⋙ Download Gratis The Sleeping Beauty A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Mercedes Lackey 9780373803156 Books

The Sleeping Beauty A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Mercedes Lackey 9780373803156 Books

Download As PDF : The Sleeping Beauty A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Mercedes Lackey 9780373803156 Books

The Sleeping Beauty A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Mercedes Lackey 9780373803156 Books

I truly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I haven't read a Mercedes Lackey book since I was 15, and I am usually more of an epic fantasy reader and prefer them dark and gritty like George R. R. Martin or grand in scale like Tolkien rather than archly funny like Terry Pratchett. However, as an Amazon Vine Reviewer, I want to encourage them to offer me more fantasy novels for review so I chose this book.

Boy was I surprised - I LOVED it. Now, here's my typical critique of funny fantasy novels like this one. They spend so much time making fun of traditional fantasy that you never get into the story, because it's always reminding you of other books or fantasy tropes. I really thought this would be the same, but no - it was funny AND gripping. Before long, not only was I totally ensconced in this fairy tale world driven by The Tradition, I was soon dreaming of Traditional solutions to my own life! Yes, that's right - I was thinking that, perhaps, I needed a bottomless cup of coffee among other things. In the end, it was really fun for me because I love folklore and fairy tales and was familiar with most of the references, and liked the way this book mixed them together.

The heroine of this novel is spunky and strong. Yes, she requires saving by her godmother and princes- but she also saves herself and uses her smarts. This book is a great role model for young girls and I would recommend it as a read-aloud book for bedtime, except for there are a few adult references (only a few) that a child wouldn't understand. It never gets explicit but there are a few jokes here and there, for example, when the hero attracts a unicorn. I also loved that the Godmother was a person in and of herself - not just a plot vehicle - she had her own motivations and desires.

This book will appeal to romance-lovers as well, as it follows that classic plotline of two men (in this case, many men!) competing for one woman's affections, the rogue-ish one, the dastardly one, and the big goofy good one.

The highest praise I can give? That I am now looking for the other books in this series - to BUY.


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The Sleeping Beauty A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Mercedes Lackey 9780373803156 Books Reviews

As The Tradition forces Godmother Lily's gold-rich kingdom towards catastrophe, she desperately tries to protect Princess Rosamund and her people by setting up trials to win the Princess' hand.

Plot/Storyline 4.75 stars
When she doesn't get distracted into preaching mode, there are few who can match Lackey for sheer storytelling, as she demonstrates again in this book combining elements from several different fairy tales. From the fast start, the reader is never given a chance to draw breath as the plot-driven tale rocks from one danger to the next. There is the usual slight disjointedness as Lackey tends to write several sequential stories rather than a single unified storyline, but each story is enjoyable on its own, and Lily's desperate attempts to come up with suitable trials are sheer genius. There are a few minor plot holes. It didn't make sense that an evil sorcerer is able to hide from experienced godmother Lily but sets inept spells to control Rosa. I'm not convinced that the final great plan to protect Eltaria would be less expensive than war, although it was certainly creative! The ending was a little disappointing, but believable and consistent with the existing canon. However, these quibbles don't change the fact that the story gripped me almost immediately and never let go. There are very few series that I will buy immediately, even by authors I generally like; the turning-classics-sideways Five Hundred Kingdoms is one of them, and this is a worthy addition to an enjoyable and satisfying collection. About the only people I can think of who wouldn't enjoy this book would be those who don't like fantasy of any kind.

Characters 5 stars
The main characters are well-drawn, and their pure goodness (as well as the pure evil of the bad guys) is believable because it is required by The Tradition. But even within those limitations, Lackey was able to make them more interesting. Rosa is eager to learn self-defense. Siegfried's thews of iron cover an actual brain, and his aid to animals is classic Hero behavior as well as foreshadowing. Godmother Lily combines Fae cleverness and human determination with a natural despair at being able to manipulate The Tradition to adequately protect her kingdom. The secondary characters include a lisping unicorn, whose dopey behavior around virgins again lends a delightful comic note, as well as obnoxious dwarves and a smart-mouthed mirror servant. Lackey also managed a character who had both good and bad qualities, and who the reader couldn't anticipate would be a help or hindrance in any particular situation. As usual, some characters did not behave as a fairy tale reader would expect!

Writing style 5 stars
Dialogue moves along well and displays distinct voices for the characters. Descriptions are appropriate and left me feeling I could see the dwarves' hovel or find my way around the castle.
It starts out by turning a classic fairy tale situation (widowed King about to be targeted by Evil Stepmother-to-be) and turns it upside down. Then it does the same upsy-daisy routine with Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the Ring of the Nibelungs. (The penultimate scene is an especial hoot for anyone even passingly familiar with Wagner's operas! Yes *of course* 'Hilda would have a stentorian voice, and too bad we don't see more of her!)

It's also a very good thing that the Forest Bird who attaches herself to Siegfried is not the bird-brain that she is in Wagner's opera - she actually gives good advice, and he has the common sense to take it.

Leopold is a delight, and some of his ancestor's booted, talking cat's tomcattish ways seem to have rubbed off on him.

And then there's Rosa (never mind the cover, she's a blonde), who manages to get herself out of everything The Tradition tries to force her into, sometimes with outside assistance.

And the mastermind behind almost all of it is a for-real Fairy Godmother - who gets a surprise romance of her own (no, *not* the King - that's just a marriage of convenience,and The Tradition terminates it with extreme prejudice).

Delicious, and it holds up even after multiple re-readings (which can't be said for *every* Lackey book).
I truly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I haven't read a Mercedes Lackey book since I was 15, and I am usually more of an epic fantasy reader and prefer them dark and gritty like George R. R. Martin or grand in scale like Tolkien rather than archly funny like Terry Pratchett. However, as an Vine Reviewer, I want to encourage them to offer me more fantasy novels for review so I chose this book.

Boy was I surprised - I LOVED it. Now, here's my typical critique of funny fantasy novels like this one. They spend so much time making fun of traditional fantasy that you never get into the story, because it's always reminding you of other books or fantasy tropes. I really thought this would be the same, but no - it was funny AND gripping. Before long, not only was I totally ensconced in this fairy tale world driven by The Tradition, I was soon dreaming of Traditional solutions to my own life! Yes, that's right - I was thinking that, perhaps, I needed a bottomless cup of coffee among other things. In the end, it was really fun for me because I love folklore and fairy tales and was familiar with most of the references, and liked the way this book mixed them together.

The heroine of this novel is spunky and strong. Yes, she requires saving by her godmother and princes- but she also saves herself and uses her smarts. This book is a great role model for young girls and I would recommend it as a read-aloud book for bedtime, except for there are a few adult references (only a few) that a child wouldn't understand. It never gets explicit but there are a few jokes here and there, for example, when the hero attracts a unicorn. I also loved that the Godmother was a person in and of herself - not just a plot vehicle - she had her own motivations and desires.

This book will appeal to romance-lovers as well, as it follows that classic plotline of two men (in this case, many men!) competing for one woman's affections, the rogue-ish one, the dastardly one, and the big goofy good one.

The highest praise I can give? That I am now looking for the other books in this series - to BUY.