37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another wonderful 500 kingdoms book, June 24, 2010
This review is from: The Sleeping Beauty (Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms) (Hardcover)
Merecedes Lackey's latest books are even better than her early books. (So if you haven't read anything by her in 20 years-give her another try.)If you have enjoyed any of her fairy tale novels, you will love this book. It is very well crafted. In my opinion, all of the 500 kingdoms books have been wonderful and this may be the best of them. You can definitely read it without having read the other 500 kingdoms books. However, there are a few nods to things from the other books that you will catch and smile over if you have read the others. I read this in one sitting because it was that good. I plan to re-read it again soon. I won't provide plot details to spoil anything, but the main characters are very likable--especially the godmother Lily. Not everyone that is good has a happy ending, but overall things wrap up in a very satisfying way.
I recommend this book to fantasy lovers, anyone who loves fairy tales, and to literary scholars (especially those of world literature and myths/legends). Each group will get something different but wonderful from this book and the rest of the series. Happy reading!
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suprises, Suprises, July 1, 2010
Originally Posted at: [...]
The Tradition. It is what rules the lives of all in the Five Hundred Kingdoms. The Godmothers do what they can to work around it so people aren't forced to a fate they don't deserve or want.
Godmother Lily needs to find a way to thwart the Tradition and help Rosamund become more than another pawn to it. Lily has been the Godmother of Eltaria for three hundred years, with the help of her brownies and her trusted mirror servant Jimson, but the death of Queen Celeste has created a buildup of the Tradition unlike any she has seen before. Since it was demanding Rosamund have an Evil Stepmother, Lily works with the King to become Queen Sable, a dark sorceress, giving them time for more planning.
Siegfried von Drachenthal is a Hero trying to avoid the Tradition as well, as his father keeps trying to wed him to the Sleeping Woman. Prince Leopold is looking for something as well, a way to succeed as the younger son in a family of many. Can they all work together to give Rosamund the chance at happiness outside the Tradition? Can they overcome kidnapping, danger, and trials of all kinds for the happy ever after? Can they come up with a plan to keep Eltaria secure and free?
I love Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series. They are a mix of traditional fairy tales, with small and deliciously funny twists throughout. The Sleeping Beauty is no exception.
There is the Godmother, Lily, determined to prevent the Tradition from determining Rosamund's fate. She is wise enough to know that some of the things can't be avoided, so she manipulates them to suit her purposes. The heroine, Rosamund, is intelligent and beautiful and more than capable of choosing her own destiny. She shows great wit and skill in facing each of the challenges thrown at her. Our heroes, Leopold and Siegfried, are handsome and strong, but totally different in demeanor. Siegfried is trying to avoid his own problems with the Tradition, while Leopold, as a younger son, is looking to make a good match.
The solution Lily comes up with to buy time is a series of tests to find the best candidate to wed Rosamund, after inviting the eligible nobles from the surrounding kingdoms to participate.
I loved the gentle love story that developed between one of our heroes and Rosamund as the trials progressed. I enjoyed the independence that Rosamund showed in learning to defend herself if necessary. This is a delightful twist on Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the Norse Siegfried fable, with lots of humor--much of it tongue-in-cheek.
Is there a happy ever after in this one? Actually there are three and two were a surprise I didn't see coming.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nap-Time, August 26, 2010
This review is from: The Sleeping Beauty (Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
My impression in 4 words: somewhat fun, nothing more.
Drawing a little on the tales of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and the Volsunga saga, but mostly on the Tradition plot, The Sleeping Beauty is about a princess (who does very little sleeping) trying to avoid being pulled into one of the sleeping princess plots, and a prince-equivalent from a faraway land who is trying to avoid being pulled into the 'fall in love with valkyrie' follow 'pain and suffering' plot.
The princess is Rosa, who is a particular favorite of the kingdom's resident Godmother, Lily. Lily tries her utmost to protect Rosa from the pull of the Tradition, going so far as to 'marrying' her father so he doesn't marry an evil stepmother. But when Rosa's father dies, the prosperous land is left open with no ruler, ripe for invasion. In order to stop the invasion, Lily decides to hold a series of trials for foreign princes so that they may compete to win Rosa's hand (read: hostages!).
(The whole Dwarf thing is taken care of early on and adds nothing particular to the story.)
While the plot was mildly amusing, it did not hold me in thrall. I was continually skipping paragraphs explaining surroundings and facts that I didn't care about and didn't enter the story for more than a page or two.
Example: "Siegfried's people might have been barbarians by some standards, but they were quite fastidious about cleanliness. Every Clanhouse had a bathhouse attached, and bathing was not a luxury; it was needful. In the winter, the bathhouse was one place you knew you could go to get warm... and when your clothing tended to be made of wool and fur, it was a good idea to deflea and delouse them..." And the paragraph runs on to explain how the bathhouse keeps out eavesdroppers. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with this passage. If it was spending any substantial time talking about Siegfried's people or Clanhouses or keeping clean, and if there were any other scenes even mentioning the bathhouse, I would not mind it. However, the whole passage is unnecessary and adds nothing to Siegfried's character or the plot. If it was needed to explain they would not be eavesdropped on, it could have been thrown in very succinctly.
Had these types of things been spare, I would not have minded, but they littered the pages and caused me actual annoyance (that's where the 3rd star gets knocked of). I got tired of the 'see, I thought all this out!' feel.
The characters weren't horrible, I almost liked Siegfried and his relationship with the comical prince Leopold, but they got a bit annoying. Rosa was a very shallow character, a typical 'I can take care of myself!' girl who then gets kidnapped incredibly easily but because she's been studying magic for a whole week or two can unravel complicated spells woven by an experienced caster. The bad guy was also very shallow, it was hard to tell what he was after, he was more one of those 'we need a bad guy, let's make him evil for no other reason'.
(I agree completely with the Birdie Blue reviewer.)
A positive thing I can say about this child-like book is that it remained mostly light and innocent (unlike other Five Hundred Kingdoms books and the Elemental Masters books which contain at least one skippable intimate scene and usually more than one dark plot element).
Ok, and I admit, the Norse mythology made me happy, even with the shallow pokes at it. (And I'm actually reading the Poetic Edda Volsunga Saga right now!)
I believe that had this been a novella or short story I would have enjoyed it much more. As it was, I had to struggle to read beyond the first 100 pages. I've been disappointed with Lackey's work ever since the last good Valdemar book (Exile's Honor); I'd hoped this might be a revival but, once again, I was sorely disappointed.
If you are looking for a quick light sarcastic fairy-tale, and you have enjoyed Lackey's other Five Hundred Kingdoms work, you will probably enjoy The Sleeping Beauty for a one-time read. Otherwise, I do not recommend it, not for the humor or the romance or the writing.
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