Customer Reviews

Princess and the Hound

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Perhaps it's redundant for me to add a positive comment about a book that I read in advance of publication, so that there's already a positive quote from me on the cover.

But since the review by Ms. Drew, already posted here, takes me to task for my "error" in praising an "inexperienced" writer, I took the liberty of replying at length in a comment attached to her review.

Let me say here, too, that after thirty years as a writer, critic, reviewer, editor, and writing teacher, I have seen few writers as creative and innovative as Mette Ivie Harrison. Instead of fitting her stories into a pre-existing template, she confronts the challenges of the tale she wants to tell and finds ingenious and surprising solutions.

The result, though, is nontraditional structure that, as Ms. Drew demonstrates, will displease some readers. That simply can't be helped. If every writer had to meet Ms. Drew's expectations, I would be bitterly disappointed; so let's admit the world of literature is large enough to include books for her and books for me.

The essence of speculative fiction is to give readers experiences they haven't had a thousand times before. Mette Ivie Harrison does this with emotionally effective, intellectually fascinating, and aesthetically pleasing stories. She is already one of the best, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

- Orson Scott Card

Mette Ivie Harrison's new book has a deceptive title and cover. They certainly represent the book, but they work to narrow alienate half of its potential audience, namely male readers. The main protagonist is George, a prince and heir to a throne. George has animal magic, a dangerous magic since anyone determined to have it will be summarily put to death. He is also expected to marry Beatrice, a princess from another kingdom. His journey of discovery, especially in his relationships with his mother, father and Beatrice make a fine book with a fantasy setting. Harrison incorporates her world with a folklore that feels real and sometimes threatening while fully portraying the dangerous and lonely lives of both George and Beatrice.

Harrison's writing style is most evocative of Robin McKinley but still all her own. Readers of fantasy, animal stories and subtle romances will enjoy this novel and hope for more from this skilled author. Fans of Robin McKinley, Patricia McKillip, Franny Billingsley, Cornelia Funke and Sherwood Smith should add this to their "must" be read list.

At the fearful risk of earning a verbal lashing by the author of one of the greatest spec-fic novels ever, I feel compelled to say that I ended my reading of The Princess and the Hound with deep dissatisfaction. Like Ms. Drew, I was baffled by Mr. Card's endorsement on the cover. I kept flipping the book shut every so often as I read, to check that I hadn't imagined those fulsome words of praise and their byline.

The Princess and the Hound is a story of unexplained magic, tentative first love, and family relationships gone awry. It also seems to be somewhat confusedly trying to say something about human/animal politics.

George, crown prince of the kingdom of Kendel, is possessed of the illegal and vilified animal magic. He struggles to balance the demands of secret magic with his duties as royalty, while living a life empty of loving relationships after the tragic death of his mother. When he becomes betrothed to Beatrice, the princess of a rival kingdom, George discovers in her an unexpected opportunity for love, if he can overcome her desperate defensiveness. Within this novel's pages there are: a vengeful scheme to poison a king, magical transformations, the threat of death by burning, cross-species... ummmm...relations, a bear that wanders the forests seeking relief from a terrible magical revenge, and family dysfunction enough to fill a waiting room. Should be enough elements of conflict for a landslide of a plot. Should be.

I was expecting an original, subtle, and thought-provoking tale to unfold as I read the first quarter of this story. The writing felt solid. The characters full-breathed with promise of better to come. The conflict, as it had been developed to that point, original and subtle.

Then it just degenerated into a confused muddle. The subtlety became vagueness, and the vagueness was not dispelled when the author began telling me what to think at every step of the way. Chapter thirty five, in particular, was excruciating. It absolutely squelches with mushy dialogue and soppy reactions. I held out reading right to the novel's end only because of the promise in those early pages. I kept hoping that the author would regain her footing and prove that there was actually a point to all that aimless wandering.

Instead, I kept being told in the most blatantly contrived manner why the characters were doing what they were doing. They felt more like sock puppets than people. There were exchanges on nearly every page that, according to the author involved great pathos, but somehow I just couldn't buy it. In fact, the emotional pitch of most of the latter three-quarters of the story approached hysteria without making me feel anything.

Is the premise original? It certainly seems to be. A premise does not a story make, however.

The encouraging aspect of this novel is that it comes very close to being a well-written story. It is so close, in fact, that perhaps that is why its failures are so aggravating.

This entire book felt as if it was building and building toward a fantastic climax....and then never went anywhere. I was rather disappointed.

The characters were certainly interesting, and I loved the development of the relationships, especially those of the kings (George and Beatrice's fathers) and their children. I believe that was one of the few aspects of the ending that I liked, the development of those relationships, as well as George's personal growth into his position and responsibilities as King. Oh, and Beatrice's personal growth was almost there. We really couldn't get to know her during the story (because she wasn't herself...) so while I know she blossomed into a fiery, determined young woman, I didn't actually see it happen.

Other than that, the ending left me going "Huh?" Through the entire story George is struggling to use or not use his magic, trying to reconcile his two worlds. Then at one point (a very confusing, unclear point involving a bear and a hound...or Beatrice...and...what exactly happened again? And why?) he suddenly just "knows," and this huge powerful amazing magic-thing happens....and suddenly everything's ok, no more internal conflict. Lost? Me too. I had the feeling that muddled moment was supposed to be the climax, the culmination toward which the entire story had been leading. Afterward, the story resumed as usual, as if some of the major plot questions had been answered (which I don't think they were).

Great potential, but left me feeling frustrated. I can't say I'd read it again.

I did not have the highest expectations for this book, but I figured that even if it were a bit silly that it would be a quick, enjoyable read. The story itself is engaging enough, but due to the poor quality of the writing, finishing the book quickly came from duty rather than interest and ease.

The writing is my biggest complaint. I mean this sincerely--it read as beginner's fanfic. The author tells you what the character is thinking rather than shows you, and then after she tells you, she reinforces the telling by saying it again a little differently (which I imagine was the attempt to build upon the sentiment in effort of complexity). I could literally predict what the next sentence would be because Prince George's thoughts were not but cliches.

The attempt at creating a believable, slow-building romance just fell flat. Granted our hero and heroine take long enough to fall in love, but once the actual declarations are made, it's forced and unconvincing. The potential is there, but the book ends at the promise of potential rather than showing us two people who fall in love. Do not get me wrong, this is not a complaint for want of true love, but rather a complaint that the book does not develop what it promises to develop; the whole book is contingent upon an even that never comes.

Description from front inside flap of the hardback edition, missing from the paperback edition:

......................................................................

He is a prince, heir to a kingdom threatened on all sides, possessor of the animal magic, which is forbidden by death in the land he'll rule.

She is a princess from a rival kingdom, the daughter her father never wanted, isolated from true human friendship but inseparable from her hound.

Though they think they have little in common, each possesses a secret that must be hidden at all costs. Proud, stubborn, bound to marry for the good of their kingdoms, this prince and princess will steal YOUR heart, but will they fall in love?

.......................................................................

What first interested me about this book was it's cover. I thought that it was very well done, and a pretty cover never hurt anyone. I then read the inside panel (written above) and was immediately pulled in. It made the book sound like a romance, with a little bit of magic thrown in. I was expecting something along the lines of Ella Enchanted, for older readers. What I found was disappointing.

The story in The Princess and the Hound is not at fault. I found the story and it's elements and how everything was related to be very interesting and original. The legends and folklore and the use of animal magic was very clever. The characters were not bad either and were somewhat likeable. The problem with this book lies not with it's story and plot, but with the writing.

The Princess and the Hound, like many books, is written in the third person point of view. As most of you know, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Usually third person can be used by a talented writer and sound almost as if the characters are using the first person, using I and me, etc. Being used to the very personal and introspective third person, I was a little surprised at the blandness of the third person used in the book. It was written from Prince George's perspective, but sounded dull and impersonal, like it wasn't him telling us at all, but some all knowing story teller that only knew about George's life, a few of his thoughts, and nothing of anyone else's.

If the story and ideas of this book were its saving grace, then narration was its fault. I was so disappointed because a potentially great book was wasted simply because the narration of the story was dull and bland and never really let us inside the characters and understand them. I will say, though, that the story did keep me turning the pages to find out what would happen in the end. It was interesting and the plot was good, but not good enough to overcome the weakness in writing.

I never realized how important narration was until it was done badly, and the story was sacrificed because of it. I won't say that the writing in particular was bad, if stuffy, impersonal, and nondeep revelations are what you like, but if you prefer to learn and get to know the characters instead of being TOLD about them and their every thought and emotion, then I suggest you don't read this book, or if you do, keep in mind that the saving grace in this book is not the narration, but the story in general.

Judging by the story, this book gets 5 stars for originality, but loses 2 because a story is nothing without characters, and the characters, though I was TOLD about them a little, I never got to meet them for myself.

Prince George of the kingdom of Kendel has always known he was different from others. As a small boy, he followed his mother to the stables and the forest and learned how to speak with the animals there. As he grows older, he comes to learn that he must never share this secret with anyone, as animal magic is banned in the kingdom and punishable by death. But when he becomes betrothed to the neighboring kingdom's Princess Beatrice, who has a strange and inseparable relationship with a mysterious wild hound, both of their secrets threaten to come out into the open.

I'm really not sure how I felt about this one. I think it could have been much more tightly plotted, and sometimes I couldn't figure out exactly what the author was trying to do or where she wanted the story to go. Everything was told in a kind of distant, fairy-tale style, which sometimes works for me but here didn't, because it made it hard to get attached to either George or the princess. All of this is making it sound like I really hate the book, but I don't, just feel kind of meh about it.

It's rather a lovely cover, don't you think? More than one person has told me the cover was what caught their eye in the bookstore and insisted on being taken home. It's also a rather lovely 400+ pages. Plenty of time to get to know the characters and their world, which is good as they are both quite intricate. Despite the cover (and title), the princess and her hound are not the main characters in this story. The narrative centers instead on a boy named George. Prince George, to be exact. And Prince George possesses a pack of problems. His mother died when he was young, leaving him alone in the world with no siblings to share his grief and a father who knows how to rule a kingdom but understands nothing of how to be a father. On top of which, George has the dubious gift of animal magic. He can speak their language and feels most comfortable out in the wild, conversing with the animals, than around humans. Trouble is, animal magic is feared and loathed far and wide in George's world and he quickly determines he must keep his talent a secret if he wishes to live long enough to inherit the throne.

When it comes time for George to do his princely duty and marry to preserve the kingdom, he goes forth to meet his betrothed with a strong sense of duty, if not alacrity, for the task at hand. The Princess Beatrice proves to be a particularly fierce young woman whose life has been as bleak as George's own and who has a few painful secrets of her own to guard, as well as a hound she refuses to be separated from. It's clear to the reader from the moment these two meet that they need each other desperately and would do well to stick together, that is if either of them could see past their own troubles long enough to recognize what's standing right in front of them. Beatrice, however, shows even less interest in the match than George, and the two of them are rarely ever in the same room together long enough to go about the business of getting to know each other. And marriage negotiations aside, there is a truly creepy mystery running throughout the book, to do with a potentially mad doctor moving from kingdom to kingdom bent on revenge.

Yep, it's a recipe for success. And it succeeds...for the most part. I liked the dark, creepy feel that pervaded the majority of the story. This is not a gentle fairy tale, by any means. Characters such as Beatrice's father and the mysterious doctor brought to mind the evil Cabbarus of Westmark (Firebird) fame (never a bad thing), and I liked George's journey from frightened boy to capable ruler. There were a few very poignant scenes, particularly between George and his father, that struck me. I even liked Beatrice, despite how off putting and seemingly lacking in all emotion she was throughout the book. The problem was in the unrealized potential between these two characters who needed each other so badly. Yes, I realize Beatrice's secret made realization a bit difficult on the whole but, when it finally did come out, things wrapped up rather quickly and coldly and I couldn't quite buy into the abrupt shift. I felt like they needed more time to cement things between them. And, I will admit, the ramifications of the revelation proved a bit too bizarre even for me to stomach. On the whole, THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND was a complicated and intriguing tale which I felt need a little more refining to smooth out the bumps and cracks along the way.

I am incredibly impressed by how Mette managed to create a world where there is descrimination against a people who are unable to help what they are, and an aim to allow those people to not only escape their forced internal imprisonment but also allot for a potential change. She does not create "the perfect world" where once Prince George proclaims his own animal magic, but shows that not everyone is willing to change or show tolerance to those different to themselves; that bridges gaps beyond a fantasy world, and touches home to our own world.

I absolutely adore the fact that she wanted this to be a "Beauty and the Beast" type of novel, but in fact I see more relevance in comparing it to "Deerskin". While Deerskin is far more tragic, it has the same change-like qualities as well as the Princess and her own hound who share an unbreakable bond. That bond ultimately saves the main character's life. If you liked "The Princess and the Hound" definitely check out "Deerskin."

Harrison is a gifted writer whose style is eloquent without being too wordy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I was hoping for a little more swashbuckling! I can't wait for the sequel, though, the stage is all set for some interesting complications, now that Prince George has let the cat (or hound, rather) out of the bag!