A rollicking, genuine fairy tale, told with great appreciation for the genre and a sly sense of humor.
A dragon seeks vengeance against King William, who slew his dragon-love, in the second installment of Heckel’s (A Fairy-tale Ending, 2015) outlandish fantasy series.
Volthraxus, the Dragon of the North, is devastated to learn his beloved Magdela, the victim of a fairy curse, is dead. The dragon-slayer was none other than William Pickett, a former peasant whose bravery ultimately led to his being crowned King of Royaume. As Volthraxus’ minion, Beo the wolf, acts as a scout, the dragon flies to Castle White to abduct Will’s fiancee, Lady Rapunzel, known as “Elle.” Will then enlists his friend Edward Charming as his squire in his quest to rescue her. Both men want to prove themselves: Edward, when he was prince, was prophesied to kill the dragon himself. Will’s older sister and Edward’s bride, Elizabeth, and Edward’s ex-squire, Tomas, follow, and all four must contend with wizard Dracomancer. The sorcerer may have the know-how to vanquish Volthraxus, but he also has an army of zealots and a plan to seize control of the kingdom. Will’s pitchfork, already bathed in dragon blood, is capable of piercing a dragon’s hide; sadly, he left it in the old Dragon Tower, where Volthraxus lies in wait with Elle. Heckel’s story is unmistakably satire, with generous allusions to tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood.” It’s laced with robust humor, including a blatant reference to the Duran Duran song “Hungry Like the Wolf”; the three bears of fairy-tale fame are both vicious and adorable here, believing irony (or “imony,” as they call it) to be something edible. Still, Heckel treats the genre with respect, building a solid foundation for the story. There’s heroism, romance, and a giant troll, in a self-aware narrative with a no-frills style: “If one happens to find oneself a king someday, it would be advisable not to model one’s rule after the kings of fairy tale.” Reading the previous book isn’t required, but references throughout (how did Will slay the first dragon?) should make readers want to.
A rollicking, genuine fairy tale, told with great appreciation for the genre and a sly sense of humor.Pub Date: May 17, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-235932-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An ambitious and bewitching gem of a book with mystery and passion inscribed on every page.
A withdrawn graduate student embarks on an epic quest to restore balance to the world in this long-anticipated follow-up to The Night Circus (2011).
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a typical millennial introvert; he likes video games, escapist reading, and drinking sidecars. But when he recognizes himself in the pages of a mysterious book from the university library, he's unnerved—and determined to uncover the truth. What begins as a journey for answers turns into something much bigger, and Zachary must decide whether to trust the handsome stranger he meets at a highflying literary fundraiser in New York or to retreat back to his thesis and forget the whole affair. In a high-wire feat of metatextual derring-do, Morgenstern weaves Zachary's adventure into a stunning array of linked fables, myths, and origin stories. There are pirates and weary travelers, painters who can see the future, lovers torn asunder, a menacing Owl King, and safe harbors for all the stories of the world, far below the Earth on the golden shores of a Starless Sea. Clocking in at more than 500 pages, the novel requires patience as Morgenstern puts all the pieces in place, but it is exquisitely pleasurable to watch the gears of this epic fantasy turn once they're set in motion. As in The Night Circus, Morgenstern is at her best when she imagines worlds and rooms and parties in vivid detail, right down to the ballroom stairs "festooned with lanterns and garlands of paper dipped in gold" or a cloak carved from ice with "ships and sailors and sea monsters...lost in the drifting snow." This novel is a love letter to readers as much as an invitation: Come and see how much magic is left in the world. Fans of Neil Gaiman and V.E. Schwab, Kelly Link and Susanna Clarke will want to heed the call.
An ambitious and bewitching gem of a book with mystery and passion inscribed on every page.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-385-54121-3
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Scientific fiction enclosed in a frame — wanderer meets a tattooed man whose images foretell the future, leaving a space to preview the destiny of the viewer. Here is an open circuit on ideas, which range from religion, to racial questions, to the atom bomb, rocket travel (of course), literature, escape to the past, dreams and hypnotism, children and their selfish and impersonal acceptance of immediate concepts, robots, etc. Note that here the emphasis is on fiction instead of science, and that the stories — in spite of space and futurities — have some validity, even if the derivations can be traced. Sample The Veldt, or This Man, or Fire Balloons, or The Last Night In the World for the really special qualities. A book which is not limited by its special field.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1950
ISBN: 0062079972
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1950
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