A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.
As a long-time fan of Neil Gaiman, I am always excited when I get to read something of his that I haven't read before, and thankfully, this one didn't disappoint. He's a master at weaving words into a magical story, and, for the thirty-five minutes that it took for me to read this, I was transported into the world of this slightly dark fairy tale retelling.
I loved, loved, loved it. It twists a couple of well-known fairy tales into a unique story, and my only disappointment is that it wasn't longer! I would love to see a novel-length sequel about what happens after this story. Alas, I fear that will never come to be, but at least I'll still have this story.
As I mentioned before, this was a very quick read, which I was expecting, so I wasn't surprised by it. It was actually a nice change from longer novels. I was able to sit down with it and know that I'd actually finish it in one sitting, which hasn't happened in a while. Since it's so short, the story moves fast, but is still well-paced. Though we don't get a lot of character development, I grew quite an attachment to the Queen and the three dwarves.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the incredible illustrations by Chris Riddell. They're beautiful and helped to seamlessly immerse me in this world.
This would be perfect for a bedtime story for yourself, or perhaps for children who don't mind a darker fairy tale.
