Review: Delightful, Lyrical Collection of Original Tales in a Classic Style
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 27, 2014
“Tales from the Palace of the Fairy King” is delightful—it mixes beautifully told tales with humor, romance, and the occasional bittersweet tragedy.The book is a collection of seven stories. It includes “The Apple Tree,” in which a boy falls in love with a princess and allows himself to be turned into an apple tree to shade her and bring her joy; “The Princess and the Goatherd,” in which a spoiled princess makes one gesture of charity that will go on to change her life; “The Dark Forest,” in which a fairy prince goes up against not only the deadly dark beasts in the forest, but against his own nature; and more. There are imps, fairies, magical spyglasses, royalty, and peasants—in short, all of the things that go into fairy tales and make them magical.“Tales from the Palace of the Fairy King” manages to capture the classic voice you associate with fairy tales—an omniscient narrator who is kindly and wise and telling you the story. However, it is not stuffy or old-fashioned; many of the tales have a sly wit to them, and the romances are fresh and lovely. My favorite tale was “The Princess and the Goatherd”—it was not only funny, but featured a princess of a different sort, one who isn’t perfect but instead needs to grow into a better person. However, all of the tales are entertaining; “The Dark Forest” veers into almost Tolkien-esque territory. I also liked how the tales go a bit deeper than just romance or overcoming magical obstacles—the characters often face internal battles as well.I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy classic or re-told fairy tales and are looking for original stories in the same vein.