That Family Circus Feeling [Paperback]

Bil Keane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1982

A collection of humorous cartoons about family life and relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this exciting historical fantasy from veterans Lackey (Exile's Valor) and Gellis (Bull God), Rhoslyn and Pasgen Silverhair, elven twins kidnapped by Vidal Dhu and raised as Unseleighe Sidhe, receive alternative visions of the future. In one, a red-headed child born to Henry VIII ascends to the throne after the king's death, leading Britain into a prosperous and joyous future. In the other, another child rules, and with her coronation opens Britain to the fires of the Inquisition. Unbeknownst to Rhoslyn and Pasgen, however, the same double vision comes to their half-siblings among the Bright Court elves, Denoriel and Aleneil. Thus inspired, the two sets of twins set out to force the future they each desire. Denoriel attaches himself to Henry FitzRoy, the bastard son of Henry VIII, who may be the key to ensuring the red-headed child's rule, while Rhoslyn assumes a place in Princess Mary's household. FitzRoy, who grows from a sweet, innocent child into a sweet, innocent young adult, and Denoriel, who goes from reluctant nursemaid to dedicated almost father, get most of the attention, but it's the dark twins who provide the most interest. The mental, magical and eventually physical battle between the two sets of twins speeds the entertaining plot along, and knowledgeable readers—hey, that Anne Boleyn is going to lose her head—will enjoy the interplay between elven intervention and historical fact.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Lackey and Gellis' account of elvish intervention in the intrigues of the court of King Henry VIII of England is quite competently written, but then one expects no less from these authors, either separately or in collaboration. The human protagonist is Harry Fitzroy, Henry's illegitimate son. About the time Henry started thinking of divorcing Catherine of Aragon, there was a fair amount of speculation in the courts of Europe as to whether he would declare his only son--Harry Fitzroy--his heir. In the world conjured by Lackey and Gellis, both the bright and the dark elvish court seek to control the "red-haired babe" who will bring England to greatness. Since at least three of Henry's children were red-haired as infants, confusion and intrigue--the latter initiated by the elves, directly and through their human servants--abound, making for an entertainingly convoluted complex of plots and subplots. This magical Tudor court makes for a fun read, without doing violence to anything known about any historical character involved. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (April 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836211251
• ISBN-13: 978-0836211252
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,106,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Dynamic Duo!, February 1, 2004

By 

Sharyn L. Gruener "cib069" (cincinnati, ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Scepter'd Isle (The Doubled Edge, Book 1) (Hardcover)

If you take two premier writers, each in their own genre, and add them together, what do you get? You get, "This Scepter'd Isle" co-authored by Roberta Gellis; stellar author of the historical novel, and Mercedes Lackey; high flyer in the genre of fantasy.

See the reign of King Henry VIII through the eyes of the Queen of Historical fiction, Roberta Gellis. Her grasp of the life and times of Renaissance England is astute. Her research is impeccable and her talent is legion. Nobody writes history like Ms. Gellis as evidenced in works like The Roselynde Chronicles, and The Magdalene la Batarde trilogy of A Mortal Bane, A Personal Devil and Bone of Contention.

Very few authors can compare with the skilled and imaginative world building of Mercedes Lackey. From her wonderful Heralds, Companions, Hawbrothers, Bond Birds and other magical beings in the Heralds of Valdemar series, to the elves, bards and elvensteeds of the Serrated Edge series, her imagination takes flight and never lets up. Able to endow her characters and worlds with intelligence, emotion and magic, she is definitely top drawer in the fantasy world.

This book is rich with detailed and in depth description of a truly fantastical world! A world where the thought is parent to the deed and magic forces are controlled with the flick of a finger. A world where wondrous beauty can disguise malevolent evil that will stoop to any depths to insure the continued presence of despair, indignity and depravity for the benefit of its kind.

In the land of Underhill, two futures have been seen for the people of King Henry VIII of England by the Seleighe and Unseleigh alike, in their farseeing mirrors. One future is rife with evil and chaos. Persecution is rampant and prevails over the mortal lands. The other future blossoms with prosperity, art, and music. All is well and happiness flourishes.

Both futures hinge on the life of one red-haired, red-face, scowling, squalling infant, as seen held in the arms of King Henry VIII in their visions. Who is the child? Has it even been born? Is it male or female? Does it's life? Or death? determine the wondrous future seen? If the child is born will it need to live or die to fulfill the wondrous future? These are questions the Seleighe and Unseleighe must find answers to in order to further their own future existence.

The Seleighe decide that the child will need to be born and live to insure the happiness and wellbeing of England and its people. To that end, they choose Denoriel and Aleneil, twin brother and sister, to go into the mortal world as protectors and guardians of the red-haired child. Denoriel's first words when hearing of the decision "But I am a warrior, not a nursemaid!" He soon comes to see that his future is set and he must grow determined to protect this child with his very life or see the Seleighe cease to exist.

The Unseleighe; who thrive and prosper on pain, evil and misery, are determined the child shall not live to reign after the death of King Henry. They will do anything to prevent the continued prosperity of England, even if they must attempt to prevent the birth of the child. Vidal Dhu, leader of the Unseleighe, has chosen Pasgen and Rhoslyn, also twin brother and sister, to guarantee that the child shall not survive to adulthood.

So the battle lines are drawn and the contest is about to begin. Will the Seleighe or Unseleighe prevail? Will Denoriel manage to confound and confuse the evil Pasgen over the identity of the child? Will Pasgen's machinations conquer all and guarantee the domination of Vidal Dhu over England's lush countryside? Enter Underhill and see the forces of good versus evil battle for the life of one precious, child.

Come walk through the medieval worlds of England and Underhill where Seleighe and Unseleighe determine the fate of England. You'll be glad you came and will look forward to the next volume in this saga.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but too short, April 19, 2004

By 

Barb Caffrey "writer-for-hire" (In a Midwest State (of mind), USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Scepter'd Isle (The Doubled Edge, Book 1) (Hardcover)

THIS SCEPTR'D ISLE may be 496 pages long, but it's still too short.

Why do I say that?

Well, it's not just because I enjoy the writers so much (although I do), and it's not just because it starts off so well (even though it does).

It's more that the story as a whole suffers when the authors turn away from Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII's "natural," i.e., illegitimate, son. Fitzroy is a very engaging character, and while the book stays with him (and the Seleighe elves protecting him), I enjoyed it immensely.

However, about 2/3 of the way through, the story shifts more to protecting Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I). Because of this, we don't see Henry's marriage, we don't see much of his life after he hits age 13 (the then-age of maturity!), and we don't really see why he likes Elizabeth so much. The best the authors came up with was that Fitzroy didn't know, either, but since he did, he was going to do his best for her.

This is quite plausible, considering Fitzroy was around age 17 when he died; how many 17 year old boys are close to their sisters? And if they are, how many of them know why?

Still, it's a fairly weak thread to weave your plot over; it worked, because the authors are both fine writers, but I would rather have seen this book go another fifty to one hundred pages and see Fitzroy's marriage, maybe see him yearning for his own kids (and that might be why he took to Elizabeth, who was portrayed as not only very smart but very loving as a youngster?), and have the plot fully fleshed out.

As it stands, 2/3 of this book is exemplary, but then it falls off to a very rushed ending that wasn't very satisfying.

Be that as it may, THIS SCEPTR'D ISLE is an entertaining prequel to Ms. Lackey's "Bedlam's Bard" and "Serrated Edge" novels, and I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the two sets of half-sibling twins, Rhoslyn and Pasgen (raised by the Unseleighe, or Dark, Elves) and Denoriel and Aleneil (raised by the Seleighe, or Bright, Elves).

A shade under four stars, recommended.

Barb Caffrey

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Henry VIII, baby Elizabeth, and Elves. Entertaining, March 19, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Scepter'd Isle (The Doubled Edge, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Seers in both Selieghe and Unselieghe courts see two visions of the future. In one, Queen Mary rules England, enforces the grim rule of the Church and the Inquisition, and destroys the Elf-court of Avalon. In the other, a red-headed child grows to create a new England--one that practices tolerance and that creates a flowering of literature, art and science. For both, the choice of the future is critical. The Selieghe would be destroyed by the inquisition as surely as the elf-courts of Spain had been. The Unselieghe will gain power from the suffering.

Open battle between the two courts is impossible and too-overt manipulation in the affairs of mortal men has its own danger, but this doesn't prevent them from sending their agents into Henry VIII's England. The Selieghe see the bastard son of Henry as a key to the child of prophesy and send Demoriel, one of their warriors, to protect him. The Unselieghe send Demoriel's half-brother to thwart him. The result is a battle that unfolds over a decade as King Henry seeks a legitimate son, a child who can secure the English throne and prevent it from becoming a tool of the Spanish or French. Because a ruling Queen must marry, and whomever she marries would soon control England.

Authors Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis combine to create an intriguing alternate history set in England at the dawn of the modern age. Elves and men conspire and plot to chose the next Queen of England, to strengthen or weaken the bonds of Church over State, and to gain control of the future in a pivotal moment in history. Lackey and Gellis add amusing jaunts through the 'underhill,' letting the reader savor the joys of magic.

There's a lot to like about a story that brings history to life, adds a bit of magic, and is written by two such accomplished authors. (Baen makes the offer even more intriguing by including a CD-ROM (in the hardback version, at least) with the full text to at least 40 other Baen novels). Still, I found myself feeling somewhat cheated at the end. After all, Mary did become Queen and did her best to bring back the Catholic church with all of its late-medieval cruelty and oppression. Elizabeth was protected and did become the Queen that maintained England's independence, allowed writers including Shakespear to flourish, and began the global trading empire that grew into the largest and most powerful nation in the world--but was Harry FitzRoy really that critical?

THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE is an enjoyable read. I certainly recommend it to anyone interested in Henry VIII and his many wives--and to those who track the doings of the elf-courts. Still, am I the only one who thinks authors with the talent of Lackey and Gellis couldn't have done a bit more?