brutal.
I was a wreck too, but I had the feeling that because this is such an upbeat story, there was no way she was going to kill off the dog. Luckily I was right!
I’m really impressed with some of the debuts this year that come off like releases from seasoned pros! I’ve heard a lot of great things about this one, glad it lived up to expectations for you <3
Yes, I have read some really good debuts as well, and this is one of the best!
Great review, Tammy. 🙂 I too have read glowing reviews about this book, but I wasn’t sure If I should request this book. I have been burnt badly by portal fiction. Your review has convinced me to go for it.
Debjani recently posted…Savage Storm (A Savage Series Novel #8) by J. Woods – Review
I hope you check it out, I thought the real joy of this book was the characters anyway:-)
Great review!!! You really caught the heart of many of the threads.
Thanks Paul:-)
Lovely review! I loved how intricate the story was and the way the connection between the two different threads unfolded. I think I’ll want to go back and read this again, now that I know all the secrets, to see what I missed the first time.
I agree, this would be fun to reread:-)
I’ve got this on hold and why has no one mentioned the dog before now? Things like this are important people 🙂 I have actually seen poor reviews on it so I’m thrilled you love it because I have it on hold at my library. Hope it comes in quickly but at the same time it can takes its time because I’ve got plenty of other things to read.
I know, why didn’t I know about Bad? Or maybe I just missed that part in the reviews I’ve read. This is a definite must for dog lovers:-)
I want to read this! That excerpt is magical and I want to meet Bad!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Spotlight and Giveaway ~ The Fixer Upper by Maggie Mae Gallagher
Bad is AMAZING!! I love when dogs are main characters in books:-)
fantastic review. i found your blog through a comment you made on stormi’s blog. it looks like we may have some reading likes in common and i look forward to seeing more
sherry fundin recently posted…#BooksFromTheBacklog – Sharks & The Wolf by Daniel D Shields #DanielDShields
Thanks for visiting, Sherry! I’ll be paying you a visit soon:-)
And here goes another review praising this book… I love the idea of the puzzle whose pieces you have to gather as you read the story, until they converge into a revelation: in the honored tradition of the fantasy quest, this time is the reader’s job to complete it… 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…The Seven Heavenly Virtues Book Tag
I haven’t seen a bad review yet, and for good reason:-)
Gonna have to put this one on my wishlist after this amazing review. It sound SO good and I definitely wanna read it right now!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Night Witches: The Soviet Female Pilots Who Terrified The German Army by History Titans
It’s fantastic, Stephanie! I hope you can read it:-)
It really is a tough book to sum up (though I think you did a great job!). I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, it really stuck out to me as something special. Sinbad was one of the most pleasant surprises in this book for me! 😉
Jordan Rose recently posted…Review: A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
I know! I didn’t even know there was such a great dog character, but I think it made me love it even more.
A fabulous review, Tammy! And you’ve left me really wanting to read this one – I love it when a dual narrative book works well, which this one clearly did.
Yes, I really loved the dual narrative, and the fact that it’s wrapped up in such a fun mystery is a bonus:-)
Oh my, it sounds like it’s definitely living up to the praise, and I love how you’ve described it, Tammy. I am pretty certain I chose this from BOTM- now to read it!
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, Jennifer:-)
Yay, I had a feeling you’d love this one! A wonderful review, Tammy, and you mentioned so many things that resonated with me too!
Thanks Steff, it was “my” kind of book for sure:-)
Great review, love!! I’ve been so intrigued by this book, so it’s wonderful to see that you enjoyed it! It’s so nice to hear that there are some brilliant female characters, and I can’t wait to experience this meticulous, complex story line! <3
Kelly | Another Book in the Wall recently posted…The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan // The Best Biracial Rep I’ve Ever Seen Before
Thanks Kelly! I hope you get the chance to read it:-)
Excellent review! I’m so glad you loved this one as well Tammy!
It was really special:-)
Ugh – I want to read this so badly and your review is definitely making it worse (in a good way)! haha
Hope you get to read it soon!
I’m so behind on all the things, but this is one I’m really hoping to find the time for
It’s so good, Lisa! Hope you can get to it:-)
This book keeps moving up my TBR list. And your review has pushed it a bit higher. I love the title and the cover. And it just sounds like a fantastic read. Really looking forward to it. Thanks, Tammy!
Hope you read it soon, Todd!
This sounds amazing! This is the first review I’ve read for this book but I’ll definitely be adding it to my TBR based on your comments.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Weekly Recap #122: Week of 9/15 – 9/21
Yay, hope you get to read it soon:-)
Like Suzanne said, this is the first review of this book I’ve read, and it sounds gorgeous! I can’t wait to get into it!
It’s amazing, hope you get to read it, Verushka!
Great review, and THANK YOU for the spoiler about the dog – I always appreciate having that information because then I know if the book is for me or if I have to at least avoid a scene or something.
Hey, I would want other reviewers to do the same when it comes to dogs in stories. I’m usually not a fan of trigger warnings, but when it comes to dogs, I absolutely am!
I’m reading this now and it’s absolutely lovely. Everything about it–the prose, the story, the characters, the world…it’s just a great read. Fantastic review, glad you loved this one!
Agreed, it’s just so good in every way, I’m glad you’re loving it, Lisa! I’ll be looking for your review:-)
I got this one a few days ago! So excited to read it!
I hope you love it, Meg!
I really loved this to and your review is absolutely spot on.
This is a love story not just between the characters but to readers and it’s just so lovely, it looks at and relies on the magic of imagination and in that respect it works perfectly.
Lynn 😀
I have to admit that I skipped the review because I want to go in blind but I was excited to see that ye gave this five stars. I am on the hold list at the library. I will come back to yer review when I be done. Arrr!
x The Captain
I’m currently reading a Charles Todd mystery, with two seemingly unrelated murders that I strongly suspect our Scotland Yard inspector will find are connected, and I feel certain that in the course of this book January will find out how she is connected to the girl in the book! These devilishly complicated plots must be explained!
wow! This book sounds fantastic! After reading your review. You did a great job explaining it. What looks very complicated and full of detail. I changed my mind. I think I would love to read this book.
I keep seeing this cover everywhere. It’s good to know it’s a really good book – a well crafted story, in fact. Thanks.
The reviews for this book have blown me away. I hope it lives up to the hype.
Thank you for talking about Bad and his fate. I’m reading it right now and I got to a part where it looks not so good for Bad and I had to put it down and Google what happens to know if I could continue reading! Thank you for telling us he doesn’t die!
I was really worried too! That part was so tense for me
A wonderful review, Tammy!
Thank you Eon!