Customer Reviews

The Fairy Godmother (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 1)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The powerful force of tradition intended Elena to be a Cinderella, except that her prince was only eleven when Elena turned twenty-one. When her evil stepmother decides to try other lands for fortune, Elena is abandoned and forced to come up with a future of her own. She decides to become a servant--and at least get paid for working for others. Instead, a Fairy Godmother takes her on as an apprentice. The magical potential that has built up in her through the frustrated tradition gives her huge magical powers. Which she'll need, because tradition forces the inhabitants of her kingdoms into preset ways--some of which are positive and nice, but others of which are quite dark and evil. Elena, even aided by brownies and unicorns, has a lot to do.

When Prince Alexander behaves rudely to what he thinks is an old woman but is really Elena in test mode, she turns him into a donkey and brings him home to reform him. Which is fine as long as Alexander stays a donkey, but when he turns back into a man, attraction sizzles, which is a problem. Tradition doesn't hold with Fairy Godmothers having lovers, at least not lovers who don't betray them. And Elena is determined not to follow that tradition.

Author Mercedes Lackey melds together a number of fairy tale traditions to create a compelling story of fairie, magic, and romance. Elena is a strong character, who, as her brownies point out, would be wasted in the largely decorative role of princess. Alexander starts out something of a jerk, but manages to redeem himself through hard work and serious thought. A strong action sequence closes out the story answering readers who wonder whether Elena and Alexander will be able to create a new tradition where they can explore the strong attraction between them.

Mercedes Lackey's strong writing engages the reader emotionally and makes THE FAIRY GODMOTHER a compelling read. This is the launch novel in a new fantasy imprint--LUNA. LUNA will concentrate on female-driven fantasy. THE FAIRY GODMOTHER augers well for the new line.

While I will agree with those who say that this novel is not on the same level as some Mercedes Lackey's other work, I truly enjoyed reading it. I don't think that this novel was intended to be an Epic Tale or a Deep Story. What it turns out to be is a fun and engaging story that puts a delightfully wry spin on the classic fairy tales that most of us grew up with. Dry humor is present in abundance, and I spent much of the time that I was reading the book in a state of simple delight. What brings together the admittedly improbable elements of a fairy tale? Where do Fairy Godmothers/Good Fairies come from? MUST they always be single? What happens when fairy tales ALMOST happen? What would happen if two lines of "fairy tale" mythology (West European and Russian, for example) bumped into eachother?

Lackey comes up with creative answers to all of those questions, and manages to keep a sense of fun flowing through this story of frustrated archetypes, unexpeced romance, fairy tale micro-management, and magical trouble-shooting.

In a way, it seems to me that Mecedes Lackey is trying to branch out into another genra - that of fairy tales. Then again, to the right person, the tales of Valdemar could be considered fairy tales. At first I wasn't sure if I would even like the book. When I got to reading it, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. In fact, I read it twice in the week I had it from the library. The realm of fairy godmothers is pretty much unexplored. Mercedes gives it the realism of a responsible job done by responsible people with an affinity for seeing possibilities and working with the forces to ensure that any outcome is as far on the side of goodness as they can manage it. True, it dispells a little of the mythos of the fairy godmother as a being who can create instant miracles for all of her charges. However, it is a very entertaining and enjoyable book. I look forward to the paperback edition coming out so that I can add it to my personal library.

Not since By the Sword have I enjoyed one of Ms. Lackey's novels so thoroughly. Any fan of Mercedes Lackey, fairy tales and/or GOOD stories will enjoy this.

In the Five Hundred kingdoms, 'The Tradition' rules. It is nearly an unstoppable force. If the lives of any individual in the kingdoms begins to resemble that of a fairy tale, the Tradition gathers force to bring that story to its proper fairy tale conclusion.

Elena Klovis has an evil stepmother and two stepsisters, and is well on the way to becoming Cinderella. However, the prince of her kingdom is only 11 years old! Unable to fulfill her destiny, Elena ends up as a fairy godmother's apprentice. Though Elena is now outside Tradition, it is still determined that she should somehow fulfill her destiny, while Elena struggles to bring 'happliy ever afters' to other people in her kingdom with or without the Tradition's help.

This novel was really, really well written. I simply couldn't put it down. Elena is charming and hardworking, sensible (but not too sensible!) and kind. Everyone in the novel was well-written, from Sergei the little horse, to Arachnia,the evil Sorceress, to Alexander the haughty prince, to the unicorns, who were cutely dopey. Everytime I thought something wouldn't be explained, it was! Everything happened satisfactorily. Watching Elena manipulate the Tradition( one of Ms. Lackey's more interesting characters, although it's not quite sentient) was very entertaining. The Tradition is like Destiny, but more obvious and immensely powerful, not to mention stubborn. It's not always a good thing, as some of the fairytales it steers people into are quite nasty. It's just a force, for good or ill.

You can note the author poking fun at some of the fairytale endings, like when Elena explains that the Tradition will require a rescued princess to automatically fall in love with her rescuer, even if she's already married!

Go out there and buy this book! You won't be sorry, and you'll only hope that Ms. Lackey writes more such stories.

Have you ever wondered where a Fairy Godmother came from? How they always managed to show up just in time to save the day? With this fantastic book Mercedes Lackey has taken me back to the delight of reading her early books, such as Oathbound or Oathbreaker.
Elena Klovis should have married a prince and lived happily ever after. With the all powerful force of ?Tradition? pushing her towards?.something, she has passed her mystical 16th and 18th birthday and still no prince. At the end of her rope and ready to make life as a maid her own Fairy Godmother shows. Not to turn pumpkins into coaches or mice into men but with a proposition. Elena herself would be a Godmother and help others who Tradition had muddled with.
With humor and an excellent story Mercedes Lackey has written a romance I can enjoy and place with honor amongst the favorites of my books.

Picture a world where fairy tails are historical fact and magic, through the force of Tradition, guides a person?s pathway throughout life. Now take one failed Cinderella, they can?t all get a prince you know, with no desire to live out her life slaving away to evil stepsisters and make her a Godmother, kind of a magical troubleshooter. Then take a real prince, an arrogant selfish SOB admittedly, but still a real prince. Put the two together and ?

What you end up with is a lighthearted, funny romp through a delightfully new and interesting universe. It may be no award winner, it is very predictable, starts slow and a little short on action, but it?s still fun and interesting. The romance between the characters is very well done and interesting to follow. The storyline is obvious but fun; sometimes mystery isn?t all it?s cracked up to be.

I rate is as average but I admit I enjoyed it and certainly RECOMMEND it to those who like a little lighthearted fantasy.

Mercedes Lackey has done a nice job of creating a fairly believable heroine in Elena Klovis. She is not only a beautiful, intelligent, dedicated and compassionate young woman who can think outside the box, she actually has (gasp) HORMONES! The conflict that Elena has to deal with between what her physical body and 'The Tradition' want, and what her mind and training tell her is something that most of us non-story-book women experience. It is good to see this realistically acknowledged, even in parable.
Ms Lackey has a habit of placing sly allusions to some of the Great Authors in her works (i.e in "Serpent's Shadow", Lord Peter Wimsey (the brainchild of Dorothy L. Sayers) makes a thinly veiled appearance). In this novel I caught nods to Terry Pratchett, (Mort, possibly, at the Mop Fair?) C.S. Lewis (Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve), Robert Heinlein (Cats who Walk through Walls), and possibly J.K. Rowling (robed and hooded fae beneath whose cowls you do NOT want to look). There are probably many more I did not catch, due to the fact I just haven?t read the proper literature. There is a catch here... you want to read more of The Greats, just to see how many more hidden references you can find.
Nicely sneaky, methinks, Ms Lackey...well done!
I did find the ?see yourself as others see you? literary device as the Redemption Ploy for the truly asinine prince a bit of a deus ex machina. Also,the blow-by-blow (no pun intended here)seduction scene was a bit too detailed (mayhap a tribute to Jean Auel?s Ayla and Jondalar?), but I think this was a matter of personal preference. Her bleakly realistic admittance that some people have tragic endings through no fault of their own, and that sometimes the best that even a powerful Fairy Godparent can do is make a situation ?not as bad as it could have been? balances and adds a very thoughtful and believable slant to a tale which could have been way too much like cotton candy... all pink fluff, sweetness and air but nothing to it and leaving you feeling faintly ill afterwards. Ms. Lackey has avoided THAT ?Tradition? beautifully.

When I spotted this book at my local bookstore, I immediately grabbed it, as I do with all Mercedes Lackey's books. I found the story delightful, but much lighter than is Ms. Lackey's usual wont. It reads very much like a fairy tale, but one with a decided sense of humor, far less serious than her other fairy tales (i.e. Fire Rose, Black Swan, etc.) perhaps because this is not based on any particular tale, but rather references several. I also found the idea of where fairy godmothers came from rather fun, as well as the concept of fighting Tradition (or forcing it to fit YOUR desires) even better. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read.

If you have ever wondered where Fairy Godmothers came from, or whether or not they had private lives, if you've ever wondered what capricious energies are set in motion when Tradition is flouted as Fairy Tales go wrong, you will enjoy this charming, inventive, and enjoyable tale. Mercedes Lackey hits her stride as a writer in these wacky fairy tales (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series ) with gentle humor, good natured intelligence, and an engaging romantic subplot. As usual with Mercedes Lackey, there is a lot of thundering action between the good and bad guys, and it is clear her fairy tale universe has many, many more tales to unfold. The romance is a little more graphic than is usual with Mercedes, but less than in many current romance novels.

I liked it well enough and thought that the plot was quite interesting but I didnt find it to be her most amazing book. If you like mercedes lackey you'll definately like this but I wouldnt say its a prime example of her talent. overall it was a solid read though.