Stardust; Neil Gaiman

I finished this a while ago, but due to scheduling issues I've not had time to type up my thoughts. I enjoyed it very much. It was quite a change from the tone and substance of others of Mr. Gaiman's work. I am surprised and delighted. The copy I have is the movie tie in edition. Stardust was originally published in 1999, the edition I have is published by HarperCollins and copyrighted 2007.

Somewhere in the UK is a little town called Wall which physically marks the boundary between Faerie and humankind. Mr. Gaiman remarks in his book that every land that disappears from human's maps reappears in Faerie thus making that world ever growing and unknown in size. That really captured my imagination- the thought that no people, no country has been wiped off the face of history. Somewhere those people, that place, is alive and well and thriving well apart from human predation.

Anyway, once every nine years in Wall there is a fair in the meadow where Faeries and humans meet and trade. One year a young man and an enchanted Faery enjoy one night of blissful happiness resulting in a basket on the newly married (after the fair) man's doorstep. Thus Tristran Thorne is a halfling raised as an human. Tristran has an uneventful childhood and youth, although he falls in love with the wealthiest young lady in Wall. One evening they are together when they see a falling star and Tristran promises the young lady he'll bring her the star to win her undying love. Sounds very cliched I know, but trust me when I tell you the treatment is unique and worth reading.

So Tristram sets off beyond the wall into Faery, looking for the fallen star. He has a series of adventures, gets involved in nefarious political plots, discovers the truth of his parentage and gets turned into a mouse. As I read this the legend of, link follows: Tristran and Isolde constantly ran through my head, although I am pleased to report this book has a happier ending than the legend.

Fortune's Fool; Mercedes Lackey

This author seems to walk the line between fantasy and romance without falling into either category. Fortune's Fool is the third 500 Kingdoms novel I've read, only one of which really seemed romantic (the first one), if that makes any sense. Now that I know what to expect from her, I'm ok with the hybrid style. I'd never read Ms.Lackey's work before the first 500 Kingdoms title, I was disappointed in the second and now that I'm done with the third I feel like I'm on an even keel as far as Ms. Lackey's style and take on the Luna books.

Ekaterina is the seventh daughter of the Sea King's 14 children. As some of you may know, seventh children often have a special fate. Katya is precocious and observant and easily transitions from sea to land. Seeing this, her father makes her his spy. While in Nippon (equivalent to feudal Japan) on a mission, Katya receives a magic origami bird from a Japanese spirit as a gift for her help. Later, on another mission for her father, the bird will be a major player in Katya's efforts.

The hero is Sasha ______, can't remember his surname, but he's the seventh son of the King of Led Belarus. Not only that, Sasha is a Songweaver. Among other duties he roams his father's kingdom singing carefully crafted yet easily remembered singable songs praising the kingdom's positive qualities & traits & other songs that chase off any would be magical predators. These songs help shape the paths the Tradition will take in Led Belarus, thus ensuring the continuing Led Belarus' prosperity. Sasha is definitely what the romance community would call a beta hero- quiet & unassuming & intelligent, but more than capable of catching & holding what he wants.

Sasha & Katya meet at the seaside in a remote part of his father's kingdom. Each is alone & feels isolated for different reasons, but they strike up a friendship & eventually become lovers. The Tradition, around which each person in the 500 Kingdoms must work, has a couple of set storylines Sasha & Katya will be pushed to follow unless they can work out a way around it (the Tradition seems to be composed of known fairytale types; certain storylines have one or two or several possible endings depending on the characters involved). Will Sasha & Katya manage to thwart what the Tradition has in store for them? What happens when a new magical being, foreign to this area, moves in & takes over some other being's castle?

This is one of the few romances where the hero & heroine are both virgins. Not only that, the first time they have intercourse is true to actual experience. That is to say: fumbling, short, painful and unfulfilling for the female. Unlike most first time sex scenes in romances where the hero manages to get the heroine to be multi orgasmic from the start. A tiny bit of realism is always welcome, IMO. The visuals in the first few chapters reminded me very strongly of the Disney movie The Little Mermaid, but fortunately that washed away as I read along. Characters from previous 500 Kingdoms novels appreared: Sergei the ugly little horse and Gina and Adamant the pair of dragons. What else? Baba Yaga appears, as does the katschei from the Firebird Suite (among other places). There is a passing nod to Brian Jacques' series of books about forest animals.

Ms. Lackey's 500 Kingdom novels may not appeal to romance readers expecting a clear depiction of the developing relationship. I approached this book from a fantasy POV & found it highly satisfying. It is set up as a quest fantasy/adventure romance. Published this year by Luna.

Miscellaneous

Bumper stickers seen recently:

Republicans for Voldemort

Frodo lost, Bush has the ring

Honor the dead, Heal the Wounded, Stop the War


My local library has NO Tanya Huff and only half of the Assassin and Ship series for Robin Hobb. Sucks. The budget is being cut yet again & I'm betting requesting said titles won't accomplish much. And they only have the first season for Bertie & Jeeves on DVD. *pout*

Am sowly winding my way through Mercedes Lackey's new 500 Kingdoms book, Fortune's Fool. So far so good, but I'm not in much of a reading mood this week so it's been slow on my account.


Hope everyone has a good weekend & better weather!

Wildwood Dancing

Wildwood Dancing was written by Juliet Marillier and published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2007. Link to the publisher page for this book is in the title above. This is an amalgamation of Eastern European fairytales set in Romania during the nineteenth century. I know I've forgotten one or two tales Ms. Mariller refers to, but the ones I recognized while reading WD are: 12 Dancing Princesses, the Frog Prince and Baba Yaga. Like other works in Ms. Mariller's backlist, WD features strong young women on the cusp of adulthood. WD is a young adult fantasy.

Five sisters: Tatiana, Jenica, Paula, Iulia and Stela live in a derelict castle in the Romanian countryside with their widower father and a few elderly servants. Their father is seriously ill with what appears to be a lung infection and must spend the winter at the seaside. Leaving the girls alone at the castle with only their uncle and an older male cousin to turn to for help should they need it. As soon as father leaves odd and sinister events happen. The uncle is killed in an hunting accident (but was it really?), leaving the girls at the mercy of their cousin-a greedy, deliberately intimidating older teen who belittles and bullies his cousins. Their father is out of touch- deliberately perhaps?

Like the best traditional fairytales, before they were judged "too violent" and subsequently rewritten, Wildwood Dancing is full of menace and threats. Yet it also lovingly depicts a close and loving family who care for each other and those they are responsible for. Will Tati and Jena make peace over Sorrow? Will their cousin spoil it all? Who killed the dwarf and the young lady down in the village? Why doesn't their father reply to Jena's letters? Who fixed the fence? Will Jena and Gogu figure it all out before it's too late??