The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

I've gone off on a bit of a fairy tale jaunt during the past few days. I pulled out The Tale of the Firebird  and posted a glimpse of my gorgeously illustrated copy of that Russian folktale by Gennady Spirin the other day. Apparently I hadn't satiated my desire for a bit of the faerie, so I picked up The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be!

The Fairy Godmother is the first in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. This book appears, at first glance, to be a re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale but after reading just a few short pages I realized that this is no traditional re-telling. In fact, Lackey breaks with tradition and, well, writes about breaking with tradition.

Bits and bobs of many different fairy tales appear throughout The Fairy Godmother, but Lackey weaves a new tale and those who like to buck tradition will enjoy it. Traditionalists should also enjoy this book for the many familiar elements included. Princesses in need of rescue. Champions on quest. Dragons, fairies, elves, and evil sorcerers. And, of course, fairy godmothers. Just don't expect these characters to toe the line.

Ah. There is also a happy ending, and, as one of the characters says:

"To happy endings, however they come about!"

*******************

"Fantasy for me has always gone far beyond the magic rings and castles of the classical fairy tale, although heaven knows I love the classical fairy tales! To write or enjoy fantasy requires an open mind and heart, and the ability to believe that things are not always what they seem."
-- Mercedes Lackey

Reading Fairytales ...

"Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, lived the great ruler Tsar Vasilyi. He had three sons, and the youngest was named Ivan-Tsarevitch.

"The Tsar's greatest pride was his garden, filled with exotic trees, and in the center of this garden was the prize of his kingdom: a tree with golden apples."

The Tale of the Firebird

Retold and Illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Translated by Tatiana Popova

Philomel Books

2002

Gorgeous illustrations by Gennady Spirin in this retelling of the classic Russian folk tale.

In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip incorporates parts of the Firebird tale and makes a nice side-by-side reading with The Tale of the Firebird by Gennady Spirin.

In the Forests of Serre

Patricia A. McKillip

Cover illustration by Kinuko Y. Craft

Ace Trade Reprint Edition June 1, 2004

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Fevre Dream has got to be one of the best vampire novels I've ever read. I found myself caring deeply about the main characters ... a human, a vampire, and a steamboat. Yes, you heard me correctly. I cared very much about the steamboat. The story takes place in the mid 1800s primarily on the Mississippi River. The settings, whether on the steamboat navigating the River or on a plantation in the Deep South, were incredibly evocative of a different time and place. I could feel the settings. I was there.

I can't tell you too much about the vampires without giving away George R. R. Martin's particular take on these supernatural beings. I will tell you though that I was intrigued.

The internal conflicts that I've found in the vampires of certain other authors was also present here -- a veritable war within to try and keep a driving and consuming evil at bay. Beauty and the creation of beauty is an important theme in Fevre Dream. The deep longing to create beauty and great shame of the need that drives them to barbaric acts makes some of Martin's vampires quite sympathetic characters.

Martin interweaves commentary on slavery into his story in some rather surprising ways. What is not surprising is the truth of slavery, which the author does not let us avoid. He presents us with a world in which some are enslaved because they are different and therefore, somehow, lesser. He makes us look, with eyes wide open, at the acts of cruelty by those who would use and destroy others; those who would obliterate what someone else has created and would, without compunction, annihilate beauty for no better reason than their self perceived superiority and ability to do so.

Fevre Dream is an incredibly moving story of a desire for unity, dreams of immortality, and the legendary times of the steamboat era. If you are looking for another book to read for the R.I.P. challenge, I highly recommend Fevre Dream.

Below are just a few of my favorite bits ...

I read this description of York several times because I was so stunned by the author's ability to describe his character so poetically:

"Whatever thoughts he had had, whatever plans he had made, were sucked up in the maelstrom of York's eyes. Boy and old man and dandy and foreigner, all those were gone in an instant, and there was only York, the man himself, the power of him, the dream, the intensity.

York's eyes were gray, startlingly dark in such a pale face. His pupils were pinpoints, burning black, and they reached right into Marsh and weighed the soul inside him. The gray around them seemed alive, moving like fog on the river on a dark night, when the banks vanish and the lights vanish and there is nothing in the world but your boat and the river and the fog. In those mists, Abner Marsh saw things; visions swift-glimpsed and then gone. There was a cool intelligence peering out of those mists. But there was a beast as well, dark and frightening, chained and angry, raging at the fog. Laughter and loneliness and cruel passion; York had all of that in his eyes." pp. 2-3

I don't have any particular interest in steamboats from the 1850s, but this description is absolutely beautiful and truly took my breath away:

"Where is our boat, then?"

Come this way," Marsh said, gesturing broadly with his walking stick. He led them half across the boatyard. "There," he said, pointing.

The mists gave way for them, and there she stood, high and proud, dwarfing all the other boats around her. Her cabins and rails gleamed with fresh paint pale as snow, bright even in the gray shroud of fog. Way up on her texas roof, halfway to the stars, her pilot house seemed to glitter; a glass temple, its ornate cupola decorated all around with fancy woodwork as intricate as Irish lace. Her chimneys, twin pillars that stood just forward of the texas deck, rose up a hundred feet, black and straight and haughty. Their feathered tops bloomed like two dark metal flowers. Her hull was slender and seemed to go on forever, with her stern obscured by the fog. Like all the first-class boats, she was was a side-wheeler. Set amidship, the huge curved wheelhouses loomed gigantic hinting at the vast power of the paddle wheels concealed within them. They seemed all the larger for want of the name that would soon be emblazoned across them.

In the night and the fog, amid all those smaller plainer boats, she seemed a vision, a white phantom from some riverman's dream. She took the breath away ..." p. 21

The rot of the South; rot under the beauty:

"By their seventh night in New Orleans, Abner Marsh felt strangely sick of the city, and anxious to be off. That night Joshua York came down to supper with some river charts in his hand. Marsh had seen very little of his partner since the arrival. "How do you fancy New Orleans?" Marsh asked York as the other seated himself.

"The city is lovely," York replied in an oddly troubled voice that made Marsh look up from the roll he was buttering. "I have nothing but admiration for the Vieux Carre. It is utterly unlike the other river towns we've seen, almost European, and some of the houses in the American section are grand as well. Nonetheless, I do not like it here."

Marsh frowned. "Why's that?"

"I have a bad feeling, Abner. This city -- the heat, the bright colors, the smells, the slaves -- it is very alive, this New Orleans, but inside I think it is rotten with sickness. Everything is so rich and beautiful here, the cuisine, the manners, the architecture, but beneath that ..." He shook his head. "You see all those lovely courtyards, each boasting an exquisite well. And then you see the teamsters selling river water from barrels, and you realize that the well water is unfit to drink. You savor the rich sauces and spices of the food, and then you learn that the spices are intended to disguise the fact that the meat is going bad. You wander through the St. Louis and cast your eyes upon all that marble and that delightful dome with the light pouring through it down onto the rotunda, and then you learn it is a famous slave mart where humans are sold like cattle. Even the graveyards are places of beauty here. No simple tombstones or wooden crosses, but great marble mausoleums, each prouder than the last, with statuary atop them and fine poetic sentiments inscribed in stone. But inside every one is a rotting corpse, full of maggots and worms. They must be imprisoned in stone beacause the ground is no good even for burying, and graves fill up with water. And pestilence hangs over this beautiful city like a pall.

"No, Abner," Joshua said with an odd, distant look in his gray eyes, "I love beauty, but sometimes a thing lovely to behold conceals vileness and evil within." pp. 114-115


This is another book not on my challenge list, but will count as one of my reads for the R.I.P. V Challenge.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville is an urban fantasy written for young adults. This is not to say that there isn't any fun to be had for the older set though! In fact, there are some clever bits that might go right over the heads of the younger crowd; rather like some of the old Looney Toon cartoons ... enjoyed by the kiddies, but the jokes were more fully appreciated by those a bit older.

I've already tried, and failed, to write a synopsis for this wonderfully bizarre book so I thought I'd include the quite well done blurb from the back cover of the book:

"What is Un Lun Dun? It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

"When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong."
- blurb from book cover

Mieville turns upside down the rather cliche storyline of prophecies and heroic quests. Just about the time I was saying to myself, "Not another book with a several hundred page quest," the author caught me out and turned all of my expectations on their metaphoric heads. And that bit in the above blurb making a wee comparison to Alice in Wonderland? It is true. The story is that strange. In fact, don't the following illustrations by Mieville himself make you think of Wonderland?

One version of a bus in Un Lun Dun.
Meet Mr. Speaker.

Mieville has a grand time playing with words throughout the book and even includes a fantastic little "treatise" on the meaning of words. You will find that in the chapter with Mr. Speaker, of course.

If you like urban fantasy with a fun twist, you should thoroughly enjoy Un Lun Dun!

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

Shanra, at Libri Touches, is having a Tam Lin reading event during the month of October (1st through 31st). She would be thrilled if others would like to join her in reading novels based on the Tam Lin ballad. I had to go ahead and read Fire and Hemlock because of a library due date, so I'm a little outside of her date range. But I did wait to post my review until October 1st! I will also be reading Tam Lin by Pamela Dean this month.

Fire and Hemlock is based on two Scottish ballads, Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer. It is a coming of age story and a tale of reclaimed childhood memories that had been, mysteriously, lost.

Polly is cleaning her childhood bedroom and packing for college when she suddenly begins to remember things that she had forgotten ... mainly memories of Tom Lynn, a mysterious man she had befriended in her childhood. She thinks it quite odd that she would have forgotten someone who had made such a strong impression upon her at one time. It is even more odd that she has, apparently, two sets of memories -- one rather ordinary and the other quite strange.

Flashback: Ten year old Polly lives with her Gran because of a complicated relationship with her parents. One day she wanders into a rather strange funeral at the large mysterious house down the lane. Here she meets Tom, an adult willing to indulge Polly's make believe escapades. Together they create story lines. The strange bit is that the stories come, more or less, true!

The majority of the book is Polly's story as she grows through adolescence into her late teens. Included are all of the attendant relational struggles and trials of growing up including that of finding out who her true friends are. Tom comes and goes from her life as he travels with his musical quartet, but he keeps in touch by sending Polly books. She reads them all. At one point, she expends a fair amount of time and energy writing a story that tells of the escapades of the fictional versions of herself and Tom. She sends this "tome" to Tom and receives a message back from him: "Sentimental drivel." Oh, how painful. You can imagine the cliches written by a fourteen year old girl with a romantic imagination, but to bravely put that writing out there only to be harshly criticized by someone you admire is ... well ... devastating.

Back to the present: The last part of the book is the merging of the two timelines as memories sort themselves out. This is where the book becomes much more fantastical. Previously, there were indications of the fantastic -- sorcery, intrigue, magic and mystery. Now there is no doubt that all is not what it seems to be. Enter the Queen of Faerie and an explanation of the mystery of lost memories. To tell you more would be a spoiler.

The author held me enthralled. I loved the coming of age struggle and I loved the mysterious and fantastical elements. At it's core Fire and Hemlock is also a sweet love story that doesn't truly present itself as viable until the very end. I did read the ending several times because I felt a bit muddled, but I have a feeling that if I were fourteen I would have understood as only the young can understand sometimes.

Comparisons

As I mentioned above, I had to return the book to the library so I no longer have it in my possession in order to make accurate comparisons to the Tam Lin ballad (which I read online after returning the book). So I will just note the few comparisons I can remember:

• Hallowe'en is the night of sacrifice in both the book and ballad versions.
• Both Janet (ballad) and Polly (book) set the story in motion by entering faerie territory.
• Seven years is the length of time that Tam Lin is held captive by the Faerie Queen in the ballad. Seven years might be the length of time between Polly's first meeting with Tom and the end event that releases Tom from captivity to the Queen of Faerie in the book. I'm not sure on this point, but it would be intriguing if true.
• Both Janet (ballad) and Polly (book) must win Tam Lin/Tom Lynn from the Faerie Queen.

The Gates by John Connolly

Eleven year old "Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road."
-- Blurb from book cover

The Gates by John Connolly had me laughing and reading bits and pieces out loud to my husband for the entire book. Yes ... there are demons, witchcraft dabblers, The Great Malevolence, mayhem, and the possible end-of-the-world. I know these are not typically characters and topics that one would think of as funny, but in Connolly's hands they are screamingly so. It helps that there is a narrator who pops in, mainly in the footnotes ... Let me stop here for a moment and discuss the footnotes bit. I find footnotes to be quite distracting and usually do not appreciate them in my fiction. Heck, I can hardly stand them when I'm reading scholarly material, but I understand the necessity in that venue. But the footnotes Connolly writes into The Gates add to the hilarity. I couldn't help hearing the musical jingle from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fade in and out as I read the footnotes. I also couldn't help hearing the narrator's voice from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy when I read the footnotes. I can probably attribute this to the fact that in both Hitchhikers Guide and The Gates the narrator is trying to explain the outrageous that really can't be explained. So, what I'm trying to say is that I didn't find the footnotes to be a distraction at all and thought they made the book even funnier. Anyway, moving on from the footnotes ...

Young Samuel Johnson is a little boy that you can't help but love. He is rather nerdy, wears thick glasses and tries really hard to please people. For instance, he thinks he is showing initiative (and don't adults love it when kids show initiative?) by getting a head start on the Halloween night crowds and going door-to-door three days early. Instead he simply baffles the adults who misinterpret his actions as obnoxious or, at the very least, see him as a bit daft. So when Samuel witnesses the beginnings of an invasion of earth by a horde of demons he has a difficult time convincing the adults that he is not just a little boy with an overactive imagination. YES! Impending doom! The end-of-the-world is coming! Caused by the intersection of the supernatural and science (this is where the Hadron Collider comes in; really, you just have to read it)!

Can little Samuel Johnson and his dog, Boswell, save the world?

I highly recommend The Gates for some laughs to go along with the R.I.P. Challenge chills!

This is another book not on my challenge list, but will count as one of my reads for the R.I.P. V Challenge.

BOOK REVIEW: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Children's High Level Group
Year: 2007
Purpose for reading: Once Upon a Time Challenge III

First line: The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of stories written for young wizards and witches.

My sister gave me this book at Christmas (thanks A.!) since she knew I had so much fun reading the Harry Potter series. It was a nice fit for Carl V.'s Once Upon a Time Challenge III that just ended.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a piece of fantasy that purports to be "a collection of stories written for young wizards and witches." It was, of course, translated by the fictional Hermione Granger with extensive footnotes by the equally fictional Professor Dumbledore. The very non-fictional J.K. Rowling has clarified Dumbledore's notes, when needed, for us muggle readers.

The tales seemed very similar to the old slavic folk tales I remember from my own childhood (e.g. Baba Yaga, etc.). I loved the tales of Beedle the Bard, but was more intrigued by the continuation of the Harry Potter world that this book provides.

Don't you just love the titles of these tales?

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair Fortune
The Warlock's Hairy Heart
Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump
The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Fountain of Fair Fortune was, hands down, my favorite tale. The Warlock's Hairy Heart was the most disturbing and made me shudder. And I can't stop saying "babbity rabbity," so Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump gets my vote for best title.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard was a charming way to keep the Harry Potter magic alive.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

BOOK REVIEW: The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar

First line: "Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet."

With a first line like that, a recommend from Nymeth, and an introduction by Neil Gaiman ... well ... I just had to read this book!

The Good Fairies of New York is an urban fantasy of a different sort. It is a comedic look at the gritty urban landscape. The typical urban overload is present, but is overlaid by a hilarious fairy romp and an unlikely human romance.

Heather and Morag, two Scottish thistle fairies, have been run out of Scotland for desecrating clan icons. They are hard drinking, argumentative, vain and jealous and can always take a good situation and turn it bad. They also want to start a punk rock band. Not your typical Disney fairies.

"Dinnie stared glumly at the wall. If he had believed in fairies, he wouldn't have expected them to spend all their time bitching about each others' hairstyles."

These two contentious fairies bring an unlikely couple of humans together. Dinnie is an overweight and rude man who is "the worst violinist in New York." Kerry is a sweet natured, poor artist with blue hair and Crohn's disease. While Dinnie is aimless, Kerry has two goals: to win a community art contest with her ancient Celtic flower alphabet, and learn to play the entire repertoire of the New York Dolls on her guitar. Heather and Morag leave mayhem in their wake as they try to join these two humans, including a massive ethnic war between the Italian, Chinese, and Ghanian fairies.

Meanwhile, a crazed homeless woman stalks the streets of NYC thinking she is the ancient Greek general Xenophon, the ghost of New York Dolls' Johnny Thunders searches the city for his stolen Gibson guitar, and rehearsals take place for an avant-garde version of "A Midsummer Nights Dream."

Those who are from or have ever lived in a big city will recognize the insanity presented by Millar in this tongue-in-cheek look at life amidst the urban chaos. Morag sums it up well when she notes:

"Being human did seem to involve some very unpleasant things."

Rating: 4 out of 5

*********************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

BOOK REVIEW: Nighthorse Series by C. J. Cherryh

C.J. Cherryh is well known for her ability to develop wonderful ecosystems for the worlds she creates. Even though her worlds are fantastical, they always speak to what is most human. In Rider at the Gate and its sequel Cloud's Rider, Cherryh does not disappoint. We get a mostly recognizable landscape inhabited by previously starfaring humans and the native telepathic fauna. Among the native fauna of this unnamed planet is the fierce and intelligent nighthorse. Nighthorses are curious and addicted to the thoughts and emotions of the human mind and often choose a particular human to be a "rider."The symbiotic relationship that develops between nighthorse and rider is a strong connection meant to be mutually beneficial but sometimes results in a pairing of devastating proportions. Within this alien system Cherryh builds a beautiful coming of age story that captures the often painful and baffling aspects that accompany the human journey to adulthood -- desparate feelings of longing, loneliness and a desire to be independent yet "fit in."

Cherryh is known to take quite a bit of time developing her story and I suggest patience when starting this set. I didn't feel completely drawn into the story until about page 150 of the first book, but after that point couldn't put the books down.

Rating: 4 out of 5

****************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for either of these books, please let me know by posting the permanent URL(s) for your review(s) in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review(s) with my post.

BOOK REVIEW: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is a wonderful coming of age story ... with a bit of a twist. This is the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens as he grows from a toddler to a young man. He has a family and the usual ups and downs of childhood as he struggles to grow up. Bod is like any other child, in many ways, except his mom and dad are ghosts, his guardian is undead, and he lives in a graveyard that he may not leave without placing himself in mortal danger.

Silas, Bod's guardian, is a rather endearing figure considering his nature as a creature of the night. He is protective of Bod and, unknown to us throughout most of the story, he strives to right the great wrong that took Bod's natural family from him and placed him in the arms of the graveyard. Silas is every child's dream of that adult who, unlike parents, understands you and will be truthful in explaining the mysteries of the grown-up world.

Most of those who live in the graveyard are protective of Bod, but there are those who would cause him harm. The indigo man, the sleer, and the ghouls are sufficiently creepy, but creepiest of all is Jack the assassin. Jack is a shadowy figure who seems to ooze evil. He reminded me a bit of the child catcher in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang**. Remember him? He could sniff out children with his long ugly nose in order to capture and cage them. Similarly, Jack can find Bod by following his scent. Shiver.

Several of the chapters in The Graveyard Book could stand on their own as short stories and perhaps, unknown to me, they have been published as such. My favorite chapter is the enchanting "Danse Macabre." It sparkles with some of the Gaiman magic found in Stardust and is a bit of a treatise on the idea that there is more to this life than what we see and that "being" is more than the corporeal.

The ending was bittersweet, as are most coming of age stories. There was a palpable sadness and excitement as Bod left the safety of his graveyard home and family in order to venture into a largely unknown and living world. Bod captures this well when he says:

"I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands. I want to leave a footprint on the sand of a desert island. I want to play football with people. I want,” he said, and then he paused and he thought. “I want everything."

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - Weightier and with more depth than Coraline.

Question: Did anyone else find The Graveyard Book to be a bit Ray Bradbury-ish?

**Trivia: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a children's book written by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame.

*******************************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

Also reviewed at:
nymeth at Things Mean a Lot
Fatalis Fortuna at The Fickle Hand of Fate
Natasha at Maw Books
tanabata at In Spring it is the Dawn

BOOK REVIEW: Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle

First line: "When I was really young, if there was one thing I wanted in the world, it was to be invisible."

Jenny is a typical moody teenage girl who likes the fast pace of her New York City life. Jenny is underwhelmed when her mother accepts a marriage proposal from Evan, but the drama begins when her mother breaks the news that they will be moving to the English countryside to live with Evan and his two sons. To make things even worse, Mister Cat will be required to spend six months in quarantine when they arrive in England. These are, indeed, the things of teen angst.

Moving to the English countryside and living in a rundown manor with a new stepfather and stepbrothers is a challenge, but Jenny finds herself adjusting to this new life and even enjoying it at times. The manor is full of mystery for an inquisitive young girl and Jenny spends hours exploring the house and grounds. Her explorations are fun and harmless until the boggarts come out and Mr. Cat brings home a feline friend that is less than tangible.

England is an ancient land full of history and folklore and, apparently, supernatural beings. It is only a matter of time before Jenny meets Tamsin, a ghost who has haunted the manor for hundreds of years. It is in the discovery of Tamsin's past that the reader is exposed to such Dorset history and historical figures as the Bloody Assizes and Judge George Jeffreys. Jenny is fearless in the face of the supernatural and makes it her quest to solve the dark mystery behind Tamsin's inability to find peace.

Tamsin is an unusual blend of coming of age, fantasy, English history and ghost story. Beagle effortlessly and believably joins these elements into a charming whole that is sometimes moving and sometimes startling.

I'll leave you with my favorite passage. A passage that will be quite moving to anyone who has ever encountered the loss of a loved one ...

Now, nothing - a kind of nothing I never knew existed, because you have to have lost something incredibly precious for that, and you have to have not quite known how precious it was.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This completes Peril the Third for the R.I.P. III Challenge.


******************************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

Also reviewed at:
Things Mean a Lot (nymeth)
Geranium Cat

BOOK REVIEW: Rusalka by C.J. Cherryh

Rusalka is a fantasy set in pre-Christian Russia. Cherryh creates plenty of atmosphere as her characters Pyetr and Sasha flee trouble in Vojvoda during the darkness of winter and find themselves at the mercy of a powerful wizard in a dead forest. Pyetr, who was mortally wounded as he fled, has ironically been healed and returned to life by a magic he denies exists ... a skeptic. Sasha believes in magic and lives at its mercy until he discovers that he is a wizard and must learn how to direct the powerful forces that flow through him.

Despite their differences, Pyetr and Sasha are devoted to each other. Street-wise Pyetr is determined to protect the younger and naive Sasha from those who would take advantage of his innocence, and Sasha refuses to leave Pyetr alone and unprotected from the powerful magic that he vehemently denies. Pyetr relies on his wits to shield him from misfortune. Sasha is determined to avoid trouble by learning to carefully control his powerful thoughts. Together they learn that neither wits nor careful manipulation will protect them from the uncertainties of life and that there is nothing more powerful than a good and loyal friend.

Pyetr and Sasha will need to rely on each other if they are to survive the ordeal that awaits them. They encounter various magical spirits that inhabit this dark forest while constrained by the will of Uulamets, the wizard. These spirits are quite fickle and most times very dangerous. Along with these not-so-benevolent spirits, the forest is haunted by the ghost of a young murdered woman. She is a rusalka and she is the daughter of Uulamets. The rusalka doesn't want to be dead and so must drain the life from anything or anyone in order to maintain existence until her father can bring her back to life.

Cherryh uses Slavic folklore, with its heavy emphasis on magical power, to tell the story of a different kind of power ... the power of friendship. This is the strength of Rusalka. Cherryh's ability to create an atmospheric novel is one of her strong points as a writer. She can also generate an intensity that leaves you gasping and dreaming strange dreams at night. That said, I was disappointed with this novel. The struggle of wills revealed through the dialogue between characters was meant to build and create that intensity I just mentioned, but instead I found the conversations repetitive and tedious. I couldn't wait for the characters to stop their constant bickering and for Cherryh to just get on with some action instead. I generally like Cherryh's books a lot, so I'm a bit baffled by my ambivalence toward this novel. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood for this one, so I'm glad that this was not my first experience with Cherryh.

Rating:
4 out of 5 for story and atmosphere
2 out of 5 for the dialogue
3 out of 5 overall

********************************

Note to reviewers: If you've written a review of this book, please leave the permanent URL to your review in the comments and I will include a link to it in my post.

Also reviewed at:
Things Mean a Lot (nymeth): Rusalka, Chernevog

BOOK REVIEW: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Copyright: 2002
Intended audience: Young adult

First line: "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house."

I decided to continue reading some young adult literature and thought Coraline by Neil Gaiman would be a good choice for the month of October. Coraline definitely has the requisite creepy factor that is a good choice for the weeks leading up to Halloween.

The beginning of the book is reminiscent of the magical wardrobe featured in the Narnia novels by C.S. Lewis. (This should come as no surprise since Gaiman has admitted that the Narnia books were some of his favorites.) Just as Lewis's children are bored and trying to entertain themselves, so is Coraline trying to amuse herself by exploring the new house and grounds to which her family has recently moved. The discovery of magical doorways to alternate universes are the exploratory results of bored children in both stories.

Coraline is curious about a locked door in the sitting room and asks her mother what is behind the door. Her mother unlocks the door using a big, black iron key. Behind the door is a red brick wall. The house was once a large single family residence but has, over time, been broken into a series of flats. Naturally, the opening between two rooms that now belong to separate flats had to be bricked up. Once Coraline's curiosity has been sated, Mother shuts and locks the door and Coraline goes about her explorations.

Later that night Coraline hears a noise and sees a dark shadow. She creeps out of bed and discovers the door in the sitting room is open a few inches. She goes to the door to take a look and discovers that the brick wall has disappeared and a dark corridor has taken its place. Of course, being a curious child, Coraline walks down the hallway only to discover another flat that looks just like hers. Not only is the flat the same, but this is where the "other mother" and "other father" live. The other mother and other father encourage Coraline to stay with them and promise to be more attentive than her real Mother and Father. She can eat all of her favorite foods and play with new and interesting toys. Sound good? Well, maybe ... if it weren't for the disturbingly skewed features of the "other flat" and the fact that other mother and other father have big black buttons sewn onto their faces where their eyes should be! Coraline runs back down the corridor to her own flat and quickly shuts and locks the mysterious door.

Next day Coraline discovers that her Mother and Father have disappeared. After two days, Coraline has determined that the other mother has captured her real parents and she must rescue them. What ensues is a chilling game of "find the missing parents" and "liberate the souls of those previously trapped by other mother." The other flat and other parents gradually begin to warp and look less and less like the real world and more and more like a nightmare. Does Coraline rescue her parents? Does she liberate the trapped souls? Does she escape the clutches of other mother? Well ... I wouldn't want to give away the ending.

Coraline is a modern fairy tale that includes traditional fairy tale trappings similar to those of the Brothers Grimm. The point of the tale though is not mere entertainment and chills; there are lessons to be learned such as the nature of bravery, contentment with what you have, and the importance of family. I can highly recommend this book for older children and adults. It might be a bit too scary for young children.

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because
they tell us that dragons exist, but because
they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
-- G.K. Chesterton

BOOK REVIEW: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I thought I might delve into the world of young adult (YA) fiction after seeing some of the things my 12 year old granddaughter has been reading. Oh my ... but that is a separate post entirely. I was searching out some books I could send that would hold her interest and be age appropriate without insulting her more adult reading level. I found what I was looking for in a series of books by Shannon Hale that deserve to be taken seriously by adults as well as the younger set.

My reading began with The Goose Girl which is a retelling of a Grimms' fairy tale by the same title. Hale's version is still very much a fairy tale, but is wonderfully fleshed out in characters, place and politics. The original Grimms' fairy tales were short on character development and detail, instead placing the focus on conveying a lesson to be learned.

This modern telling of The Goose Girl takes place in an unknown land and time that closely resembles medieval Germany ... or at least what one would imagine as medieval Germany ... and is wonderfully resplendent in castles, medieval towns and forests. Hale's use of this place and time nicely parallels that of the original German fairy tale while adding detail to capture the imagination. I'm particularly fond of a description of the town of Bayern, looking from afar, just like a birthday cake ... the tiers of the town rise up and up until reaching the castle at the top with orange banners flying round the sides just like flaming candles.

The story begins with the birth of the Crown Princess of Kildenree who is born with the gift of "animal speak." Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isillee, or Ani for short, is more comfortable in the natural elements and with animals than she is with court society and people. This is a distinct disappointment to her mother, the Queen, who must raise Ani to be the next ruler of Kildenree. Unbeknownst to Ani, the Queen arranges a marriage that will wed the crown princess into another kingdom thereby allowing the Queen to appoint Ani's brother as the next ruler of Kildenree.

A brokenhearted, yet obedient, Anidori sets off shortly after her sixteenth birthday to marry the Crown Prince of Bayern. She is sent on this months long journey with a retinue of palace guards and Selia, her lady-in-waiting. Like any good fairy tale, Ms. Hale's story involves both good and evil characters. It becomes clear shortly after the journey begins that Selia is a jealous and evil lady-in-waiting who has put in place a plan to betray her mistress and present herself to the Crown Prince of Bayern as Princess Anidori, his intended bride and future queen of that kingdom.

Ani, who has never seemed a particularly strong person, shows an amazing strength and resilience after this betrayal by her most trusted friend. She takes refuge as a goose girl, tending the King's geese, as she awaits an opportunity to rightfully reclaim her place and denounce the murderous Selia as a faux princess.

Ms. Hale skillfully incorporates other fairy tale characteristics into her own story including magical elements (the ability to converse with animals and control natural forces), misleading appearances (I don't want to give this one away!), conquest of good over evil (did I just give away the ending?) and transformations. The transformation of Ani from a shy young girl into a confident young woman ready to become ruler of a kingdom is one of the primary triumphs of this telling of the story and distinguishes this modern version from the Grimms' tale. The tale itself is delightfully transformed into a satisfying coming of age story.

I encourage those who hesitate to read this book because of its YA status to pick this one up and enjoy the telling of a good and gratifying tale. It really is a book for young and "old" alike.

Also reviewed at:
The Written Word
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Everyday Reading