Review: A wonderful group of stories!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2013
Prequel 11 - Children of Hamlin: I loved the Devil as the narrator. He was hilarious and I'm so glad Jace made the change from Ladle's mom to him, great move. I found certain children just as grating on the nerves as the Devil did, which is saying something given how much he gets annoyed by them, and that speaks to how great Jace is at making the characters really "pop" in his stories. As for the characters in the story the Devil told, (story within a story, we've got some Inception type stuff going on here) I really felt bad for the Piper. It wasn't his fault he turned out the way he did, and as much as I love Ladle it is hard to argue with siding with Piper given the circumstances, stupid Hamlin adults. The story is rich, the parallels to history are funny but compelling and it moves along at just the right pace. Really enjoyed this one.Prequel 12 - Tooth & Nail & Fairy Tale: This was a rather crazy tale. Demon worms in your teeth, a combination of Jack (think beanstalk), Hansel & Gretel (who is just lovely by the way) and Wendy (yes THAT Wendy) for characters and a goofy villainous duo of Yakkity Tak and Sweeny Todd made for quite the story. We find out more about how powerful Gretel is and what allowed her to finally test her powers out for the first time, why Wendy turns out to be the character she becomes (sorry but I don't want to spoil it!) and the perils of magic not fully thought through. There is a lot of build up and fleshing out of characters before the story really takes off but I think that it will be worth it when the full-length novels come out, and besides, they were quite enjoyable to learn about anyhow! Also, not that it will work out (due to his refusal to marry for reasons he hasn't shared...yet) but I think Jack has a thing for Gretel, not that I blame him. Very entertaining.Prequel 13 - Ember in the Wind: This was one story where I was unfamiliar with the original tale it was based off of, The Little Match Girl. I thought it started off a bit haphazardly but it paid off with yet another stunning reveal as to who she becomes and what it could mean for that tale in the full-length novels (you'll have to read the prequel to see which one I mean). I don't know if Jace's intent with these prequels is to constantly feel bad for the characters within and wish to help them even though we are powerless to do so, but if so well done. Reading about the suffering the girl endures will break your heart and curse those who would leave someone so sweet and innocent to such a fate. She is pure and though she inherits a gift that could change that quality in her I hope it does not. Very moving.Prequel 14 - Jar of Hearts: Another look into the Queen of Sorrow gives us a bit more understanding as to why she is hunting the Lost Seven as well as how she has gained much of the information that was previously hidden from her. Jace brings Greek mythology into the mix with the character Cassandra, as he did at the end of the prequel I recommend you read her story, it is quite interesting indeed. Though I understand the reasoning behind the conversation between the Queen and Cassandra going over so many details I think it made the story drag a bit especially since the reader could have inferred much, if not all, of the information exchanged between the two in previous prequels. It was somewhat of a default recap even if it wasn't intended as such. I get the purpose behind Jar of Hearts but it was the only one in this group that I didn't enjoy that much.Prequel 15 - Welcome to Sorrow (Bonus Prequel): This is a short geography lesson delivered by a hunchback. Honestly there really isn't much more to say that the previous sentence doesn't convey, but it is pretty funny.Overall this was a very strong set of the prequels. It is not the last of the prequels overall, but it will be the last released before the first full-length novel Snow White Sorrow comes out. I highly recommend you get all of them so you can do a fun little marathon session, it won't take you long to read them all I promise, though you won't even notice time going by while you are diving deeper into Sorrow. It's quite the series of adventures!Rating: 4/5