Juno Dawson - Her Majesty's Royal Coven


After the mildly disappointing Malice I felt I needed a fun fantasy romp, so I read Juno Dawson's Her Majesty's Royal Coven. The title is fabulous (as is that of the sequel, The Shadow Cabinet). I was drawn by the UK setting and political themes; I imagined something like Have I Got News for You but with witches thrown in. 

It basically follows a group of witches who were friends growing up; as adults, they got dispersed into different parts of witch society. The witch politics in this world are best understood through two characters. 

There's Helena, the successful corporate bitch, who heads the official government witch coven - the titular HMRC - with all its rules and regulations. Of course she's white and straight and a Tory. Then there's Leonie, her black lesbian childhood friend, carrying a lifetime of injuries - like never getting to be anyone other than Scary Spice when they played Spice Girls. Leonie started her own "woke" witch faction called Diaspora, which is seen by HMRC as opposition. 

Representing the politically uninvolved masses are Niamh, the peace-loving earth mother who gave up the witch wars for a quiet life in the country, and Elle, who just wants to blend in with the normies as a middle-class Costa Coffee-chugging mum. 

The witches' lives are thrown into disarray when a supposed antichrist-type boy shows up. Theo turns out to be a trans girl who hasn't learnt to control his powers. Cue the witch wars. Conservative HMRC wants to keep trans women out of the witches' space, but Theo's protectors - which is everyone but Helena - fight for her. There is spying, sabotage, teleportation, demonic possession, and finally a magical battle in Yorkshire. 

Dawson is a really good writer and her characters were realistic, down to their drunken hen night banter. But I think there's just too much going on. This book wants to be an epic high-stakes fantasy and social commentary and chick lit summer read all in one.

I thought the really interesting stuff here was conservatism vs. change in witch society, as hashed out through the trans issue - although race is also big, because witchcraft and lore of non-white origin have been ignored for a long time by the fantasy world. But I kept getting distracted by the tacky stuff like demonic summoning, which is more appealing to me. So... eh. I don't think I was satisfied on either count.

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