New spin on classics delights readers
Stefanie Maclin
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Jim Hines' The Stepsister Scheme & The Mermaid's Madness are not traditional fairy tales. For one, these princesses are not your typical damsels in distress, and secondly, these books do not end with the typical "happily ever after," but rather start after the "honeymoon" of the fairytale.
In The Stepsister Scheme, Cinderella, aka Danielle Whiteshore (nee de Glas), has married the Prince Armand, and expects everything to be sun and roses, especially after breaking away from her stepsisters and mother. But after Armand is kidnapped, she narrowly escapes an attempt on her life (by her stepsister, Charlotte). Danielle then learns a number of disturbing facts, one of which includes where Armand has been taken and that a Secret Service exists, headed by Queen Beatrice and including Talia (aka Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White, of course.)
What results is a journey through the Faerie Realm to rescue Armand. Danielle, Talia, and Snow all grow as characters, learning to not only trust each other, but also their own abilities. With several surprising twists related to each of the characters, and heavier influences from the darker undertones of the Grimm Brothers' tales, this book was delightful in all its imperfections.
In the second book, The Mermaid's Madness, Jim Hines shifts the focus from the Grimm Brothers to Hans Christian Anderson, specifically his version of The Little Mermaid. As in the first book, the story deals with what happens after the "happily ever after." Using elements from that story (the mermaid gave up the sea, her voice, and her family to be with the prince she loved so purely), here Hines twists a tale of betrayal, love, and madness, all with very surprising results.
In these stories, Snow White is an expert in flirtation and a sorceress (do not call her a witch), with an emphasis on mirror magic. Talia-with her fairy gifts and grace-is an assassin, whose weapon of choice is a whip (which, with its spindle-like end was the last thing she saw before she fell into the 100-years sleep). Danielle, the most sheltered of the three, still proves her loyalty and skills many times over, with the help of the last gift from her late mother: a sword. With comparisons to Charlie's Angels, these three are not your typical damsels in distress. Rather, they are human (plain and simple), and as you are rooting for them, you only wish that they will succeed in their quests and find their own happiness.
It was because of those darker undertones and twists that I loved these two books. I grew up reading fairy tales, and to this day I maintain a love affair with many. (That Jim Hines brought in two of my favorite stories only makes them that much better.) These books had at their heart a charm in the darkness and uncertainty.
These stories are a spin on the classics, indulgent and as fun to read as they are guilty pleasures.
Note: Book Three, Red Hood's Revenge will be published in spring 2010. The fourth, and final book, which will feature The Snow Queen, and is currently untitled, will be published sometime in 2011.
In The Stepsister Scheme, Cinderella, aka Danielle Whiteshore (nee de Glas), has married the Prince Armand, and expects everything to be sun and roses, especially after breaking away from her stepsisters and mother. But after Armand is kidnapped, she narrowly escapes an attempt on her life (by her stepsister, Charlotte). Danielle then learns a number of disturbing facts, one of which includes where Armand has been taken and that a Secret Service exists, headed by Queen Beatrice and including Talia (aka Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White, of course.)
What results is a journey through the Faerie Realm to rescue Armand. Danielle, Talia, and Snow all grow as characters, learning to not only trust each other, but also their own abilities. With several surprising twists related to each of the characters, and heavier influences from the darker undertones of the Grimm Brothers' tales, this book was delightful in all its imperfections.
In the second book, The Mermaid's Madness, Jim Hines shifts the focus from the Grimm Brothers to Hans Christian Anderson, specifically his version of The Little Mermaid. As in the first book, the story deals with what happens after the "happily ever after." Using elements from that story (the mermaid gave up the sea, her voice, and her family to be with the prince she loved so purely), here Hines twists a tale of betrayal, love, and madness, all with very surprising results.
In these stories, Snow White is an expert in flirtation and a sorceress (do not call her a witch), with an emphasis on mirror magic. Talia-with her fairy gifts and grace-is an assassin, whose weapon of choice is a whip (which, with its spindle-like end was the last thing she saw before she fell into the 100-years sleep). Danielle, the most sheltered of the three, still proves her loyalty and skills many times over, with the help of the last gift from her late mother: a sword. With comparisons to Charlie's Angels, these three are not your typical damsels in distress. Rather, they are human (plain and simple), and as you are rooting for them, you only wish that they will succeed in their quests and find their own happiness.
It was because of those darker undertones and twists that I loved these two books. I grew up reading fairy tales, and to this day I maintain a love affair with many. (That Jim Hines brought in two of my favorite stories only makes them that much better.) These books had at their heart a charm in the darkness and uncertainty.
These stories are a spin on the classics, indulgent and as fun to read as they are guilty pleasures.
Note: Book Three, Red Hood's Revenge will be published in spring 2010. The fourth, and final book, which will feature The Snow Queen, and is currently untitled, will be published sometime in 2011.
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