Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Sleeping Beauty- Mercedes Lackey

The Sleeping Beauty
Mercedes Lackey
Luna, Jul 1 2010, $24.95
ISBN: 9780373803156

Eltaria is an affluent kingdom that its neighbors covet favosr from. Especially of interest is the unmarried Princess Rosamund. Following the death of her mom the shepherdess turned monarch, all anticipate the magical Tradition should soon force her into some sort of fairy tale adventure with her own county’s aristocracy wanting to become her spouse and that of nearby nations hoping to work a pact through her marriage to one of their nobles.

Not long after her mom’s death, Princess Rosa flees from the royal huntsman charged with killing her. Seven dwarves rescue her, but she drinks a poisonous potion that puts her to sleep. Viking Prince Siegfried tries to kiss her awake as heroes do. However, Rosa’s fairy godmother (aside quote from my insightful nephew Jordan: “they don’t make fairy godmothers like they used to.”) throws out the Tradition book when she insists on a contest to win the still top catch in the area. Rosa agrees to the games between contenders to her hand, but insists on setting the rules of the events.

The fifth Five Hundred Kingdoms fairy tale romance is an amusing entertaining tale that obviously follows for the most part The Sleeping Beauty legend but also includes pieces from other fables as Mercedes Lackey spins the original into a refreshingly new Tradition. Fast-paced and very jocular, the plot lacks the passion of previous entries like The Snow Queen, but is still fun as the insider fairy tale puns and jokes mindful of Shrek (with a nod to Puss N Boots for instance) make for a lighthearted frolic; the Three Stooges being Siegfried, Leopold and Luna the unicorn with Rosa playing the straight woman.

Harriet Klausner

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