Nettle & Bone
#2674.07 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2022 Reading commitment Low T. Kingfisher Last reviewed 2026-08-13
Overview
A standalone dark fairy-tale novel about a princess, Marra, who spends years building a dog from bones and forging a knife from nettles to attempt the murder of her sister's abusive prince husband: a bleakly funny, folkloric quest built on the fairy-tale-task structure but told from a woman past the age fairy tales usually spare a thought for. T. Kingfisher's 2022 novel sends Marra, aided by a dust-wife, a demon-possessed chicken, a fairy godmother, and a rescued knight named Fenris, on the quest to save her sister Kania from her husband Vorling's cruelty after completing three impossible tasks. The novel won the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novel, was a finalist for the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2023 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and drew praise for its careful, compassionate treatment of domestic abuse alongside dark humor; one reviewer compared its balance of bleakness and beauty to the work of Terry Pratchett.
Fairy-tale retelling, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Nettle & Bone (2022) core · 4.07 (157,357 ratings); Standalone dark fairy-tale novel (Tor Books, April 2022) -- registered as a single-work universe, T. Kingfisher's second universe in this canon alongside The Saint of Steel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Nettle & Bone? Nettle & Bone's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Nettle & Bone finished? Complete (2022).
- How much reading does Nettle & Bone take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~325 pages).
- How is Nettle & Bone ranked? #267 in this site's official ranking, based on 157,357 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #267?
Ranked #267 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 157k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #266, Earthsea Cycle (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 157k ratings · Ranks #267 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2023: won: Nettle & Bone; thehugoawards.org itself could not be reached; registered on the strength of 2 independent contemporary trade-press reports (Gizmodo, CGTN) plus Wikipedia, all in agreement -- revisit and cite thehugoawards.org directly if a future pass can reach it.
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2022: nominated: Nettle & Bone
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2023: finalist: Nettle & Bone; sfadb.com could not be reached to independently corroborate; registered as finalist (not won) per Wikipedia -- revisit against sfadb.com in a future pass.
- Dragon Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2022: nominated: Nettle & Bone
Related universes
- Same author The Saint of Steel: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- Nettle & Bone's standalone dark fairy-tale world shares no characters, setting, or continuity with The Saint of Steel's own secondary world.
- Same author Thornhedge: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author A Sorceress Comes to Call: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author Hemlock & Silver: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Nettle & Bone and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Stonewater Kingdom Dark fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.22
- Snake-Eater Cozy fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
- Between Two Fires Dark fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.18
- Spinning Silver Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.17
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 157,357 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Nettle & Bone admitted; Core Canon = the single novel accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Nettle & Bone Tier 2
- Nebula Awards: T. Kingfisher nominee page Tier 1
- Gizmodo: The 2023 Hugo Award Winners Have Been Announced Tier 3
- CGTN: Sci-fi writer T. Kingfisher won Hugo Award for Best Novel Tier 3
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
Rule: single-work: a genuinely one-off novel, registered per this canon's Once and Future King/LOTR-analogy precedent. Confirmed separate continuity from T. Kingfisher's other admitted universe, The Saint of Steel (a secondary-world series about paladins of a dead god); no shared characters or setting.