Once Upon an Autumn Eve [Hardcover]

Dennis L. McKiernan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2006

Liaze, Princess of the Autumnwood, discovers a wounded knight has breached the boundary between her faery world and the land of mortal man-and recognizes him as the man her heart has been waiting for. But when he is snatched from her by a dark force, Liaze must undertake a perilous quest to retrieve her love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strictly for younger readers and those who favor frothy extended fairy tales, McKiernan's third seasonal fantasy (after Once Upon a Winter's Night and Once Upon a Summer Day) is set in the wondrous land of Faery, "a place of marvel and adventure and magic and peril, populated by mythical and mystical creatures and uncommon beings." When plucky amber-eyed Princess Liaze of the Autumnwoods rescues handsome and mysterious indigo-eyed knight-errant Luc from marauding goblins, the two instantly fall in love. Then Luc is kidnapped, and enemy wizard Orbane and his acolytes—the three witch sisters Hradian, Iniquí and Nefasí—are implicated. Based loosely on the fairy tale of the Glass Mountain and the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin, the novel turns on the truth behind Luc's parentage, but one-dimensional characters and minimal tension won't hold fans of McKiernan's better known Mithgar series (The Dragonstone, etc.). (Apr.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* One chill autumn eve, a handsome young knight rides into the life and the heart of Liaze, princess of the Autumnwood, who has long awaited her true love. Unfortunately, he is badly wounded and pursued by trolls. Liaze quickly dispatches the most immediate trolls--so gratifying to see a princess really fight her own battles--hauls the unconscious knight back on his war horse, hops on behind him, and tears off toward home. Luc--the knight--heals and falls in love but, having been raised by a woodsman, hasn't a clue who he really is. Judging from his courtly manners and battle training, Liaze suspects there's more to him, and when a vile witch kidnaps him and places him, under a spell, atop a glass mountain, she aims to get him back, despite such major setbacks as having no trail to follow. The Fates, who seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for Liaze's family, get involved but can offer aid only in the form of riddles. Meanwhile, time is running out so very, very quickly. No one beats McKiernan at the traditionally styled adult fairy tale, with something for everyone: beautiful princess oblivious to all states of personal dishabille, handsome prince, impossible challenges, despicably evil creatures, and romance, romance, romance! Quite simply enchanting. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Roc Hardcover; First Edition edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451460693
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460691
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quest for an Abducted Knight, August 20, 2007

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Upon an Autumn Eve (Paperback)

Once Upon an Autumn Eve (2006) is the third Fantasy novel in the Faery series, following Once Upon A Summer Day. In the previous volume, Prince Borel rescued Lady Michelle from the sleeping castle. Even as they were returning to Borel's home, a demon tried to kill Chelle. Then Rhensibe attacked Borel and Slate brought her down. After the witch's death, Borel and Chelle finally reached Winterwood Manor.

In this novel, Princess Liaze is bathing in a calm pool within the branches of a large willow grove when she hears a horn call. Then several others blare in response and draw nearer. A horse rushes within the branches and sits back on his haunches to avoid falling into the pool. Liaze hurries toward the horse as the rider slips down and falls to the sward.

After Liaze reaches the fallen man, she sees that he is bleeding copiously from his forehead. She rolls him over, he calls her "Ange" and then falls unconscious. Horns blat outside the grove and then a redcap comes within the branches. Liaze skewers him with the warrior's broken sword, but the goblin gets off one shriek. The running feet outside turn back and start to come through the branches.

Liaze gets the warrior back onto his horse and they both flee. As more goblins and a Troll appear, she charges at them with the broken sword in her hand. Beyond the branches, she sees her warband riding over the greensward toward her. She rushes through them and the warband start slaying the goblinkin.

The next morn, Liaze learns that the warrior is named Luc. He claims that he is not yet a knight, but Liaze borrows a sword and knights him on the spot, for he has saved many lives with his warning and valiant defense. Over the next few days, he recuperates from his wounds and becomes a favorite of the warriors and staff.

Liaze has loved him from his first word to her, but she has enough experience, including a gold digging comte, that she is very reluctant to give in to the feeling. Her maid Zoe sees through her denials and encourages her to pursue her desires. Eventually she learns that Luc has loved her from his very first glance, although he then believed her to be an angel. Finally she admits her own feelings and they become lovers.

Luc asks Liaze to marry him and she assents. They have yet to post the banns, but she announces the betrothal to her retinue. They celebrate with a formal banquet and dance to the enjoyment of all. Yet that night a shadowy hand comes through the window, seizes Luc and carries him away.

In this story, none in her household know where the shadowy hand went. Liaze thinks to consult a seer, but the only one in the Autumnwood is a fraud. She returns to the willow grove to think and meets Lady Skuld. The Sister of Fate gives her a rede that says she should ride out alone; her only companion should be the howling one. When one of the searchers finds a goblin camp with one caged crow, Liaze equips herself and then has the crow released so that she can follow its path.

With the assistance of the Autumnwood sprites, and a Ghillie Dhu, Liaze follows the crow to the sunwise marge of her domain and beyond. The crow seems to be flying back along the path that Luc followed into her domain. At last, Liaze relinquishes control to Deadly Nightshade -- Luc's warhorse -- and lets him take her back toward his stable. Liaze rides through wind and rain and other discomforts and dangers until she finally finds the howler.

This story is an expansion and revision of the fairytale "The Glass Mountain". It features a heroine instead of a hero and depicts many hazards and adventures lacking in the present day tale. Yet this recreation is surely as enthralling as the original bardic tale. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for McKiernan fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the Faery lands, parlous adventures and true love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

5.0 out of 5 stars science fiction, May 24, 2009

By 

Albert Kasenter (Saxonburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Once Upon an Autumn Eve (Paperback)

This is written in the mode of J R Tolkien and is a great and easy to read novel. It was hard to put down. It was written as a story teller of old would have told it.

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 27, 2007

By 

J. Austin (Towson, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Once Upon an Autumn Eve (Hardcover)

While the first two books of this series were passably original, this one is tired, hackneyed and ridiculous. So far, every book in this series involves a missing loved one, the three fates and a time limit on a quest. Also, the stories exhibit an exceedingly simplistic and narrow minded world view (the heroines are blond or redheads, and the bad women all have black hair, for instance). The language is too precious and the random introduction of french phrases is jarring.