The Storyteller's Daughter: A Retelling of "The Arabian Nights" (Once Upon a Time) [Mass Market Paperback]

Cameron Dokey (Author), Mahlon F. Craft (Designer)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 2007 | Series: Once Upon a Time

"ONCE UPON A TIME"IS TIMELESS

In a faraway kingdom, a king has been betrayed. Deeply hurt and bitterly angry, he vows never to be deceived again. Unfortunately, the king's plan to protect himself will endanger all of the realm's young women, unless one of them will volunteer to marry the king -- and surrender her life.

To everyone's relief and horror, one young woman steps forward. The daughter of a legendary storyteller, Shahrazad believes it is her destiny to accept this risk and sacrifice herself.

On the night of her wedding to the king, Shahrazad begins to weave a tale. Fascinated, the king lets her live night after night. Just when Shahrazad dares to believe that she has found a way to keep her life -- and an unexpected love -- a treacherous plot will disrupt her plan. Now she can only hope that love is strong enough to save her.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cameron Dokey is the author of How Not to Spend Your Senior Year and nine Once upon a Time novels for Simon Pulse. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416937765
• ISBN-13: 978-1416937760
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not her best May 31, 2010

By small review

Format:Mass Market Paperback

A retelling of the Arabian Nights tale from the Once Upon a Time series. There once was a king who was deeply wounded by his wife. In response, he walled up his heart and vowed to continually take a bride and kill her the following morning. Hoping to save the kingdom, the future wives, and the king, Scheherazade volunteered herself and married the king. She had a trick up her sleeve, however, and using her talents for storytelling, she wove a fantastical story that had the king in thrall. Refusing to kill her until the story was completed, the king listened to Scheherazade's tale over the course of many nights until he found himself falling in love with her.

The basic story is the same as the original, though the characters' personalities and backstories are changed and expanded on and the tales Scheherazade tells are, as far as I can tell, Dokey's own creations. While I didn't connect with these characters as much as I connected in Dokey's other books in the series, the story was engaging and multi-layered. Scheherazade's tales were woven seamlessly throughout, adding depth and a meandering quality befitting a fairy tale.

I find Dokey's strong points are her original twists to the fairy tale she's retelling that have surprised and impressed me and her ability to create characters the reader connects with and cares about. Unfortunately, The Storyteller's Daughter fell flat for me in both areas. While not terrible and good on its own, I find myself slightly disappointed with this book in comparison to Dokey's other offerings in the series. I'd give this one more like 3 and 1/2 stars, but bump it up that extra 1/2 star because her other books are so much better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An easy, simple read December 28, 2011

By Stefanie Carlson

Format:Mass Market Paperback

There hasn't been much fairy tale/alternative fairy tale stories in the Arabian Nights end of the spectrum, and I was looking forward to it purely because it hasn't been done to death. It was a nice read, though short, and relatively simple.

I think what I enjoyed the most was that it was told with a very 'oral tradition' style of prose, as though it was indeed being told by the storyteller herself to an audience.

However, in doing so, the language was kept simpler, and at times hindered the development of the characters on a deeper level. We did not feel as they felt truly, but only as the storyteller explained it. In this, the main characters of the story were often kept as shallow as those in the stories within the stories.

Having picked up an earlier $5 "school market" printing of the book, I do feel as though I got my money's worth in the telling... but only barely. I was hoping for more depth, and perhaps that's what makes this book remain a YA level only retelling over something for YA and adults who love the fairy tale genre as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Storyteller's Daughter - Good May 31, 2011

By Rachel Harris

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Storyline - You think you know the story of Shahrazad. But you were wrong. That is how our story begins. As a young girl, she was not liked by the other children because her mother was different which made her different. So she hid herself from the world. But when the king changes after his late wife finds a lover and conspirates to kill him, Shahrazad knows it is she who is meant to save him. But will her plan to help him be taken as a plot against him if he learns of it? And what of the brothers of the king's late wife who now wants revenge? Will the king and Shahrazad find love before it is too late?

Writing - The words the author used and the sentence structure was like what you would read in fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. Even though it was a little different, it was appropriate for the story and was rather interesting.

Personal Opinion - For being a secular book, it was good. Clean and decent and I enjoyed the story. The retelling of this old tail was new, interesting, and very clean. I will be giving other books in this series (especially the ones I am interested in the most) a read when I can get my hands on them. If interested in the Arabian Nights story or fairy tales, this is a very interesting book.