Once Upon a Summer Day (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "There is a place in Faery where eternal summer lies upon the land; it is a region of forests and fields, of vales and clearings,..." (more)
Key Phrases: blushing white roses, deadly steed, perilous blades, Prince Borel, Endless Sands, Lord Borel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Romantics, rejoice! McKiernan's retelling of Sleeping Beauty is the way it should have been done the first time around. Prince Borel, lord of the Winterwood, falls asleep one warm summer afternoon and dreams of a beautiful, golden-haired maid in distress, trapped within a stone turret. Her only words to Borel are, "Please--help me!" Borel awakens, uncertain whether he has had a vision or only a dream. But the maid's terrified plea is enough to give him pause, and after having the same dream again and again, Borel sets out to discover where she is being held. But before the happy ending, our hero, assisted by the loyal and brave Flic (a sprite) and steadfast Buzzer (a bumblebee), must encounter and overcome trolls, sorcerers, hideous things that go bump in the night, and the cunning king of Faery himself. The lines between good and evil are clear, and romance and chivalry and true love are alive and flourishing. McKiernan's magic invites readers to dive completely into the story, as children do, and conjures the same overwhelming wonder that children experience. A positively charming--and well-told--tale! Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A positively charming-and well-told-tale -- Booklist, starred review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Roc (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045146012X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460127
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #848,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #27 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > McKiernan, Dennis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Once upon a recurring dream, April 12, 2005

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Things are starting to rev up in Dennis McKiernan's "Once Upon A Summer Day," the second of his "Once Upon A..." series. This time around, McKiernan takes another well-beloved fairy tale ("Sleeping Beauty") and gives it a a rework, this time with tighter writing, tighter plotting, and a very likable hero.

While napping at Summerwood Manor, Borel has a dream about a young woman in a tower, surrounded by knives and blindfolded. Searching for an answer to who she is and what trouble she is in, he goes to the seemingly abandoned cottage of an evil witch. By reading her diary, he manages to find out that she is Chelle (Michelle), the daughter of his father's old pal.

Accompanied by a sassy Sprite, Flic, and his bumblebee Buzzer, Borel sets off across Faery to find Chelle and set her free. Every night he encounters her in his dreams, without her knowledge that it's only a dream, and tries to figure out where she is and who has taken her captive. To learn where she is, Borel will deal with tricky faerie kings and spectral rider, and even the Fates. But he has only one month to find Chelle, and not many clues to go on...

After the sugary heroine of "Once Upon A Winter's Night," the down-to-earth Borel is a relief. He was one of the more interesting minor characters of that first book, and it's nice to see him getting his own book. This time around, it's not initially as obvious what fairy tale McKiernan is retelling, and he manages to keep up the suspense about the daggers, squeaking and other odd clues that come together at the finale.

With only a month to deal with the wicked witch and damsel in distress, the plot goes quite fast, and has some genuinely creepy scenes, such as when Borel is captured by trolls. The book does sag somewhat in the middle, and also retreads old ground by having Borel deal with each of the rather pompous Fates in turn -- something Camille did in the previous book.

However, McKiernan's writing has improved a great deal. The plot is sparer and leaner, with virtually no side trips or red herrings. So is his writing; he throws in a few discussions about love and sex, but not enough to sabotage the suspense. And he reveals quite a few little tidbits about the forthcoming Great Epic Struggle against The Evil Force, leaving some enormous plot threads dangling at the end. (Not to mention name-dropping some future villains for our heroes to fight)

While it has some flaws, "Once Upon A Summer Day" is a tighter, faster read than its predecessor. Here's hoping that the rest of the series follows this trend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dara Kym of Mithgar says this is a must read!, June 24, 2005

By	Dara Kym (Oregon) - See all my reviews

Having followed Mr. McKiernan's books for awhile now, I was not surprised to be spellbound by another of his writings.
I have read all of his books now, except for his short stories, and he constantly amazes me. His world of Faery is more magical then others I have read. He truly inspires me. I love the 'Unce Upon A' series. I never wanted to set the book down. I was truly captured by the story, I wanted to know what happened as fast as possible.
Borel rocks in his devotion to a maiden in a dream. I wished I was her locked in a tower, so he could rescue me. Flic, his companion, was agreat releif at stressful moments. Bringing an insight, when Borel seemed at a loss.
I cannot wait to see what adventures lie ahead for the rst of Borel's family.
Thanks again Dennis, for being the gifted scribe that you are!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magical rendition of Sleeping Beauty , April 6, 2005

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Once upon a time in the world of Faery, Prince Borel Winterwood visits his brother Alain in his realm of Summerwood when he has a dream about a beautiful maiden who is in a stone turret, a blindfold hiding her weeping eyes speaking in the old language. When he wakes up he finds that the dream was a visitation from an imprisoned golden maiden, who will die thanks to the curse of the witch if he doesn't rescue her before the next full moon.

In his quest to find the woman Chelle who he knew as a child, he gains two allies in Flec the sprite and Buzzer the Bee. He and his two friends help the three crones who are disguised; in return for his kindness they each give him a riddle to solve that will lead him closer to Chelle. Along the way they fight evil monsters sent out by the witch to kill them and though Borel is near where Chelle sleeps, the path to her turret is filled with danger. He knows he might be killed but does not give up trying to reach the woman he loves even though he courts her only in dreams that they both share.

Dennis L. McKiernan always manages to enchant his readers with his fabulous fantasy novels. ONCE UPON A SUMMER DAY is his magical rendition of Sleeping Beauty only updated with more characters both good and evil including monsters, trolls, goblins, the sprites and other players. This romantic fantasy is very different because the lovers come together for the most part only in their dreams. Readers will not be disappointed with this beautiful adult fairy tale.

Harriet Klausner