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Tag Archives: fairy tales
Bridge of birds
In an Ancient China, that never was, Yu Lu (not to be confused with the eminent author of The Classic of Tea) sets out on a quest to save the children of his village. Everyone between the ages of 8 and 13 has been struck down by a mysterious plague. He is sent to the Peking in order to bring back a wise man who can help them solve the mystery of this plague that can count. Soon Yu Lu (also known as Number Ten Ox due to his great strength) and the wise man Li Kao are racing across China in an attempt to locate the Root of Power that just may save the afflicted children. Continue reading
River secrets
by Shannon Hale
Razo hopped up and down, but he could see only backs of heads.
At the end of Enna Burning was had come to an end, but, as in reality, that doesn’t mean it is the end of all hostility between nations. River Secrets begins with an attempt on both sides to figure out if peace is really possible. There is a lot of bad blood, Bayern has in the past inflicted a lot of damage on Tira, not to mention how the war ended. Tira believes that Bayern was once part of Tira and still should be. And there are war-mongers in both countries. So a diplomatic exchange is arranged, and heading off to Tira is a group that includes Enna, Finn, & Razo.
Enna Burning
This is the second Book of Bayern so it does help if you have read the first book, The Goose Girl but it is not entirely necessary as the story itself is quite separate. Hale expands on the world she created in the first book, using a secondary character. In The Goose Girl Enna was one of Ani’s “forest friends”, important as friend and helper. In this book Enna is the main character. After the events of the first film she returned home to the forest, her mother died, and she moved back home with her brother. As this book begins he has found a mysterious vellum parchment in the forest and begins to change, becoming hot-headed and rash. At first he begins to argue against the king, saying the forest folk have been too harshly treated and deserve better, but as soon as word comes of a possible war he swings in behind Bayern and becomes a loyal subject, desiring to go to war on his country’s behalf. And then there is the fact that he can control fire.
The goose girl
by Shannon Hale
One of my favourite fairy tales is the story of The Goose Girl, although before beginning this book I had only the vaguest of memories about the story. I knew it featured a princess who was given gifts from her mother before being sent off to marry a foreign prince, and I could quite clearly recall the maid who betrayed her and took her place as princess, forcing the princess to become a goose girl. And there was no way I wasn’t going to remember the talking horse who was killed for his loyalty and whose head hung over the archway reminding the princess that “If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two”. I couldn’t quite recall how it all got sorted in the end, but I knew it ended most unpleasantly for the maid. Continue reading
Jack, the giant-killer
I really liked the opening chapter of this book. De Lint creates a wonderful picture of Jacky Rowan. Recently dumped for being too uninteresting she has spent the night drinking her sorrows away. But on her way home she comes across a strange scene; a gang of bikers hunting down a little man. But when she investigates further there is no trace of it ever having happened, apart from the man’s red cap that she discovered on the ground. Continue reading
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Tagged 6 Stars, 813.54, Canadian author, fairy tales, Jack the giant-killer, quick read
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Tender Morsels
ISBN: 9780385613231 Liga’s father fiddled with the fire, fiddled and fiddled. Then he stood up, very suddenly. I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while. It’s been stirring up quite a bit of controversy, what with its storyline … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged 9 Stars, abortion, Australian author, bears, fairy tales, incest, Printz Honor award, rape, Tender Morsels, World Fantasy Award winner
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Tithe
A Modern Tale of Faerie ISBN: 0689860420 Read for the Once Upon A Time challenge. See also: About Holly Black ; Stainless Steel Droppings ; Book~Adorer ; The page wanderer Other OUAT challangees: bottle of shine ; Stephanie’s books ; … Continue reading
The Tooth Fairy
ISBN: 1857983424 Read for the Once Upon A Time Challenge See also: Author’s Site ; Scooter Chronicles ; SF site ; Tier 3000 Clive was on the far side of the green pond, torturing a king-crested newt. I’ve read a … Continue reading
Faerie Wars
ISBN: 0747564671 See also: Herbie Brennan’s blog ; Rosemary for remembrance ; BookLust Read with FantasyFavorites Book one in the Faerie Wars series Henry got up early on the day that changed his life. When this arrived in the post … Continue reading
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Tagged Faerie Wars, fairy tales, Fantasy favourites, group read, Irish author
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Tree and Leaf
I propose to speak about fairy-stories, though I am aware that this is a rash adventure.
This, in many ways, is the perfect book for the Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge as it contains fairy tales and myth and fantasy. It is a collection of shorter works by Tolkien, and begins, not with a story but, with an essay, On Fairy-Stories and surprisingly, I found this the most interesting aspect of the book. Tolkien writes about the origins of fairy stories, why he believes them necessary. He also defines what he means by a fairy story. A very different thing from the tale relegated to the children’s nursery, although somewhat related. Possibly the first defence of the fantasy genre.
