Customer Reviews

Ill Met By Moonlight

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Take a story that has a poor man's wife and daughter kidnapped, the mysterious death of a monarch, the rightful heir passed over due to a physical abnormality, twist them and entwine them together, and you'd have a pretty good story. Now, make the poor man none other than a young William Shakespeare, living in Stratford prior to his ascension in London. The murdered monarchs turn out to be King Oberon and Queen Titania of the fairy people. The abnormality of the rightful heir Quicksilver turns out to be the ability to shape-shift between two aspects of himself, a quality that his brother Sylvanus exploits to become the king. Now mix up these elements and you'd swear that Sarah Hoyt had three witches stirring a brew and speaking cryptic riddles in her office when she wrote "Ill Met By Moonlight".

In this well crafted novel we meet young Will Shakespeare, before he went to London, and before he wrote his first play. Earning a meager wage as a teacher, he lives with his wife Anne and infant daughter Susannah in a small house on his father's lot. His simple life is broken apart when he returns home one night to find his family gone. In trying to locate them Will finds that Sylvanus has taken them to the fairy palace so Anne can be wet nurse for Sylvanus' daughter whose human mother has recently died. Quicksilver in turn discovers Will, and embroils him in a plot to regain his throne that forces Will to eventually fight the powerful magic of Sylvanus not only for his family, but for his life.

Hoyt's use of language not only provides the images of the places and participants, but also the feeling of the setting as it must have appeared during Shakespeare's life. She seamlessly blends the real world with that of fairy as Will moves between the two worlds to find his family, and discovers that there may be more for him in life than his role as a humble teacher. Working to stay true to what is known of Shakespeare's early life, she weaves a story full of court intrigue, mysterious deaths, and hidden motivations that introduce many character types that show up in various later plays by the as yet still mortal bard.

Written for readers of the twenty-first century, using characters and locations from the sixteenth, "Ill Met By Moonlight" is an excellent tale of heroism, conspiracy, and the search for justice. A story that would be worthy of stage presentation in five acts, if such were still being written today.

To tell the truth I probably would've walked by the display of "Ill met by moonlight" in a bookstore, ignoring its colourful cover or flashing title. Fantasy and fairy tales are not really my cup of tea. However, it was the prospect of listening to audio book version read by Jason Carter that made me buy the tale. Fans do some crazy stuff that is for sure.

Now, after listening to eight hours of adventure, love and magic, I have to admit that I would've truly missed a fantastic novel if I hadn't bought it when I did. The first few minutes, the prologue to be exact, sounded strange to my ears. Then the story started and I was pulled into the magical world of Will Shakespeare and Prince Quicksilver.

English is not my first language so I have to say that I did not understand all words of this very colourful story. I learned to love and hate the characters and when the story moved on I was eager to see what would happen in the next scene, the next paragraph, yes, the next sentence. I fell in love with Quicksilver just as Lady Ariel did - and yet hoped for the dark Lady Silver to show Will the pleasures of love and passion. Sometimes my breath would catch in my throat when the unexpected happened. The Hunter's evil herd of wolves, or Will's attempt to capture Lady Silver by iron chains made me gasp in surprise and I hoped and feared for my favourite character.

In the end I was sad that the tale ended so soon but it was a good end, a happy end of a fairy tale.

This was only the second audio book I've ever "read". I was very pleased with the reading by Jason Carter who breathed vivid life into each character.

Quicksilver, youngest child of Titania and Oberon, was to be the heir to their kingdom. On their disappearance, however, his older brother, Sylvanus, stole the throne and Quicksilver became immersed in bitterness and hatred. He would do anything to regain his rightful place, regardless of the hurt he might cause to others.

Sylvanus, fancier of mortal women, has just lost his wife to childbirth. He takes a solid, and to him immeasurably attractive, country woman, nursing her own child, to be nursemaid to his motherless child-with the intent of making her much more than just a nursemaid.

Will Shakespeare comes come from work one evening to find his wife and infant daughter missing, replaced by sticks of wood. Sick with worry, he sets out on the long walk to Nan's family, in hopes she has been called there to attend a pregnant relative. While passing through Arden Forrest he sees the most bizarre vision: his wife, Nan, dressed in courtly clothing dancing with royalty in a castle set in air that Will cannot penetrate. Quicksilver involves Will in his plot for the throne, throwing the four of them-five if you count Quicksilver's spurned lover-into a plot worthy of the bard himself.

Sarah Hoyt's interpretation of Will Shakespeare's past is novel and enjoyable, with both humor and seriousness. As Shakespeare often did , Hoyt gives the comedy some tragic turns-some, however, that I felt weren't well enough resolved. I would be interested to hear what other readers have to say as well. She gives another nod to Shakespeare by throwing in quotes, tongue in cheek, in a mostly amusing way. Some seemed to forced, but they often brought a grin.

I enjoyed seeing the young, tentative Will who was very much in love with his older wife Nan. He proves himself to be very much the nineteen-year-old boy, who loves both with his heart and with his-well, his other parts. He was no match for the wiles of Quicksilver or for the beautiful mysterious woman. It is said that mortals who have been loved by an elf go crazy-Hoyt points out Kit Marlow and then shows Will following that same path, a nice wink toward his greatness and it's source.

I also enjoyed seeing Anne Hathaway Shakespeare in another role than that of shrew, as so many portray her. In Ill Met By Moonlight, Nan has a strong (though not shrewish) character, both standing up to Sylvanus and looking out for Will's best interest; it is she that I was the most fond of by the end of the book.

Overall, this was a fresh take on an old subject and I found it, if not engrossing, generally delightful. Of all the Shakespeare-as-hero-fiction I've read thus far, this is by far my favorite.

Sarah Hoyt has written a lovely fantasy that has the young Will Shakespeare saving his wife from the world of fairy, meeting his muse, and witnessing an internecine fairy conflict that will become grist for much of his future writing. She has also given us a literary guessing game as characters, quotes, and plots of the Bard's output come peeking around the corners of the story. Ariel is a dream. Her look into "fairyland" is often stunning in its invention. I particularly liked the use of dew drops as a sort of Elizabethan era DVD. There are points where the plot drags, but the book is short enough that we quickly move back along, and the excitement of fairy duels and life at court more than make up for any shortcomings. This book will do well in the hands of an adult, but should do exceptionally well with the "young mature" reader. Recommended.

It's easy to see why this was one of the featured books ... Hoyt's obviously well-researched debut drops you into Will Shakespeare's world so convincingly that you'll swear she talked to the Bard personally before penning this tale.

Under Hoyt's deft hand (and an impressive knowledge of Elizabethan language that she's modified just enough for us 21st-century English speakers to understand without translation, yet retains the feel of the period), a seemingly straightforward plots turns deliciously labyrinthine enough to make the Bard smile with delight.

Using the style of the play Romeo and Juliet, Hoyt's mysterious narrator starts the recipe, setting the scene before us while trying to staunch a bleeding eye (I believe this is a literary reference, which, if I understand correctly from Hoyt's website, she'll realize more fully in the sequel to this book), then Hoyt adds to each scene a short playbook narrative before getting into the action. (BTW, I found excerpt chapters of this book on her web site, sarahahoyt.com) She mixes in a plot using characters and the fairy world derived from A Midsummer Night's Dream, then ices the confection with fairy court intrigues and personalities that mirror the Elizabethan court in the real world.

Shakespeare himself participates in the fun, getting romantically involved with a Dark Lady fairy who oscillates at will between her female aspect and that of a Fair Boy, Quicksilver, who befriends Will (platonically, of course) even as he embroils Will in a plot to gain the fairy throne from his usurping brother.

I love Shakespeare, and I was delighted to find numerous quotes from his plays peppering Hoyt's book. I even found quite a few that I _thought_ were Shakespeare, but didn't show up in my searchable Shakespeare database.

This is one of the best books I've read in years, destined to be a classic both well-loved by readers and included in literature classes for years to come, but I hesitate to compare it to other classics in the field (and out of it), because Hoyt's work reads with such an original voice. I got the strong impression reading this book that I'd just witnessed the birth of one of the great writers of the 21st century.

(Other recommendations: Bridge of Birds +sequels, Barry Hughart; Roman Blood +sequels, Steven Saylor; Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis; Lord Meren books, Lynda Robinson; Fire & Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones; Small Gods, Terry Pratchett)

This is a fabulous audio. Sara Hoyt manages something that I didn't think was possible. A new view of the life an work of William Shakespeare. She brings him together with the world of the Fae and it makes for a surprisingly good fit. Jason Carter is best known for acting in the television series Babylon 5. Who would have guessed that he could bring this world to life ? He does it with gusto and as he speaks I can hear a your Will longing for his love. A faerie princeling in the throws of plots, politics and adolescence. A woman who is thrust into terrible choices. And that's just the beginning.

Quicksilver is a faery version of Prince Hamlet, the rightful ruler of his people, whose inheritance has been usurped by his murderous brother. He can only wreak revenge and claim his birthright with the help of a mortal, and Will Shakespeare seems like just the man for the job. Luckily, Quicksilver has a gender-shifting talent, and Will is much intrigued by Q's female aspect...

Will has an agenda as well; his wife has been kidnapped by the aforementioned usurping king, to be a nurse to his daughter...and the king eventually plans to make her his new Queen...

An amusing romp consisting of a generous helping of _Hamlet_, set in the world of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, spiced up with fairy-nurse legends, a liberal dose of "Tam Lin", and a dash of "The Courtship of Etain", not to mention a ghost scene straight out of _The Return of the Jedi_. Much fun.

Ill Met by Moonlight is unique among the few works of fiction that use William Shakespeare as a character. The trouble with most of those novels and films is their lack of daring. The precious few facts we know about the man are treated with such reverence that the author hardly dares to make the most believable addition. Maybe Will played detective and investigated Kit Marlowe's death? Maybe a girl sneaked in to play a girl's part? Maybe the Queen herself dropped by to catch a performance? They amuse us by timidly stepping a toe into the great unknown sea of Shakespeare's personal history.
Sarah Hoyt's Ill Met by Moonlight, on the other hand, is fired by an imagination and daring worthy of the playwright. The premise is simple and grand: what if Shakespeare based A Midsummer Night's Dream on his own encounters with the world of Faerie? And this is not the fairyland of Victorian children's stories that young Will falls into, rather it is the dark ethereal realm our ancestors thought they shared their world with. Kirk's Secret Commonwealth, inhabited by Tam Lin and Allingham's Fairies, in which a man who joins the dance in the fairy circle, may wake up the next day to find twenty years have passed in the world he knew.
Will's wife Nan and young daughter Susannah are spirited away to a crystal palace that appears in an enchanted wood, and Will, going to their rescue, finds himself enmeshed in the political affairs of nearly immortal creatures who, for all their great powers, are as succeptible as mortals to lust and greed and rage and the will to power. And is seduced by the impossibly beautiful Lady Silver.
Ill Met by Moonlight is an original and truly wonderful entertainment.

What if William Shakespeare meet real elves and fairies, and that this encounter truly led him onward to literary greatness? This is the intriguing, quite inspired, premise of Sarah A. Hoyt's literary debut, "Ill Met by Moonlight" in which a young William Shakespeare, still in adolescence, must rescue his wife and newborn babe from a local kingdom of elves near his hometown of Stratford. Hoyt has done a most admirable job in recreating the Elizabethan cultural and domestic landscape of Stratford, even without her occasional lapses into Shakespeare's own prose, as dialogue. It is without question, one of the beguiling historical fantasies I have come across, told well via Hoyt's simple, graceful, almost lyrical, prose.

It is a bold endeavor using the best-known figure in English literature as your main foil in a light hearted fantasy concerning men and fairies. Ms. Hoyt has taken William Shakespeare as a very young newlywed and enveloped him in a plot that has the usurper fairy king kidnapping his wife and child, first as a wet nurse and then maybe as a wife. Coming to his unlikely aid is the rightful king, who just happens to be able to change from male to female, and in a tale of mismatched love and lust plots to retrieve Will's wife Nan.

An interesting premise and actually not a bad little story. Some may be put off by the use of such a famous persona in such a light fantasy but as it happens I'm not one of them. I'd be willing to bet the old Bard wouldn't care all that much either, anything for a good story I'm sure. The biggest problem I had with the whole thing is the rationalization of why Will's wife Nan was picked by the usurper Sylvanus to be his wife. She was a self admitted `old maid' and a bit of a shrew who married a much younger William out of, oh I don't know, desperation? Certainly if she were a raving beauty she would have been snapped up long before Will came along, regardless of any possible personality flaws. So why did a centuries old fairy, with all the beauty and power of his enchanted position precipitate his own ruin by kidnapping this rather ordinary human woman? Beats me, I can't figure it out. To be honest it is easier to accept the existence of fairies than this plot twist.

I will say one thing of Ms. Hoyt, she certainly knows Shakespeare's works, at least the more well know ones anyway. Inter-dispersed with almost every spoken line is a hint, and sometimes a bit more than a hint, of some famous quote from one of the Bards plays. It's actually interesting trying to place some of the more paraphrased ones with their original.

As a romance it's only fair and as a fantasy it's good. All in all I would RECOMMEND it. It garnered just enough interest from me to proceed onto the next one, from there we will see.