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The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott
Once Upon a Time... there was a kingdom that flourished. The king was strong but shallow, the queen wise but afraid and they had four children the last of which was an ugly duckling and her name was Alexandra.
Swan Kingdom seems to be a sort of amalgam of several different fairy tales although from the author's notes it is adapted from Hans Christian Anderson's 'Wild Swans'. In this retelling, young Alexandra is a "cunning woman" - one that can manipulate the energies (enaid) of the earth to help things grow and heal. Her mother, the Queen has the same power but learned how to use it to a fuller extent. Alexandra grows up feeling rather unnecessary in her father's household even with the love of her brothers and mother.
When her mother dies by unnatural means, Alexandra seems to lose her very place in the world. Her father searches for her mother's killer but comes back with a woman who can influence all those around her. Only Alexandra and her brothers see through her spells. After a failed attempt to rid their kingdom of the usurper, Alexandra and her brothers are cast out of the kingdom. Alexandra to live with her aunt in Midland and the brothers as swans and caught between worlds.
Once away Alexandra grows stronger and grows up. She learns to stand on her own two feet and do what is right and necessary instead of just standing back and letting others make decisions for her.
I was very much relieved when she finally learned this lesson. The prose picked up quite a bit for me after that.
All in all a very good fairy tale - very much like the books by Robin McKinley, Cameron Dokey or Donna Jo Napoli. The only improvement I can think of would be to have gotten to the 'make your own way' part faster. She was a much more enjoyable character after that.
The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott
Once Upon a Time... there was a kingdom that flourished. The king was strong but shallow, the queen wise but afraid and they had four children the last of which was an ugly duckling and her name was Alexandra.
Swan Kingdom seems to be a sort of amalgam of several different fairy tales although from the author's notes it is adapted from Hans Christian Anderson's 'Wild Swans'. In this retelling, young Alexandra is a "cunning woman" - one that can manipulate the energies (enaid) of the earth to help things grow and heal. Her mother, the Queen has the same power but learned how to use it to a fuller extent. Alexandra grows up feeling rather unnecessary in her father's household even with the love of her brothers and mother.
When her mother dies by unnatural means, Alexandra seems to lose her very place in the world. Her father searches for her mother's killer but comes back with a woman who can influence all those around her. Only Alexandra and her brothers see through her spells. After a failed attempt to rid their kingdom of the usurper, Alexandra and her brothers are cast out of the kingdom. Alexandra to live with her aunt in Midland and the brothers as swans and caught between worlds.
Once away Alexandra grows stronger and grows up. She learns to stand on her own two feet and do what is right and necessary instead of just standing back and letting others make decisions for her.
I was very much relieved when she finally learned this lesson. The prose picked up quite a bit for me after that.
All in all a very good fairy tale - very much like the books by Robin McKinley, Cameron Dokey or Donna Jo Napoli. The only improvement I can think of would be to have gotten to the 'make your own way' part faster. She was a much more enjoyable character after that.
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