Review | And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Source: library borrow. This is a review of my reading experience.

And Put Away Childish Things is a fantasy novella from Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Harry Bodie’s been called into the delightful fantasy world of his grandmother’s beloved children’s books. It’s not delightful here at all.

All roads lead to Underhill, where it’s always winter, and never nice.

Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children’s books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids’ TV presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His family history seems to be nothing but an impediment.

An impediment... or worse. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn’t delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?

✅ Portal fantasy (and horror and scifi)
✅ Tchaikovsky spider

And Put Away Childish Things is the third novella in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Terrible Worlds: Destinations series, but each installment is a standalone story. I've read the first novella (Walking to Aldebaran) but haven't read the second one yet. My library happened to have this available when I needed a short read.

The main character Harry's grandmother was a famous children's author who wrote stories set in Underhill, and there are quite a few people who remain obsessed with his grandmother's stories. Set during the start of the pandemic, it felt like Tchaikovsky was working through a number of things with And Put Away Childish Things.

I continue to really enjoy Tchaikovsky's writing. He has written so many things that span the breadth of speculative fiction, and I intend to read them all.

⭐⭐⭐💫★
3.5/5 stars

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