A quiet hero anchors this nicely crafted blend of fairy tale and dreamscape. Prince Sigismund lives in the West Castle; the King placed him there for safety before riding off to quell rebellions. Bordering the castle is a thick wood that a 100-year-old interdiction prohibits entering. One day a strange woman approaches the castle gate and offers Sigismund a gleaming ring. His head buzzes, he falls down in a fever and dreams plague him. The ring-bearing Margravine had placed a death spell on a princess in the wood; the Faie who tweaked the spell’s result into a 100-year sleep hides in Sigismund’s lilac garden. An enigmatic, amber-eyed man named Balisan trains Sigismund for years in meditation, swordsmanship and walking consciously in dreams. A scrubby girl bound in thorns repeatedly helps Sigismund escape the Margravine as he finds his path among faie, human and dream realms to the princess he must awaken. A narrative that begins as an exploration of fairy-tale archetypes thus moves into a very human and nevertheless magical drama. Thoughtful and understated. (Fantasy. 9-12)