The Snow Queen's Shadow

~by Jim C. Hines

The Snow Queen's Shadow is the fourth and, at least for the moment, final volume in Jim C. Hines' series of Princess novels. In the books Hines takes classic fairy tales (and by classic I mean the darker original stories, not the nicer "cleaned up" versions that most people are probably familiar with) and adds his own twists to them to create something unique. His heroines: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella (Snow, Talia, and Danielle, respectively). No longer damsels in distress waiting for their princes to save them, these women are much more in control of their lives. I have been thoroughly enjoying the series and was looking forward to the release of The Snow Queen's Shadow, which was published in 2011 by DAW Books. The previous volume, Red Hood's Revenge, focused on Talia, my favorite character. As might be expected form the title, The Snow Queen's Shadow turns its attention to Snow, who happens to be my second-favorite lead.

After one of Snow's spells goes horribly wrong, a demon is released into the world. Her mirrors, which allow her to focus her powers, are left shattered and destroyed. Under the demon's influence, Snow flees to her homeland of Allesandria to wreak havoc on those responsible for her exile. Wherever she goes, more and more people fall under the demon's power. It reveals to them the world as it truly is--full of manipulation, selfishness, and hatred. Only Danielle and Talia have a chance of saving their friend and thereby the rest of the world. As the demon becomes more powerful, their task becomes more difficult. They will need help from humans and fairies alike, but that help will come at a very high cost. And even then there is no guarantee that they will be successful. But no matter what, they have to at least try to avoid the impending tragedy.

Although the characters' histories are solidly based in traditional fairy tales, Hines has created complex characters that are very much their own people. Even the secondary players have strong, memorable characterizations. In The Snow Queen's Shadow Hines successfully melds the story of "The Snow Queen" with the story of "Snow White." Readers who are already familiar with "The Snow Queen" will be better able to fully appreciate what Hines has done, but even those who aren't will be able to enjoy The Snow Queen's Shadow. I appreciate how Hines has combined so many different fairy tales to create his own world. I particularly enjoy how human interactions with magic and fairykind are culturally dependent and change from kingdom to kingdom. Instead of a single, homogeneous fantasy foundation, Hines has incorporated several different perspectives. He considers how these differences impact interpersonal as well as inter-kingdom relationships. It makes for a much more interesting and compelling story as well as world that feels completely developed.

The Snow Queen's Shadow isn't my favorite book in the Princess series, that honor probably goes to The Mermaid's Madness, but I did enjoy it. As with many of Hines' books, it took me a chapter or two to really settle into the story, but once I did I was entirely engaged until its conclusion. The books have been getting progressively darker in tone and The Snow Queen's Shadow is the darkest of them all. Fortunately, there are still some moments of levity. Although it was important and necessary for the story, I missed seeing Snow's more lighthearted nature; only glimpses of it are to be found in The Snow Queen's Shadow. Out of all of the Princess novels, The Snow Queen's Shadow is the one that relies most heavily on the books that precede it. Granted, this is to be somewhat expected since it is the final book in the series. The Snow Queen's Shadow tells its own story, but it also serves as a way to tie the entire series together. I am sad to see the series come to an end--I have enjoyed the books and their characters immensely--but The Snow Queen's Shadow is a satisfying farewell.

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Red Hood's Revenge

~by Jim C. Hines

Red Hood's Revenge is the third of Jim C. Hines' princess novels. The series, partially inspired by the original, darker versions of fairy tales with a few of Hines' own personal twists, has been well received; the second book, The Mermaid's Madness, was even long-listed for the British Fantasy Award. Personally, I have also been enjoying the series. I liked the first book, The Stepsister Scheme, and loved the second, so there was no question in my mind that I would continue reading the princess novels with Red Hood's Revenge. Additionally, I like to support local authors; Hines makes it particularly easy to want to. Red Hood's Revenge also has a major focus on my favorite character in the books--Talia, also known as Sleeping Beauty. So, while I was already looking forward to reading Red Hood's Revenge, I was even more excited when I learned about that.

Roudette, Lady of the Red Hood, one of the world's most deadly assassins, has once again come to Lorindar on a mission. She prefers fairy targets but is willing to take on any assignment that doesn't interfere with her own personal vendetta. Danielle, Snow, and Talia (Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty respectively) make a formidable team, but Roudette (Little Red Riding Hood) makes a formidable foe. The women's confrontation leads them to Talia's homeland of Arathea where they discover that Roudette's presence in Lorindar is only a symptom of a much greater problem. One that will eventually threaten the entire world. There is someone, or something, powerful at work in Arathea and Talia will have to confront people and incidents from her past that she would rather forget if she wants to save those she loves.

As I mentioned previously, the further development of Talia and her backstory is an important part of Red Hood's Revenge. Up until now, Hines' princess novels have focused on Lorindar and the immediately surrounding areas. It's wonderful that he gets a chance to explore another and very different part of his world. Unlike Lorindar, where fairies have been more or less isolated from the human population, in Arathea fairykind lives side by side with humankind. At least part of Arathea's culture has been inspired by Persian mythology and legends; I think the inclusion of non-Western influenced fantasy in Red Hood's Revenge is marvelous. People aren't homogeneous, so why should fairies be? Other tales that are particularly important in Red Hood's Revenge are, of course, Little Red Riding Hood as well as The Wild Hunt. At first I felt there was a bit of a culture clash between the Hunt, which is distinctly European in origin, and Arathea, but Hines makes it work in the end.

With the princess novels, Hines has created a very likeable team of strong women. And while much of the focus of Red Hood's Revenge is on Talia, Hines doesn't forget the others. Both Snow and Danielle show development in the novel. As always, Hines also introduces interesting and engaging secondary characters. The most prominent in Red Hood's Revenge is understandably Roudette, who's story is actually revealed later in the novel than I wanted it to be, but my favorite was Faziya. From the very first time she is mentioned it is obvious how important she is to Talia by the way Talia acts and behaves. Just how important she is is slowly and naturally revealed. While The Stepsister Scheme was a little stilted (but still fun), Hines has really hit his stride with the princess books with The Mermaid's Madness and Red Hood's Revenge. I'm looking forward to reading the next and final volume in the series, The Snow Queen's Shadow. It does make me a little sad, though, that the series will be ending so soon.

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The Mermaid's Madness

~by Jim C. Hines
2010 British Fantasy Award Nominee

I have been a Jim C. Hines fan for a couple of years now. I generally like to support local authors, but Hines makes it easy because his books are so entertaining and offer great twists on standard fantasy tropes. I am steadily working through his goblin trilogy (I only have Goblin War left to go) and have more or less been keeping up with his newer princess series as the books are published. The Mermaid's Madness is the second book in what is currently planned to be a four volume cycle. Despite my avid love for water, I never developed a particular interest in mermaids. But, I did thoroughly enjoy the previous book in the series, The Stepsister Scheme. And as I already mentioned, I knew I enjoyed Hines' work. I also loved the characters and looked forward to spending more time with them. As an added bonus, Scott Fischer has once again provided wonderful cover art. And then the novel made the longlist for the British Fantasy Award. Really, there was no question that I was going to pick up The Mermaid's Madness.

After rescuing her prince and foiling the plots of her stepsisters, Danielle Whiteshore (aka Cinderella) was looking forward to settling into a peaceful life and raising her son. But when the annual ceremony celebrating the undine's return from warmer waters goes horribly wrong she finds herself in a race against time to save the life of the Queen of Lorindar and prevent a war. Along with Talia and Snow (aka Sleeping Beauty and Snow White), she must face the mermaid queen Lirea (aka The Little Mermaid). Lirea's descent into madness threatens human and undine lives alike. Broken and betrayed, she trusts no ones; only Lirea knows the full truth of her own story.

I'll get this out of the way now: I absolutely, and always will, adore Talia. So, I was certainly very happy to get more of her backstory in The Mermaid's Madness. I do like Snow and Danielle quite a bit too, and Hines' secondary characters are also marvelous (I was particularly impressed with Captain Hephyra). All of the characters have their own quirks and ways of saying things or little "throwaway" details that greatly enhance the depth of the story and worldbuilding. He's also not afraid to be mean to his characters and things don't always work out as they would like. Hines' descriptions and writing of fights and action sequences have improved over his previous books and are now much easier to follow. Additionally, they comes across as realistic (the fact that he studies Sanchin-ryu karate probably doesn't hurt). Also, Hines' research into seafaring definitely paid off and it shows quite well.

Even though I expected to like The Mermaid's Madness I was actually quite surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. I really feel that this is the best book of Hines' that I've read so far. Usually it takes me a few chapters to really get into his novels, but The Mermaid's Madness captured my attention almost form the very beginning. And then it kept it. The pacing and action of the plot is excellent, right up to the last chapter. The tone of the book is mostly serious and quite a bit darker than Hines' goblin books, but he still includes wonderful moments of humor. Although part of the series, The Mermaid's Madness actually stands very well on it's own (Hines seems to be particularly good at this with his books). While not necessary to read The Stepsister Scheme before The Mermaid's Madness, it does add some nice details and further depth to the story. I've definitely been enjoying the princess novels so far and am eagerly anticipating the publication of Red Hood's Revenge.

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Goblin Hero

~by Jim C. Hines

After finishing Jim C. Hines's Goblin Quest, I was excited to read the next book in the series, Goblin Hero. Particularly, I was interested in seeing how Hines would continue Jig's adventures since the first book felt more like a one-shot deal rather than the beginning of a trilogy. Plus, I thought Goblin Quest was hilarious and I was looking forward to more trope-bending fun from Goblin Hero. It's not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second--both stand alone very well, even if Goblin Hero makes reference to events that took place in Goblin Quest.

The evil dragon as been slain, the caves and tunnels have been safely sealed away from adventuring parties, and peace has been established, more or less, between the races living in and under the mountain; all thanks to a runt of a goblin named Jig, now more commonly known as Jig Dragonslayer. Not that it has really made his life much easier, though he doesn't get picked on quite so much. He really just wants to be left alone, but when the ogres are desperate for his help, he as little choice but to go off on a adventure once again. Along with his god Tymalous Shadowstar, he is aided by Braf (exceptionally dumb, even by goblin standards) and Grell (probably the oldest goblin living). Of course, both of them have instructions to kill him if they get a chance. And then there's Veka, obsessed with magic and becoming a hero in her own right, who's out to make a name for herself with Slash, a hobgoblin who faints at the sight of blood, reluctantly in tow.

It actually took me quite a while to really get into Goblin Hero. I was enjoying it well enough, but it didn't really grab me until I was well over a third of the way through. The humor was at times was even subtler than that in Goblin Quest while at other times it was too obvious. Maybe part of the problem was that if felt like Hines was trying to justify it by using Veka and her obsession with the "hero's quest" to point out just exactly what it was he was making fun of. Regardless, it was still very amusing and silly. Like in Goblin Quest, some of the action sequences were a little unclear, but fortunately to a much lesser extent. Most of the areas explored were from the first book but there are some important additions--ewww. Readers also get a better look at the other major races that were only really mentioned in passing before, particularly the ogres and hobgoblins. Where Goblin Hero really shines is in its characters and the clever twists on fairly standard fantasy tropes. It's marvelous to see such a misfit group of creatures band together, save the day, and even manage to survive. And they don't even like each other that much. The story is told from both Jig's and Veka's point of view, so it is interesting to see both of their perspectives on the situation and on each other.

I wasn't quite as taken with Goblin Hero as I was with Goblin Quest, which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the book, because I most certainly did. It made for excellent light reading in all its silliness. While I didn't find the humor as laugh-out-loud as I did in the first book, I was still greatly amused. Jig and Smudge remain wonderful characters that I will always be fond of, Tymalous Shadowstar continues to make me grin, and I liked the other characters that were introduced in Goblin Hero quite a bit. I'm not in a huge hurry to pick up the last book, Goblin War, but I will definitely get around to it. (It's supposed to be the best of all three.) I'll probably even make a point to check out some of Hines's short stories featuring Jig and the others.

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The Stepsister Scheme

~by Jim C. Hines

The first time I heard about The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines was at the Kerrytown Bookfest's SF panel; during the discussion, Hines passed around the newly completed cover for the first book in his new series. Even though it's almost embarrassingly pink and purple I fell in love with it. (Hines has been very lucky when it comes to the cover artists for his books.) The cover wasn't the only thing that interested me in The Stepsister Scheme. Like in many of his previous books, Hines uses fairly standard fantasy elements and give them a twist to make them his own. In this case, he takes three famous fairy-tale princesses--Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty--and turns them into kick-butt heroines.

Danielle de Glas (now Danielle Whiteshore) didn't really mean to become a princess of Lorindar, it just kind of happened that way. Her prince and love of her life brought her up from the cinders and into luxury after searching for her with only a single glass shoe as a clue to her identity. But Cinderella's story doesn't end there. When Prince Armand is kidnapped by her stepsisters, she rushes off to rescue him--but not without help. She is joined by two of the Queen's very special guests: Ermillina "Snow" Curtana (Snow White) and Talia Malak-el-Dashat (Seeping Beauty). During their mission they will face deadly perils together that challenge all their wit, strength, and skill. But they will stop at nothing to reunite Danielle with her prince.

These are definitely not your Disney princesses. Drawing on several different versions of the original tales, Hines doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of the stories and uses them quite well to create his own version. Which is not to say there isn't levity and humor in The Stepsister Scheme, although its inclusion did feel a little out of place in a couple of scenes. I really like Hines' princesses and each has her own distinct personality which makes complete sense given her story; Talia is probably my favorite, followed by Snow, but I'm really quite fond of them all. The pacing in general is very good, especially after the first couple of chapters, although occasionally the descriptions of action and items left me wondering exactly what was going on.

Hines' action-packed take on the princesses is really quite a bit of fun. It's particularly nice to see strong female characters that aren't trapped in "warrior women" stereotypes. Many fairy-tale tropes do make and appearance in the story (not something that could entirely be avoided, really), but some are so completely turned around that Hines bring something wonderfully delightful to the genre--it's not so often that it's the prince who needs rescuing by his princess. As with Goblin Quest, it did take me a few chapters to really get into the book, but once I did it was a blast. I enjoyed The Stepsister Scheme very much, and while I now have the rest of Hines' Goblin books to keep me company, I'm definitely looking forward to the release of the next Princess novel, The Mermaid's Madness.

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Goblin Quest

~by Jim C. Hines

For me, Jim C. Hines is, more or less, a local author. He frequently participates in the Kerrytown BookFest's SF panel, which is were I first learned about him and his books. (Hines is a really great guy, by the way.) While I started following his blog, I never quite got around to reading any of his books--I just wasn't that interested in goblins, and so they never managed to make it to the top of my reading pile. At least until Hines was in the area again for an author signing, celebrating the release of The Stepsister Scheme (the fist book in his "princess" series). I figured if I was going to show up, I should have at least read something, so I grabbed Goblin Quest for the bus ride over to the bookstore. It's really a pity that I hadn't picked it up sooner; the book was tremendous fun and I loved it.

Even for a goblin, Jig is rather weak and puny--not to mention that he's also nearsighted and his pet fire-spider, Smudge, has a tendency to set him aflame. So, it's a little surprising when instead of killing him outright, a band of adventurers (complete with fighter, wizard, cleric, and thief) instead take him hostage and demand he guide them on their quest to find the Rod of Creation--after which they'll kill him. Figuring its better to die later rather than sooner, Jig reluctantly assists the group. He just hopes that they don't realize he has no idea what he's doing. Not that he has any hopes of surviving the dangers they will encounter on the quest--he's only a goblin, after all.

The story itself is a fairly typical dungeon crawl. The humor is rather subtle and its appreciation mostly depends on the reader's familiarity with standard fantasy fare (bonus points given to those with knowledge and/or experience with dungeon-delving roleplaying games). Hines takes and uses the stereotypes in all seriousness and in the process shows how absolutely ridiculous they can be. The book is really quite funny. (A side note: snorting on a bus will earn looks from fellow passengers.) Jig is a fantastic character; telling the story from his perspective is brilliant and is what makes the whole thing work as well as it does. I'm not sure I entirely buy some of the ultimate fates of the other characters, but the ending as a whole is good and ties everything up nicely. I'm interested to see where Hines goes from here since I imagine the conceit would be difficult to maintain without resorting to a fair amount of repetition. But, I heartily look forward to the rest of the Goblin books.

Having previously read the first chapter through Hines' website, I enjoyed Goblin Quest much more than I had expected. It took me a couple of chapters to really get into, but then I was hooked. In fact, a book hasn't made me so incredibly happy to read in quite some time. I found it to be vaguely reminiscent of Terry Prachett's Discworld books (granted, it has been a while since I've read any), especially in terms of the authors' use of established fantasy tropes with fun twists and senses of humor. I will definitely be adding the next two books, Goblin Hero and Goblin War, to my collection. In the meantime, I suppose The Stepsister Scheme will have to tide me over.

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