Customer Reviews

The Autumn Castle

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When we find that our protagonist, Christine, is not only NOT an artist, but is fairly baffled by her boyfriend's art, we know we're in an urban fantasy of a different sort. Where other books of this nature generally romanticize art, this book does not (to put it mildly).

Although "The Autumn Castle" is in some respects a conventional fantasy, it approaches some common urban fantasy subjects from a different perspective, and the romantic possibilities are (for once) not clearly marked from the beginning of the story.

Most of the characters are quite flawed, likeable one moment and loathsome the next. One is quite evil, but believably so. Wilkin's fairyland is a little simplistic, but as a stand-in for the fantasyland that Christine, after years of loss and pain, yearns for, it works.

The only complaint I'll make is that somewhere in this mildly subversive look at fairies, art and giving in to fantasy lurks a much more subversive book, with a stronger, less happy, less satisfying ending. For those who prefer their stories to be wrapped up nicely, that isn't much of a complaint.

This one is for readers who enjoy the intelligent, sensitive works of writers like Kelley Armstrong, Charles de Lint and Emma Bull.

This is a great story with well crafted characters. It has the lyrical words of high fantasy combined with some truely awful horror that works very well. Christine is a living in Berlin with her artist lover, Jude, who is being sponsored by millionaire Mandy Z. Mandy Z sponsors 4 artists per year and heavily supports the arts, however no one likes him and they don't know why. Mandy Z is also a madman who has been killing fairies for their bones.

Christine is haunted by the tragic, accidental death of her parents years before. Although she survived the accident, she has been in pain ever since. Suddenly, she starts remembering her life in Berlin when she was a small child and how her best friend May disappeared one day. Through an accident, Christine wakes up by the Autumn Castle and discovers that May is queen of the fairies. May comes into the Real World and falls in love with Christine's Jude. Suddenly, a woman who is used to having everything wants something that she knows she cannot have..

Meanwhile back at the Autumn Castle time is running out. The worlds are only aligned for a season. The witch Hexebart, holds the queens magic and won't return it. Hexebart is convinced that May killed the True Queen years before and will do anything to hurt her.

The stories is told in four voices: the mad self proclaimed fairy hunter, Queen May who is torn between her duty to her kingdom, her oldest friendship and being in love for the first time, Christine who is fascinated with the Autumn Castle and the angry witch Hexebart. It's a story about love, betrayal and murder. It works very well.

This is the first novel I've read by this author and can't wait to read more!

Christine Starlight has returned to Berlin after many years absence to be with her lover, Jude Upchurch, as he works in an artists' collective to hone his skills. Old memories are haunting her---especially those of 'May Frith' a childhood friend who was stolen from her bed one night and never found.

Mayfridh is the Queen of Faery. One day, a ghost from her past comes to her land and reminds her of the time before she ruled Faery. She returns to the Real World to seek more contact with that ghost.

Mandy Z is a rich sponsor for artists--while secretly he is an artist himself. He's a carver of faery bone collecting these grisly tokens from kills.

If that's not enough to whet your appetite, nothing will. "Autumn Castle" has some thrilling elements, but is not quite as fast paced as I would prefer. As a rule, though, a very satisfying and rich read.

The Autumn Castle, first in the Europa series is a very fascinating urban fantasy from Australian author Kim Wilkins. I highly recommend this wonderfully imaginative series.

The Autumn Castle introduces use to a group of artist who are currently working under a fellowship which allows them to live at the Hotel Mandy Z. in Berlin, Germany. The fellowship is through a very eccentric artist, Immanuel Zweigler whom everyone calls Mandy Z. Jude, one of the artists, lives with his girlfriend, Christine Starlight. Christine is an American who lived in Berlin as a child. The artists are rounded out by Gerda, Pete, and Fabiyan.

Christine has had a very difficult life. While living in Berlin, she befriended a neighbor child everyone called little May. May and Christine were inseparable. One night, May disappeared and was presumed dead. Christine and her parents moved back to America shortly after May's disappearance. In 1989, she lost her parents in a horrific car accident that left her with horrid injuries. The car accident was caused by another driver who never even paused to see if anyone survived. Life was bleak for Christine until Jude appeared in her life like a knight in shinning armor.

Mandy Z. is a very complex and creepy man. He is a world renowned sculptor and is also color blind. Along with being incredibly wealthy, he is also an insane sociopath. He is secretly working on a bizarre sculpture he calls the Bone Wife. This sculpture is not made of marble or any other stone, but of fairy bones. Mandy Z. has a unique gift that allows him to know when a person is really a Fairy.

One fateful day, Christine injures herself and is transported to Ewigkreis, Fairyland. In this strange land, Christine encounters a talking fox named Eisengrimm and the Fairy Queen. Queen Mayfridh is Christine's childhood friend, May. As children, they preformed a `blood bond' that allowed Christine to enter Ewigkreis. One characteristic of Fairyland is residents forget about humans and our world once the seasons change. Queen Mayfridh is amazed and intrigued to be reunited with her friend Christine. After Christine returns to the real world, Mayfridh longs for all she lost when she entered Ewigkreis. Soon a plan is hatched to allow Mayfridh to visit the world she left as a child.

The residents of Hotel Mandy Z. are on a collision course with Mayfridh. She brings out many dark secrets and tempts Mandy Z. to commit unspeakable acts. Mayfridh's visit brings all these horrors and more to pass. Christine, Jude, and the rest are never the same again.

Kim Wilkins has created an incredible tale of morality and madness to delight. Her characters are rich and multidimensional. The plot does seem to lag at times, but that is a result of dealing with character development. We get to know the residents of Hotel Mandy Z. and Ewigkreis very intimately. The twists and turns created in the plot are amazing in their ingenuity. This is not a typical Fairytale nor is it a typical fantasy. At the end, Wilkins treats us to a real Fairytale that closes the plot in such a way that you crave more.

Kim Wilkins lives in Australia and is the author of numerous books. Her Europa series continues with the Giants of the Frost - available in Australia, and the Snow Witch - to be released July, 2005 in Australia. For more information, visit her website at
http://www.kimwilkins.com/

Christine Starlight lives in a world of constant physical pain and memories, a weighty reminder of the tragedy she survived and struggles with on a daily basis: a hit and run accident that claimed the lives of both her parents. But as Autumn reintroduces itself to Berlin, she finds memories of another childhood tragedy surfacing. She begins to recall the disappearance of her young friend, May, long presumed to be abducted and murdered.

May soon returns to Christine's life, and soon becomes tangled in the lives around Christine as well. She is now Mayfridh, Queen of the realm of German fairies, Ewigkreis. The "Real World" and Ewigkreis are briefly aligned, allowing for crossing between in the meantime, and soon May grows infatuated with Christine's budding artist lover, Jude. Just as easily, Christine finds herself growing attached to Ewigkreis, the one place that allows her respite from her physical pain.

The tightly-knit story maintains a good pace; it starts out languid as the characters and background are introduced, then picks up into a flurry as winter, and the end of the alignment between fairy and real worlds, looms upon them. It is seen from four rather unique perspectives: Christine, the unassuming and perpetually self-doubting bookstore clerk that lets herself live in the shadow of her lover; Mayfridh, the beautiful Queen accustomed to getting her way who unwittingly gambles with the safety of Ewigkreis to feed her interest in the Real World and Jude; Immanuel Z (Mandy Z), the twisted fairy hunter that seeks the bones of fairies to complete his sculpture that he wishes to bring to life; and Hexebart, the witch of Ewigkreis that holds the magic of the realm hostage while refusing to acknowledge the adopted Mayfridh as sovereign after the disappearance of her parents.

It successfully captures the flavor of a fairy tale in its rich story -- it is equally capable of being dark and grisly as it is lush and fantastical. This also leads to a level of simplicity in the characters and even the story itself, that at times felt unfulfilling. For example, there is no struggle for a human's mind to comprehend the existence of fairies, as it can be brushed away with an easy spell. The translation of the modern world to a fairy is also easily explained away by another quick spell. Love happens simply and without fanfare, which can be charming or anti-climatic.

Overall, however, it was an engaging tale that was easy to be drawn into and stay involved until the end.

I bought this book on a whim, and since have become addicted to Kim Wilkins' style, characterization, and worlds. The Autumn Castle is the fist in her new Europa suite, and is a wonderful tale of a young woman who is reunited with a long lost childhood friend. It is also about an eccentric artist's horrible desire to exterminate faries.
It is a story about fear, about betrayal, about magic. Kim Wilkins created a fairy tale for grown ups (or eliminated all the kiddy elements of pre-existing ones). I love it

This was an intriguing mix of fantasy, relationship drama with a little horror thrown in (though it wasn't nearly as "disgusting" as I was expecting). I read it a few weeks ago and can still vividly remember bits of it. Christine, the main character, who has a run in with the faery realm when she meets up with an old long-lost friend was too naive and doormat-like for me and the rest of the characters were all unlikable to me for various reasons but overall I found it an interesting book. Mandy Z., a madman focused on destroying all fairies in the most brutal fashion he can imagine, kept me turning the pages moreso than all of the relationship drama surrounding the characters.

Personally, I would've preferred a less tidier, much more bittersweet ending for several of the characters but it wasn't meant to be. . .

The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins is a lovely, romantic, thrilling fantasy that blends the folklore of Europe into an intricate tapestry of dark fantasy storytelling. It's filled with shapeshifters, witches, and magic, and every page is a complete delight to read. I will be reading and rereading this book for years.

Christine Starlight has never gotten over the deaths of her pop icon parents who were killed in an accident by an underage driver. She lives in Berlin with her lover, the artist Jude, who just won a fellowship from billionaire sculpture Immanuel Zweigler to perfect his work. His host also hunts down fairies, captures them, and drops them in an acid vat to use their bones in his current sculpture he Bone Wife which moves thanks to fairy magic which resides inn their bones after death.

Christine reunites with her childhood friend Mayfridth, who was abducted by fairies, converted into one of them, and now is the Queen of the magical realm of the German fairies Ewigkreis. Mayfridth has returned to the mundane world to visit Christine, who recently had accidentally journeyed into the fairy realm. Christine realizes May has fallen in love with Jude, but also knows the queen must return to her home because her people need her. Immanuel wants her royal skeleton and is waiting for the right time to kill her. Immanuel enters Ewigkreis to murder the fairies; Christine must stop this serial killer who now has kidnapped Mayfridth.

Kim Wilkins has created a magical realm populated by wonderful beings who seem real as if the author has visited the land of fairy. Readers will cherish Christine, a kind, loyal, and caring soul, who deserves the best, not what she has gotten. The Queen's advisor plays a critical but secondary role and his shapeshifting skills to enable him to turn into a fox, crow, or bear and that also seems genuine and adds to the feel that this fantasy tale actually happened. Readers will be swept into THE AUTUMN CASTLE by this beautiful adult fairy tale.

Harriet Klausner

This book consumed me for two days. I'm going to order her other books from Australia. It's dark and romantic and scary and beautiful. If you love page-turning books, then this is for you.