Bringing Magic Back To England

I DID IT!!!!  I finally finished my big fat book!  Clocking in at a whopping 1006 pages of teeny tiny type complete with footnotes is the book Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.  This book had been on my TBR pile for a while and got pulled out after Hubbin discovered a BBC version of the book.  Despite it's length the book was very readable and I am now ready to attempt to ramble about it.

The book is written as a bit of a history, complete with foot notes and follows two very different magicians the staid and cautious Mr. Norrell and the younger more fiery Jonathan Strange.   Essentially we are taken to an alternate version of Victorianish England (though there is a King on the throne not a Queen) where magic is accepted as part of life.  Being a magician is a respectable job and magic is talked about in all circles.  However, magic at this time is only theoretical.  Magicians are actually just men who study any sort of magical text they can get there hands on.  True magic has been gone from the realm of England for hundreds of years for some reason.  Enter Mr. Norrell, a scholarly little man who is obsessed with buying, reading and hoarding books of a magical nature.  To this end he has actually been able to perform real magic and is brought to England to become the authority and sole practicer of magic.  Mr. Norrell has in his employ a mysterious man by the name of Childermass who pretty much runs Mr. Norrell's life for him. To prove the respectability and genuine nature of magic, Mr. Norrell engages the help of a fairy, known as the Gentlman with the thistle-down hair, to bring the Lady Pole back to life after she dies.  The deal Mr. Norrell brokers with the

Gentleman essentially dooms the Lady Pole to be held in fairy whenever the Gentlman chooses. Along comes Jonathan Strange, a gentleman who has started practicing magic after a run in with the vagabond Vinculus who speaks a prophecy stating among other things that two magicians will bring back magic to England.  We then follow our two magicians as they use their own styles of magic, sometimes together and sometimes at odds to help England win a war, protect the country and try and discover lost spells.  Meanwhile the Lady Pole continues to be sucked into fairy at any given time, makeing her appear quit mad. The butler Stehpen black, a black servant who the Gentleman has taken a liking to does his best to support Lady Pole.  Strange's wife Arabella is the only other person who is able to be with Lady Pole.  Eventually the two magicians have a falling out.  Mr. Norrell wants to continue and keep a tight reign on all things magic while Strange wants to bring magic to the masses.  All kinds of stuff happens one of which is the unfortunate death of Arabella Strange.  Strange leaves the country to finish his book and recover from his wife's death and Mr. Norrell stays in London to fret and work with the government on improving the country.  Strange discovers that madness is the key to seeing fairy and finds a way to distill it to its essence and become mad at will.  With this madness he discovers the Gentleman has actually stolen Arabella to fairy to be a companion to Lady Pole and she is not dead after all.  After a battle of wills, the Gentleman wraps Strange in eternal night and Strange devotes his time to trying to find John Uskglass, the Raven King who brought magic to England in the first place.  More crazyness and mayhem and Strange finally comes to Mr. Norrell for help.  The two magicians work together to find a way to summon the Raven King and unintentionally give Stephen Black the power to finally defeat the Gentleman.  Lady Pole and Arabella are released and Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange, wrapped in their eternal night disappear from England.  Childermass, along with Vinculus assemble all who want to learn magic and utilize the power that now flows through England.  This my friends does not even begin to summarize the complexity of this book, the stories and the characters, I just do not have enough time or space to truly give you the gist of this book, so this will have to do.

World Building - This book has a very Jane Austinesque vibe when it comes to world building.  We get to see a variety of English places (and few other places in Europe) mostly through the eyes of the gentleman class.  It is a bit drearier and a bit harsher then true Austin, but the vibe totally comes through.  One extra aspect of world building is the realm of fairy.  I really very much enjoyed how the author built the world of fairy as being right next door to our world, complete with cross-roads and touch stones.  The best parts of fairy where the descriptions of the familiar with a fantastic twist.  Ever time I picked up this book I was easily able to slip into the worlds the author created.

Story - So this was an interesting book as far as story goes.  I am not 100% sure that there was an actual whole beginning, middle and end story or if it was more of a history with the reader just catching a slice of time.  There were bits of story, mostly connected with individual characters, but over all I felt that this was more of an old school history of an alternate place/time.  That being said, it was still a book that I could pick up and read and stay interested in so yeah.  Maybe it was that there were many many stories with in the framework of the history that kept it interesting...yeah, so not really sure how to describe it, but I liked it.

Character - This may be where the Austin feel really came through in this book.  The characters were many and varied and true to themselves.  Right when I was about to get tired of reading about a certain character or story line, bam the author switched to somebody else and it was awesome.  I particularly liked the Raven King as an overarching presence that was constantly felt but only once actually seen; Childermass who probably actually knew and understood more then any other character; Stephen Black a man who was kind, smart, brave, and searching to belong; Vinculus the vagabond man with all the answers and of course the Gentleman who tied everybody together.  The characters may be the best part of this book.

Editing - This was a very very long book and I want to be tempted to say that it could have easily been broken up...but you know what?  I'm glad it is one long self contained book.  It really gives the vibe of a history in this format.  For all it's length, the way it is broken up in parts and chapters makes it very very readable and the fun footnotes that are scattered through out just adds to the overall feel.  It was consistent, follow able and readable, editing for the win.

The Author - Ok so I really feel like the author and the way she wrote this book has to be talked about.  She started writing it in 1993 and did not actually publish the whole book until 2003, that my friends is dedication.  She worked on it in her spare time and had to work with trying to put all her ideas and fragments into a cohesive form.  I totally feel her and her writing style 'cause every time I try and write something I feel the same way.  I obviously don't have the patience she does, but it makes the book all that better for me that I feel a kinship with her thought process and writing style.

Fairy - I love love love old school English/Welsh/Scottish/Irish/Celtic style fairy land.  This book brought the old school ideas of stolen humans, especially children, timelessness, agreements between fairy and human kind, the glamour vs the reality of magic, just everything that I love.  I felt like I could go hunt down a fairy road and ride off and explore this whole other world behind the mirrors.  I have not read such a great take on the old school fairy in a while and I have to say I loved every second of it and totally want to read more about the Raven King...hint hint lol.

Manners - Ok ok I know I have mentioned the Austin feel of this book 100 times, but here it is again.  I am a Jane Austin fan, her ability to mingle peoples everyday lives with wit and story have always made her books a go to for me.  When an author can capture that style in a whole new book I am always happy.  This book had the feel of manners and little intrigues (along with the big stuff), just instead of marriages it was magic.  The combination of the Austin feel with the old school Fairy feel and then turning it into something wholly original is pretty epic.

Overall Impression - I liked this book, it is a book book, it is a book for people who like to READ!  This is not a book for the beach, or a quick pick me up, it requires concentration, time, and a love of reading.   That being said, it is a wonderful book, I give it 8 out of 9 viles of mad cat lady essence and recommend it to anybody who loves to read, likes Austen, magic, Fairy or just some good writing.  Happy Reading Everybody!

A Troll, A Fetch, A Gramophone, And A Wombat Walk Into A Painting

It's FALL!!!! I may have mentioned that before, but I don't care, it makes me very very very happy...now if only the weather would cooperate.  As a sort of fall tradition and needing a special book to break in my new house,  I picked up the second to last book in the Fairyland series, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Cathrynne M. Valente.  This one was different because it focused on a not September character and took place mostly in the human world.  Did this at all change my love of this series?  Let's find out shall we?  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

In this installation of the series we focus not on our plucky and amazing September, but on a troll named Hawthorn.  Hawthorn is taken/conned by the Red Wind to become a changeling and replace a baby boy in the human world.  Hawthorne is taken to the Fairy Post Office and shipped of to Chicago where he takes the place of one Thomas Rood.  Hawthorne has only vague memories of his trollness and Fairyland, but they are enough to make him seem odd to his utterly normal parents.  Hawthorne starts school, and after a bit of a rough start makes friends by convincing them to talk to their desks...because in Hawthorne's memories every thing talks back to him.  This type of "imagination" and the way he gets the other children to follow him disturbs his teachers, prompting them to contact his parents to try and get him to act Normal.  Obviously our poor little troll changeling can never be completely Normal, no matter how hard he tries and his parents, while loving him, have a difficult time with it.  Hawthorne's human mother knits him a wombat who becomes his best companion

through out his strange life.  Hawthorne befriends a girl by the name of Tamburlaine who turns out to be another changeling.  Tam is not a troll however, she is what is known as a Fetch, a girl made of wood.  Her parents kind of know what she is and love her anyways and do their best to protect her.  Tam has the talent of painting and shows Hawthorne a fantastical forest that she has painted on her walls.  One day while visiting Hawthorne, Tam shows him how to work magic.  She shows him Scratch, a gramophone she brought to life using the same magic.  Hawthorne uses his magic to bring to life pretty much everything in his apartment, including the wombat named Blunderbuss that his mother made him.  After bringing to life his baseball...which turns into a tattooed monster, it grabs the foursome and dashes into the piece of forest Tam painted on Hawthorne's wall.  The foursome (Hawthorne, Tamburlaine, Scratch and Blunderbuss) wake up in an incredible forest that resembles the one that Tam painted.  Turns out they are in Fairyland and have reverted back to their troll and Fetch forms.  They are overtaken by the traveling capital of Fairyland, the fabric made Pandemonium.  The current King, King Crunchcrab enlists the foursome to help him quit being king.  They meet up with the human changelings of Fairyland who have been reduced to servitude to prevent them from bringing about the changes that changelings are known for.  They are sent to find a person known as the Spinster who can free Crunchcrab from his Kingship.  The foursome, along with Penny Farthing, who has been removed from her beloved fairy mother and no longer runs with the velocipedes end up serving at the party of a powerful Fairy.  They run into the real Thomas Rood and after a few meta moments gives them the key to the Spinster.  They find the Spinster...who turns out to be our girl September...who was aged by events in the previous book.  The dodo Aubergine gives them an egg that brings lost things back.  As you probably guessed, chaos ensues and all of the previous Kings and Queens of fairy come back.  The crown leaves Crunchcrab and falls to...September...who is know queen.  Hawthorne and Tam get to stay in Fairyland and Thomas returns home to ecstatic parents.   We end with Septembers mother being told by her sister that she knows where her daughter is and how to get there.

I'm gonna revert back to my old school of rambling for this book 'cause I think that I will be able to convey my feeling best in this format.  First of all, the authors trademark ability to make everything wondrous and fantastical was front and center.  The coolest part about this particular installment of the series was how amazing the writer made our mundane human world.  By showing us everyday things through the eyes of a young Fairylander, a dreary apartment in Chicago was made into a vertibal wonderland.  The rules that Hawthorne divined from his experiences in the human world and how he applied them to his life are a great reminder of what it is to be young in unfamiliar circumstances and how an imaginative brain adapts to these scary new things.  The author uses

Hawthorne to not only show us the human world through different eyes, but also a very young person learning and growing.  I did however very much miss September.  I understand what the writer was doing, and the story was very well done...I just really really love September and not having her play a main role in this book made me a little sad.  On that note, Blunderbuss may be my favorite wombat of all time.  Seriously this crazy patchwork marsupial in all it's incarnations made me smile every time she was on the page.  I was not the biggest fan of Scratch...I did not really see what this character contributed to the story other then being proof that Tam could work magic.  The story itself was pretty well done until they came back to fairyland, then I had to work really hard to remember everything that had happened in the last books to try and sort out all of the politics and keep everything straight in my head.  Overall it was a decent installment into a beloved series.  It does not compare to the first two, but definitely holds it's own overall.  I give it 8 out of 10 chain covered coats and recommend it to anybody who is as addicted to this series as I am.  Happy Reading Everybody!

It's All About The Green

We are having one of the most epic springs ever!  Seriously, spring is not usually my favorite season, usually because it gets to hot to quickly, or winter lasts way too long, but this year EPIC.  We have had mostly 60ish degree's, a nice breeze, soft green budding tree's, and the smells of all the growing things.  With all of this picture perfect weather, I had to read one of my favorite short story collections, The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.  This is a collection of short stories that deal with the forest (in all its many forms), nature (also in its many forms) and humans (in their many forms) encounters with all of the above. Here are a few of my favorites.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Grand Central Park by Delia Sherman - This story of fairies living in Central Park is one I always think about when I find magic spots in an urban environment.  Also after visiting Central Park last year, I totally believe that fairies and their buddies live all over it.  The forest in this story is of a more urban variety and reminds us that magic can be found anywhere, even after you think you have out grown it.

Among the Leaves So Green by Tanith Lee - I will admit that books by Tanith Lee always leave me feeling a little confused, she tends to go down rabbit holes that I don't always follow.  That being said this short story about two sisters (one "good" and one "bad") and how their lives play out is pretty cool.  I especially like that while the "good" sister gets her just reward of a happy life, the "bad" sister discovers her father, who just happens to be a type of forest god and her subsequent happiness in and around the tree's and kin.  The forest in this story is living, breathing, and as much a character as the other beings.

Hunter's Moon by Patricia A. McKillip - This is one of those stories that combines imagery, character and magic in a way that is rarely done in a short story.  The little brother/big sister relationship that is central to the story comes across as realistic, while the Hunters give us a glimpse into the beyond in a superbly magical way.  I love the combination of the ordinary, the magic, and the weaving of old school myths into a cohesive story.  The forest in this story is one of myth and wildness and I kind of want to visit it.

A World Painted by Birds by Katherine Vaz - This is what a short story is all about, well for me anyways.  This story almost literally paints a picture, using the characters feelings, yearnings, needs and determination, nature itself turns on a cruel despot by creating sights, sounds, and feelings.  The imagery and designs of this story are so stunning that I fall asleep with them still in my head.  This is where I feel the short story format works so well because there is no way a story of this type of sheer artistry would work as effectively in a novel length book.   The forest in this story is artistically visual and creative, showing the art in nature.

Grounded by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - This (by a narrow margin) is my favorite story in the collection.  It is about a girl and her mother, a man and his kids and how they become a family.  In this story we watch a teenage girl learn about the link between life and death, light and shadow and how one cannot live without the other.  I think what I like best about this story is how the mother works in hospice and how her work is not a sad or bad thing, but rather a necessary and even rewarding part of life.  The acknowledgement of this type of work and it's huge benefit is truly amazing.  The forest in this story becomes a metaphor for life and death and how it all works together.

Joshua Tree by Emma Bull - This story features a desert and a teenage girl stuck in a dead end town.  What appeals to me about this story is two fold, first the main character has a sense of yearning for the unknown and magic that she tries to suppress among her small town friends, but eventually learns to embrace it and become her own person...a feeling that I very very very much relate to on a personal level.  The other thing that was neat was the desert atmosphere.  I am NOT a huge fan of the desert, but after reading this story I totally want to go to a desert rave and meet a Joshua Tree.  The forest in this story is one of cacti, sparseness and aridness, yet hiding it's own pockets of vibrant life.

The Pagodas of Ciboure by M. Shayne Bell - This story is sweet in a child like innocence way...does that make sense?  This story brings to life all the magic of being a child, of discovering something that belongs to you completely and believing in it so hard.  Add to this with a take on Maurice Ravel's childhood and you have yourself a charming and wonderfully refreshing story about child like courage and imagination.  The forest in this story is one of a fairy tale in a child's imagination, peopled with fantastical, yet ordinary creatures and villains.

With my love of books, trees, the outdoors and magic, it is no surprise how much I loved this collection.  Add to it the fact that several of my favorite authors contributed to it, Datlow and Windling edited it, and Charles Vess decorated it and it has a treasured place on my shelf.  There is something for everybody and I think you should go find it and read it.  I give it 10 out of 10 Big Giant Trees!

What is the first thing that pops into your head when you think of a forest?  What type of environment appeals to you the most?  Is it totally unreasonable to want to go live in a tree house with a library attached

Modern Day Fae

Today's rambling is a short story collection called The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray.  I remember seeing the cover on Pinterest and just had to have it and this time judging a book by it's cover paid off.  This is a collection about the fae trying to adapt and live in modern times.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

We Will Not Be Undersold by Seanan McGuire - I have always found Ms. McGuire's take on modern fae to be well done so I was not at all surprised to find I loved her contribution to this collection.  In this story we find a Wal-Mart like store that turns out to be run by the king of fairies. The best part is watching the human lover eventually give in to the idea and help the fairies optimize their business using things like the internet and other modern conveniences.  There are plenty of nods to the old ways, like when the king states on of the reasons for the store is to spread plastic (which does not hurt fairies) around the world to replace iron and steel (which is dangerous to them).  A fun and humorous take on the big box corporate store.

Changeling by Susan Jett - This is a great story because it reads like an old tale, set smack dab in the modern world.  This is the tale of Marisol, a young mother who has been told her baby was a stillborn.  She is trying to come to terms with this when her midwife figures out that her baby is not dead, only stolen by a fairy.  She teaches Marisol how to see the fae world and how to get her son back.  The feel of the story is so authentically old school and yet show's how the old world can slide right into ours with just a few adaptions. The author seems to have done her research on the customs and rules of the fairy world and applied them to this story beautifully. I love love loved it.

 The Roots of Aston Quercus by Juliet E. McKenna - This story features dryads and tree's and that makes me so very happy.  We read about a grove of trees that have been inhabited by dryads for thousands of years and is now being threatened by the development of a highway.  The dryads must learn about the modern world, interact with modern humans, and tackle politics to save their homes.  I loved how the author showed a race of beings who continually live within our world, and yet are apart enough from it to not always understand what is going on.  Watching the different dryads and their various knowledge of the different time periods and how they put it all together to save their home was inspiring and magical.

How Much Salt by April Steenburgh - The Selkie plays the starring role in this tale, and as Selkies have long been a favorite of mine, this story was bound to please.  We follow Carrick through the ages as his beach gets slowly taken over by humans.  As his family drifts away Carrick discovers an aquarium that holds a seal show.  Imagine his surprise when he finds it full of Selkies and run by one as well.  Turns out, that since so much of their home has been invaded, they came up with this show to be able to interact with humans, play, sleep, eat and just generally be content.  Carrick see's the wisdom in this and joins the show.  This is probably the best example of how a fae uses their special abilities to adapt to the new world.  I like how Carrick weighs the pros and cons and comes to his own conclusion.  Good story over all.

Hooked by Anton Strout - Here we have a very dark take on the Tinker Bell style of fairy.  This tale features a fairy who has gone so bad and so feral that she has been banished by her own kind.  Her way is to lure men to her glamoured house in Centeral Park with the promise of fantasy sex.  Once there she rips their hearts out and leaves their bodies to rot.  She is finally thwarted by a changeling who's parents had been killed in her rebellion. He has been sent to bring her back to the courts for justice.  He allows her to go through her spiel, letting her pull out her Tinker Bell act and revealing her power source before capturing her.   This story show's how dark our fantasy's can get and how the blending of fantasy and reality can be both awesome and dangerous.

These are just a few of the awesome, amazing stories in this collection.  Over all I loved the cohesion of the theme, the variety of authors, the different takes on the stories.  It was just really, really good.  I recommend it to anybody who likes fantasy, fairies, urban fantasy and/or short stories.  I give this collection 8 out of 10 glimmering wings.

What is your favorite blending of modern and ancient?  What is your favorite urban fairytale setting?  Do you still search for the fae like I do?

Bitter Blue Wind

My computer has finally decided to behave...sort of, but it is working well enough to hopefully get this blog back on track.  To kick of my birthday week I thought I would start with a rambling about a book that I've had on my list all fall.  The book is The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente.  This is the third book in my beloved Fairyland series and with the other two I had to wait for the perfect weather to read this.  Before we get to my thoughts on the book, here is my attempt to summarize the plot, such as it is.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Our girl September turn 14 in this book, and has grown much since we first met her.  She has survived her father gone to war, his return as an injured veteran, her mother working on planes, school and of course overthrowing not one, but two despotic rulers in Fairyland.  September is longing to go back to Fairyland and counting the days until the year is up and she can return.  This of course makes her "real" life seem dull and unbearable by comparison.  To keep herself from going crazy, she works hard to save up money so that she can have some resources of her own when she finally gets back to Fairyland.  She learns to drive an old car, and makes money doing delivery's,

mending fences, taking care of animals and so forth, all very grown up.  September is finally taken back to Fairyland by the Blue Wind, a Wind unlike her Green Kin, is a wild, bitter, cold wind who has none of the kindness September had from her friend the Green Wind.  September ends up as an Official Revolutionary and Criminal and is given clothing to mark her as such.  She is given a task to deliver a box to the Whelk of the Moon.  She travels up to the moon in her little car that also got transported to Fairyland and meets all sorts of creatures.  She eventually ends up in front of the Whelk of the Moon and learns that the giant city of Almanack, which is contained in a shell is how the Whelk keeps all of her people safe.  She can't open the box and sends September to a library to open it and lo and behold, she finds her beloved friend A-L (known as Ell) her Wyverary.  They open the box and find the Sapphire Stethoscope and we learn the story of the Yeti's Paw.  September is reunited with her Marid Saturday, and discovers she has some new feelings about this friend of hers.  A whole ton of stuff happens, as it does in these books and in the end we discover the moon is having a baby moon and this is the reason behind a lot of the goings ons.  September feels the sensation that happens when she has to leave Fairyland and begs to stay.  The Blue Wind, shows just how devious she is when she lets September stay in Fairyland.  Meanwhile back in our world Septembers parents frantically search for their girl.

As long as that synopsis was it really does not do the book justice.  As with the first two, trying to summarize all the little bits and pieces and story lines and characters and vignettes is pretty impossible.  That being said, one of the reasons this one was harder to summarize was because it seemed to be less of a story and more of a portrait of emotions.  There are a lot of concepts in this book that seemed to be a bit old for the middle grade reader that this book is supposed to be targeted towards.  I know the author stated that she wanted September to grow up through out the books, and in that regard she has succeeded, but this book felt more like it was focusing on what the author felt were growing up teenage feelings and less on the adventure of Fairyland.  All of the really amazing pieces were there, the author still has a fantastic imagination and knows how to utilize it, but for me it felt like every little vignette came with either some moralizing, or long drawn out emotional struggle or some other esoteric bit that seemed to slow the book down.  Of all the locations we've seen I found the Moon to be the most bleak and barren, I almost felt like I needed to read it in winter instead of the vibrant fall of the first two.  This is not a bad thing, as the contrast of the Moon to Fairyland and

Fairyland Under was pretty cool and added some great dimension to the overall world building.  As always the sheer originality of the characters, places, and objects leaves me wanting to just curl up and see how crazy I can let my imagination go.  I love how the author does not constrain herself by the laws of physics or probability or convention at all, it adds to the sheer fantasy of the book.  The word usage was fabulous as always, making me so glad that I am a logophile (somebody who loves words).  There seemed to be a bit of an obsession with currency, and having babies.  September has a hard time with the fact that she and Saturday will have a daughter together, part of her issue is the inevetableness of it (which is understandable), but childbirth is brought up alot.  The whole the moon giving actual birth to a baby moon, complete with labor, blood, and an umbilical cord was kind of weird.  I also found that you had to have read the first two books for this one to make any sense at all. Overall I liked the book, but did not feel the same kind of overwhelming love that I did for the first two.  There was a feeling of melancholy, which while I do remember from being a new teenager, made this book a bit of a slow read. I give this book 7 out of 10 fizzy orange drinks and recommend it to anybody who has started the series.
Can you keep up the crazy expectations through out a whole series?  How do you feel about characters growing up through out a series?  Where did you want to run away to when you were growing up?  Is it strange that I still want to run away to a fantasy land?

Faery Reel

Sometimes I find a book that redefines how I may look at reading, or a genre, or life in general. The book The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling was one of those books.  I picked it up 'cause it looked pretty and was hooked.  I had never been into short stories before this collection, but the sheer magic of a lot of these stories is why I started reading in the first place and it has become a go to book for when I need a dose of magic in my life.  Here are a few of my favorites.

CATNYP by Delia Sherman - This story may have had a lot to do with why I kept reading the collection. Libraries, books, New York and faeries, I'm not sure a story can get a whole lot better.  Add in my favorite library lions and you have the recipe for a perfect story for me.

Tengu Mountain by Gregory Frost - This take on traditional Japanese demons is both cheeky and a wee bit scary in turns.  This is also one of the first stories to make me want to go research beyond the English/Celtic faeries.  I love to read this out loud to my Hubbin.

Never Never by Bruce Glassco - I love this take on the Peter Pan story.  This one focuses on Captain Hook and Tinker Bell (my two favorite characters) and shows us the importance of villains, finding your place and the eternal need to find lost things.  Also makes me want to go chill on the moon.

Screaming for Faeries by Ellen Steiber - Another story that blends humor and something much deeper.  This story is one I automatically flip too every time I open this book.  The idea of screaming for faeries appeals to me and seems like a good way to attract the little buggers, and I have to admit that the more traditional faery in this nontraditional tale makes me smile big smiles.

The Dream Eaters by A. M. Dellamonica - This quirky tale involves an eccentric clothing designer, a street kid turned cop, and a world that faeries decorate using the dreams of humans.  I love the look and feel of the faery cities within our own cities and the rules and bargains one must make to visit there.

To be honest only picking a couple stories to share with you is hard as I love pretty much every story in this book.  I love that there is a combination of old school faeries, Japanese demons, elves from the Philippines, kitsunes, undines, oak things, and every type of fae from every country you can think of.  This book has at least one story for everybody and is my happy place faery book.  It is also chock full of authors who's other books I am now eager to read which makes it a win for every body.

What is your go to faery book?  What book got you into a new genre?  Do you believe in faeries?

Faerie History

When I first read Isaac Asimov's Magical World of Fantasy: Faeries (edited by Isaac Asimov) I was in Hawaii.  We all know how I like my books to match my environment, and let me tell this book did NOT match at all. I had started it when I was still in Seattle, where it matched perfectly and continued to read it on the plane and then decided I may as well finish it, which gave me a weird, skewed memory of the whole experience...I know, I know I'm weird.  I have just finished rereading it, the lure of spring begging me to find some good tales of the Fair Folk and this anthology provides just that.  Here are my favorite stories in this collection.

How the Fairies Came to Ireland by Herminie Templeton - This story sets the tone for the book, with many of the story's being told in the old style of an oral history.  This little ditty of how fairies are angels that did not take sides in the war between Lucifer and God is told by the fairie king Brian Conner to Father Cassidy and reminds us that the line between religion and myth can be blurred.

The Manor of Roses by Thomas Burnett Swann - Epic tale, that is the best way I can think of to describe this story.  It tells of three children, each with their own stories that conflict and collide.  It tells of a kindly woman who misses her son.  It tells of a history.  It tells of the mandrake people.  It is a very well told tale that blends history, fantasy and story-telling.

The Ugly Unicorn by Jessica Amanda Salmonson - This is one of the few tales not set in Europe and is also one of my favorites in this book.  You get a sweet love story, a multitude of unicorns, miscommunication, a blind girl and of course fairies.  This story makes me smile every time I read it, and also reminds me how many other types of "fairies" their are in other countries and cultures.

Flying Pan by Robert F. Young - This is a quick and simple story.  The crux of the whole thing is a young woman's encounter with what she thinks to be a diminutive alien, who in fact turns out to be a local faerie trying to get her to return to her home.  Funny, quick and awesome.

The Long Night of Waiting by Andre Norton - I have been getting into Andre Norton lately and this haunting tale of lost children is one reason why.  It plays on the classic old fear of your children dissapering without a trace and adds an even more melancholy element of loss and fear on the part of the children.  A heart wrenching, yet wonderful story.

I like this anthology as a whole because it reads very old school to me, as in an oral history of actual events passed down.  There are some stories that take place in modern times (and even one in the future), but they are all told in a way that makes you feel as if you are sitting and listening to a history instead of reading a faerie tale.  I am glad I reread this anthology, the stories in it are classic and original and harken back to the true roots of the Fair Folk. Now I need to go find the rest of the books in this series.  I recommend this to anybody who wants to experience the true telling of tales, loves the Fair Folk, or just can't resist a good Irish accent.  I give it 7 out of 10 pots of gold.

How much does environment affect your memories of a particulate book?  Do you ever go back and reread books that you read in the wrong time or place?  Does a frying pan resemble a spaceship at all?

The Faraway Country

Top O the morning (or afternoon or evening) to you I hope you are all having a wonderful St. Patrick's day.  I love St. Patrick's day, it combines all my favorites Ireland, faeries, myth, history, beer, everything awesome. Around this time of year I love reading one of my favorite books The Hunters Moon by O.R. Melling, the first in the Chronicles of Faerie.  I have talked about this book briefly before but wanted to go in more detail about it. First a quick synopsis and then I will go on and on about it as usual :-).  As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

Gwen and Findabhair (called Finn) are teenage cousins who set off on a quest around Ireland to find adventure and magic.  The girls get more than they bargained for when they decide to sleep in an ancient burial mound.  The King of Faeire's and his host come to the girls and offer to take them to the other realm.  Finn always the impulsive one immediately agrees while the more sensible Gwen hesitates and refuses. Gwen is also visited by a ghostly apperation who tells her she can trust people with red hair.  Gwen wakes up to Finn missing and sets off on a quest to rescue her cousin.  This is harder then it sounds (even though it seems pretty hard to begin with) because Gwen is naturally a follower not a leader. Remembering the advice of the ghost Gwen gets a ride from Mattie, a red haired business man who against all odds still believes in the old ways.  She also meets up with Katie, a red headed farmer who still sets out milk for the local Brownies.  With her new friends help, Gwen finally chases down the fairies and with the help of Midir, the faerie

Captain who on occasion can turn into a fox makes it to the faerie ball.  When they arrive Gwen see's a party that is beyond her wildest dreams, dripping with jewels, colors, music, sights, sounds it is everything a faerie party should be and more.  Finn arrives with Finvarra the King of Faeire who is wild and handsome and charming and awe inspiring and everything one could want in a Faeire King (and also one of my book crushes).  Finn tells Gwen that she is Finvarra's new queen and that she is there by choice.  Finvarra tries to convince Gwen to stay as well, but she is not yet ready to give up her mortal life.  She is tested with the food of the faeries and fails miserably, but escapes anyways.  She continues to follow the faeries around trying to find a way to rescue Finn, even though she is repeatedly told that she is there of her own free will.  Gwen eventually ends up on Inch Island in the care of Dara the "king" of the island and his great aunt.  Gwen learns more about faeire history (yes I am aware I am spelling faeire a thousand different ways) and learns that the fairies must give a willing mortal as sacrifice to an ancient entity known as the hunter, if this does not happen the world of faeire will be devoured.  Finvarra wanted Gwen to come so that she could be the sacrifice so that his new love Finn would not have to go.  Gwen with the help f her new friends decides to try one last time to rescue Finn.  As they go
on the rescue Finn appears, telling Gwen that she has only come back to say goodbye, that she has volunteered to be the tribute to save the land of faerie, a land she has become Queen of, a land that she now loves.  In his defense Finvarra declared he would go in her stead, but she would not let him.  Gwen and her friends decide that enough is enough and that they will fight this monster instead of giving in.  Finvarra whole-heartedly agrees to the plan and they collect Katie and Mattie to make the sacred number 7 and set off to fight the monster.  An epic battle ensues and they lose.  To save Finn, Finvarra offers himself as tribute.  The remaining group mourn his loss, especially Finn and all agree to meet up a year later to celebrate/mourn their loss.  As they meet up, a young man who looks like Finvarra appears.  Apparently the monster only took his immortality and left him to live the life of a man.  The group agree to help him adjust and they all live happily ever after.

This book is just so full of faeiry, history, adventure, magic, love, humaness, humor, drama, scenery, pretty much everything.  I cannot even do justice to the amazingness that is this book.  One of my favorite things about fairies and magic is if you ask any given person, they will give you a different opinion or idea on what they think they are, and for me, this book is for the most part how I view them.  Wild, old, ever changing, this is how I think of fairies. The fact that this book is set in Ireland, and that the author adds so many little bits of history and myth and tangles them all up, just makes it even better for me.  Some specific points that catch my attention every time I read this book.  First off the heroine is not the skinny, classically beautiful one that gets the faerie king.  She is the overweight, scared one that ends up with the 100% human boy. Gwen

makes a believable transition from a self doubting scardey-cat who would follow Finn's lead, to a self-possessed young woman who was not only capable of making decisions, but leading the charge to execute them.  I like that Gwen made mistakes, and that there were consequences to her mistakes. The bits of history are awesome, I love books that make me want to do further research and this is one of those.  I love the mix of modern and ancient.  The idea that fairies are still here, that the old ways are still followed, yet the hereditary king of Inch Island talks about getting a collage education and keeping his families tourist business open.  Again this is very similar to how I feel about life in general.  I think it is important to remember the old ways, to understand and keep tradition in a certain sense, to believe in magic, but I find it equally as important to live in the world we live in, to continue forward and to survive and thrive in the present.  My favorite thing in this book is the portrayal of the Fair Folk and their world, the variances of it, one moment as columns of light, riding horses of starlight across the sky, the next dripping in jewels in a magical royal ball, and yet again in the next nature's children with leaves and flowers for clothes reveling in the moonlight.  I just love love love love love these visuals.  Ok obviously I love this book, it appeals to me on many levels and to me is the perfect St. Patrick's Day read.  I give it 9 out of 10 faerie revels and can't wait to read it again.
What is your favorite fairy book? Did you ever think that St. Patrick's Day would have its own genre of book?  Is a grown woman believing in faeries awesome, or a bit weird? How awesome is the cover?

Dancing With Frogs and Frustration

Hello all of my lovely and hopefully caffinated readers.  This is gonna be a long rambling with lots of gushing and talking and comparing and happiness and...well, lets just get on with it shall we?  The book Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier.  I initially picked it up for its beautiful cover and then realized it was a young adult novel by the author of one of my favorite adult books Daughter of the Forest which I obviously loved.  This book was absolutely wonderful in so many many many ways.  But first as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Tatiana (Tati), Jenica (Jena), Iulia, Paula, and little Stela are five sisters who live high in the mountains in an old castle called Piscul Dracului (Devils Peak) in the far reaches of Transylvania (yes the same one our friend Bram Stoker set his famous tale in).  The castle sits on the edge of the wildwood, a place rumored to be filled with the folk from the Other Kingdom.  It is a wild, isolated place where the old ways still thrive and magic is still alive.  The girls know all this to be true because every night at Full Moon if they all place their hands just so, in the right place in their bed chambers a portal to the Other Kingdom opens.  Through this portal and across the lake named Taul Ielelor and known to the locals as the Deadwash the girls are

escorted by various denizens of this Other Kingdom.  Once their the girls dance, talk, mingle and play with various folks according to their interests and age.  Jena (who is our narrator for this story) is the level headed one, who while thoroughly enjoying her visits to the Other Kingdom, lays down rules to keep her and her sisters safe.  This includes not eating or drinking anything, staying in sight at all times and if one sister says it is time to leave, they must all obey with no hesitation. In this manner the girls have enjoyed themselves on many a Full Moon, dancing the night away and reveling in the magic.  On this particular trip things start to take a turn.  The Night People have been allowed into the fairy queens court and are very disturbing to Jena.  Even more disturbing is a young Night Person called Sorrow who seems to have taken an interest in Tati.  The girls head home happy and exhausted and having to say goodbye to their beloved father, who is a merchant and is very ill.  The doctor told him that if he is to survive he must find a warmer climate for the harsh winter.  He leaves the care of the castle, lands and goods to Tati and Jena, trusting them even though they are female.  He also asks his cousin Nicolae to help with anything the girls may need.  We then learn that many years ago Jena was playing with Nicolae's two boys Costi the elder son and Cezar the younger son.  They were playing in the wildwood near the Deadwash when they were approached by Draguta the witch of the wildwood.  She tells them if they give her something precious they can have their hearts desire.  Young Jena gives up a toy crown she had made and wants to be queen of the fairies.  Costi gives up the ring that is passed down to the heirs and wants to be King of the Lake.  Cezar does not say anything but before disappearing with the gifts Draguta says she understands and vanishes.  The children continue their game and it ends in tragedy when Costi drowns in the Deadwash.  Cezar tells a young Jena (who had her eyes covered the whole time) that Costi was pulled down by hands in the lake.  Fast forward back to the present and we come to learn that Cezar has never been able to let go of his angst and hatred for the Others who he holds responsible for his brothers death.  Jena also carries a pet frog by the name of Gogu with her.  He can speak to her in her mind and has been with her since after Costi died.  Nicolae is killed in a hunting accident leaving the overbearing Cezar in charge of his affairs and with their father gone, takes it upon himself to manage

Piscul Dracului as well.  He is angry, heavy handed and utter unwilling to believe that the girls can manage themselves.  To make matters worse Tati has fallen in love with Sorrow of the Night People and is wasting away with the want of him.  Jena tries desperately to regain control of her and her sisters lives, but she is thwarted at every turn. After a local villager is killed by a Night Person, Cezar's hate becomes inflamed and unreasonable.  He puts together hunting parties to hunt down the Others and decides to fell the wildwood.  Jena continues to try and protect her family and the Other Kingdom, but in a time and place where being female meant you were essentially a second class citizen she has little recourse.  Cezar's heavy handed matter comes to a head when he tries to get Jena to marry him.  Her refusal just angers him more and he tells them he knows about their trips to the Other Kingdom.  To prove it and get information he pays a local villager to be locked in the room and follow them.  Jena hunts down Draguta and obtains a sleeping potion to give to the villager and their chaperone.  She also kisses Gogu who turns into a man. This man is one Jena has seen becoming a monster in a magic mirror and it frightens her thoroughly.  She tries to get the man to tell her who she is, but since he can't talk she decides not to risk it and leaves her old friend behind.  In the Other Kingdom the girls learn that Sorrow is actually a human who along with his sister Silence was taken by the Night People long ago.  He has been set a task that if he completes by the next Full Moon will allow him to marry Tati and have her live with him in the Other Kingdom. This delights Tati, and makes her sisters sad as they know they will not be able to see her again as this is their last trip to the Other Kingdom.  The man that Gogu has turned into is also their, the Queen releases the silence spell and he claims to be Costi, not drowned just turned into a frog.  Jena obviously has a hard time believing this and Costi leaves hurt. After a sorrowful goodbye, Jena's sisters encourage her to go after Costi/Gogu, Jena misses him but runs into Draguta who tells her that she gave the three children their wishes when they were little.  Jena could not be the real queen of the fairies so she was allowed to come visit the Other Kingdom, Costi was made a frog, which is King of the Lake, and also to teach him some humility.  Cezar it turns out wanted to be King of the Land and his most precious possession was his brother Costi...yep.  The girls go back home to an enraged Cezar who was thwarted in his attempts to gain access to the Other Kingdom.  Costi shows up, there is a bit of a showdown and Cezar runs away.  Costi will not speak to Jena, though he is kind enough to help her with the castle.  Tati takes a turn for the worse, refusing to eat or sleep, just wasting away in fear for her Sorrow.  To try and rally her Jena goes and makes up with Costi and they return to find Sorrow injured but with his quest complete if he can just get to Tati.  The sisters say their good-byes and she is whisked of to be Sorrows wife in the Other Kingdom.  The remaining girls are overjoyed when their father returns home to them safely and they all continue to live mostly happily ever after.

Told you this was gonna be a long one, and we haven't even started yet!  I very much enjoyed this book.  To start with the blending of one of my favorite fairytales Twelve Dancing Princesses with the famous Frog Prince tale was pretty flawless.  I loved how the author kept so many classic elements from the tales while making a completely new and engaging story that showed some of the older, darker origins of these tales.  Lets talk about the sisters.  First we have Tatiana the oldest, a beauty and one that becomes our typical helpless princess.  The fact that among other types the author kept in a classic damsel pining for her love story was kind of ballsy and and interesting choice.  She makes Tati sympathetic, yet at the same time she clearly shows how her uselessness and lack of engagement is not to be lauded as "oh that poor beautiful girl, pining for her lost love", but as a burden and worry to her sisters who desperately need her at her best, this seems a realistic portrayal of the all to real phenomenon of people abandoning all for love. Jena, our heroine is not flawless, she is bossy, a bit cold, and a bit of an over thinker.  Her main talent is being level-headed which is portrayed as a good thing.  She is able to see the big picture and not become lost in the pretty veneer of a thing.  That being said she also is not able to just let things be, she fights her instincts and

sometimes makes herself work twice as hard as she needs to.  Her happy ending comes after the end of much hardship and pain, but it is so very apparent that she loves her sisters, her people and her land and will do what she needs to to protect them.  Iulia is kind of awesome, she is the "sexy" one of the bunch.  A 13 year old girl/woman who is trying to grow up, but does not have any woman to guide her.  She wants to use what she has, she is not ashamed of her body and realizes that it is an asset, yet does not yet have the wisdom on the best way to use it.  She is sometimes coy, sometimes strong, she is a great example of a girl becoming a woman.  Paula is a bit of a stereotype, the scholar with glasses who would rather talk philosophy with the old folk then dance. That being said, she is the one who steps up and takes charge when the older girls start getting caught up in their own personal problems (and as a reward the author gives her her own story in the next book Cybele's Secret) she also has the best sense of humor.  Stela is the youngest by a couple years and add's a touch of innocence to the proceedings, yet is treated as an equal member of the sisterhood, she is encouraged to add her own opinion to the mix while being allowed to have a childhood.  This mix of personalities is used to great advantage in this story, adding various voices, opinions, and view points to every situation.  On to the FRUSTRATION!  This book made me feel so frustrated, not the story, but for the girls.  The author stayed true to the time period and place where a female only had as much power as her father, husband, brother or protector allowed her.  In our story the girls are given much freedom and trust by their unusual father who never remarried after their mother died.  His absence and the death of Nicolae left the care of the girls in the hands of Cezar who thought he had their best intentions in mind when he essentially made them prisoners in their own home.  Since he was not only their closest relative, but also the owner of a powerful house he pretty much had complete control and the girls would have had little recourse.  Jena especially is frustrated by this short leash and the writer makes her frustration so palpable and so hopeless and so realistic that I found myself feeling frustrated for her.  This is good, because a lot of times I am frustrated AT a character, their is usually something you can do, or try to do and so many times an author will create a stupid and

unrealistic situation just to further the story, or put our poor heroine in some dire straights when all they would have to do was make a choice to woman up.  This is not the case with this story.  In this story Jena and most of her sisters do everything in their power to change this impossible situation (except Tati...but even her self-induced helplessness makes a point).  I will say the solution to the girls problems being a frog turning back into a long lost prince who just happens to be in love with Jena is a bit deus ex machina for my taste, but the author set up the story well so it was there the whole time if you were looking for it.  The cover which was done by the talented Kinuko Y. Craft who's cover art has inspired many book purchases and has made my bookshelves just that more beautiful.  In summation, the setting was wonderful, the story fantastic, the characters fully realized, the pages kept turning, I loved it.  I recommend this for fairy tale lovers, kick-ass heroine lovers, history lovers, and book lovers.  I give it 9 out of ten beaded wire crowns!
What fairy tales would you like to see merged together?  What do you think of the author putting in the various types of heroines?  How much help can a heroine get and still be kick ass?  Do you want to go find the Others with me?

Renaissance Reading

Hit up the Maryland Renaissance Festival this weekend and had the best time ever! The turkey legs were greasy and yummy, the ale was cold and plentiful...and so were the corsets :-)  Hubbin even got me a pair of black feathered wings (there is a debate on if they are angel wings, or something else...) which I wore while running into absolutely everybody, so AWESOME!  I have always liked this era of history, with all the court intrigues and almost wars it's like Ye Olde Soap Opera.  Here are some other books set in this time period of sex, ale, and madrigals.

Six Wives

For you history buffs, this is a great book.  Using immense research skills, and a writing style even us fiction lovers can appreciate this biography is a great way to dive into Renaissance reading.

The Other Boleyn Girl

I am not usually a fan of straight historical fiction, but this book was a great read.  It was a bit on the girly side, and I learned more words for lady-bits then I thought possible, but it kept my interest all the way through.  Please skip the movie though, it was horrible in every way possible.

The Young Royals Series

This series follows the lives of the young girls who would go on to play a pivitol role in the Tudor era of rule. These are historical fiction for YA, but I really enjoyed reading them even as an adult.  I especially liked that each girl/woman got her turn to voice her part in each book.

Seraphina

One of the things I liked so much about this fantasy book, is that it reminded me so strongly of the Renaissance era.  The political intrigues, the religion, the clothes, the various classes, all present in this alternate world.

The Tree Shepherd's Daughter

Of course no Renaissance post would be complete without mentioning my favorite Renn Fest series.  I love the variety of fair's our heroine is involved with, and the hiding in plain sight for elves and fairies always makes me look a bit closer at the folks at my Renn Fest.

Hopefully there is something on this list for everybody.  History, fiction, fantasy, adult, YA, all kinds of fun stuff.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Circumnavigating Fairyland Again

Just got my copy of The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There and it is beautiful. I am saving it for just the right crisp fall day...or maybe a dark and storm night...or maybe a chill overcast afternoon, regardless I just know it is not time to read it yet.  I decided to reread it's predecessor The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in A Ship of Her Own Making both to refresh my memory and because it is such an AWESOME book (yes the capitals are necessary).  Since this is a second rambling, I will try and hit on a different view than I did on the first one found here. As always SPOILER ALERTS

Thoughts on this second read.  Since I already knew the story, and was expecting all of the awesome words and amazing visuals (which were just as great the second time around)  I was able to read into the emotions of the book a bit more this time around.  What really struck me this time, is that while it is a whimsical, fun, visually appealing, logophiles dream it is actually quite a heavy hitting book on an emotional scale.  In the midst of all the revelry and sheer coolness of fairyland is  many sad and hopeless beings.  The story of the Marquess who used to be Mallow is just heartbreaking and really plays into the idea that childhood is a passing phase and those who cling to it in an unhealthy manner tend to act in irrational ways.  I read a short novella called The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland--For a Little While which gives us a quick glimpse into Mallows rise to power and that makes her story all that more wretched.  I love how the author uses our heroine September as a lens in which to filter normal human emotions and reactions.  The whole adventure starts because she is your typical kid, a little selfish, a little heartless, and with no real thought for the future.

 As the story progresses you see this little girl grow in empathy, sympathy and practicality. Everything from giving up her shadow to save a child's life, to the ability to get past preconceived notions and standards in the building and sailing of her ship.  To cut ones hair and go naked, not to mention realize that surviving is not a crime (evidence by her feelings in eating the fish) all to save her friends is a testament to this little girls bravery.  The interactions between the denizens of Fairyland show just how far reaching consequences actions can have, in some cases for people you may have never even met.  The Marquesses need to make Fairyland tame, and a nice place for children, to try and keep them from harm by becoming a dictator like bureaucrat is reminiscent of what it feels like adults do for children in our own world, the sometime overly cautious, overly bland life they so carefully maintain for the protection of children, when all they want to do is be free to explore and have adventures.

This book has become more than a story, more then pictures filling my head and a longing to go ride a leopard of the wind, it is a book of ideas.  What makes a person good or bad.  If you are trying to do good, but bad comes of it what does that make you?  What about doing something bad to precipitate a good outcome?  What if what you do hurts a few, but helps a lot.  Is a bland yet safe existence better than an exciting yet dangerous one?  What makes a grown-up, a child, or a wyvearary? All of this stuff and so much more and yet if ones wants or needs one can read this book as a simple, gem like fairytale, just immersing oneself in an amazing world.  I am really excited to read the next book, from some of the reviews I've read it sounds like September is in a teenage stage which should bring about a whole host of new ideas.  Thanks for listening to my "deep thoughts" rambling.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Fowl And Fairy

Some days I absolutely love my e-books.  I can get a lot of my beloved books for cheap or free, so not only do I have a wonderful, physical copy on my shelf, but I can also carry a copy on my phone, e-reader, computer etc. so no matter what I want to read at any given moment I usually have access to it in some way shape or form.  This brings me to today's rambling on Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.  I have read this book before, in fact a beautiful gold version of it sits on my shelf, but the other day in the car I got the urge to read it again, and wham, bam downloaded it for 99 cents and was ready to read it in minutes, ahhh got to love technology sometimes.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD

We start by being introduced to a stone-cold business man, complete with his own highly trained, and incredibly capable body guard/assistant.  This person proceeds to torture a being that turns out to be a sprite and bribes her into giving up The Book, which is essentially all the rules and history of The People (or fairies as we humans like to call them).  Much to our surprise it turns out that this ruthless person is none other than a 12 year old boy by the name of Artemis Fowl.  Artemis has procured the The Book as part of a scheme to obtain fairy gold to fund an expedition to find his missing father.  Meanwhile deep underground Holly Short a member of LEPrecon (get it Leprechaun?!? bwahahaha...sorry need to drink my coffee) is trying desperately not to be late to work.  She is the first female fairy to be assigned to the recon squad and has already run into trouble.  As she arrives Commander Root is waiting for her with his usual spate of insults and gruffness, as they are engaging in this oh so common repartee an alert comes for a troll heading towards a human

settlement.  Root asks Holly is she is running hot, if she has recently performed a ritual that replenish her magic.  Holly lies and says that she is and heads of to meet with Foaly, the geeky centaur who is in charge of technology for LEPrecon.  After supplying her with motorized wings and a high tech helmet, he shoots her to the surface of Italy where she is supposed to only observe and report the trolls doings, but when a child cries out for help, Holly takes it as an invitation to intervene.  By the time the chaos is finished, Root has become aware of Holly's lack of magic and sends her to replenish it by picking an acorn from a tree at one of the magic sites and planting it elsewhere.  Unfortunately for Holly, Artemis is also aware that fairies require this ritual and has been staking out the various sites.  He captures Holly, evading every trick she usually uses to distract humans by use of mirrored sunglasses and a tranquilizer dart.  Root and Foaly are made aware of the situation and move in to rescue there fellow agent.  Back at Fowl Manor right outside of Dublin, Artemis is making arrangements of his own, using The Book to gain knowledge of the People he has a plan all set into place.  It starts with putting his mother (who has mentally deteriorated since his fathers disappearance to the point she no longer recognizes her own son) into a deep sleep.  He then has Butler (his bodyguard) and Juliet (Butler's highly trained sister) put Holly in a fresh concrete cell.  Root and his forces arrive on the surface and put the whole manor under a time-stop, which gives them apx 8 hours to work before daylight.  Interesting note that this used to be achieved by eight wizards and could only be maintained until one of them became exhausted...or had to pee, usually only about 8 hours or so.  Foaly was able to mechanize the process, thus giving LEP a reliable time-stop tool.  Artemis uses Holly's helmet to rig up a camera that can see through the shielding of the fairies, thus taking away one of their biggest advantages.  After his knowledge has been demonstrated, Artemis meets with Root to state his demands, a mere ton of fairy gold in small ingots.  Meanwhile Holly has found the acorn she had managed to get from the magic site before her abduction and is busy using her bed to break through the floor and plant her seed, this fills her up with magic and enables her to escape her cell.

Unfortunately Artemis was smart enough to tell her not to leave the house, and since fairy rules state you must obey a human in their own home she is stuck inside.  Back with the LEPrecon team, Root has acquired the services of a rouge dwarf by the name of Mulch.  Mulch has forfieted his magic as he regularly uses his inherent tunneling skills to relieve the Mud People (what fairies call humans) of their possessions.  Mulch tunnels into the Manor and discovers Artemis's copy of The Book, finally giving the recon team piece of the puzzle of how he knew so much about them.  This also leads to a bigger problem of what to do with him as it is forbidden for any Mud People/The People interaction to be known.  They decide that the only way for this to end well is to give Artemis what he wants, rescue Holly and then blue-rinse the Manor.  Blue-rinse is a process that kills all organic life in a very defined radius, but leaves everything else untouched, brutal but effective.  What they don't know is that this plays right into Artemis's hands as he knows a way to beat the time-field.  The gold is brought in and Holly makes an exchange with Artemis for half the gold back and with a heavy heart goes to rejoin her team.  Artemis makes Butler, Juliet and himself go to sleep with the aid of his mothers sleeping pills, which effectively takes them out of the time field and safe from the blue-rinse.  This makes it so Artemis "wins" and by fairy rules he gets to keep the gold and by giving back half to Holly, his mother is healed as well.  Holly, Root and Foaly go back below and they all move on to the sequel.

I love this book for so many happy reasons.  First off it is a pretty quick read, I can usually finish it in a day or two.  The pacing is pretty good, with the action happening a fairly quick clip.  There is wit and humor and even though it is a middle grade book it never feels like it was dumbed down.  I love that the main "bad guy" was a 12 year old boy, who devious as he is, essentially just wants his family whole again.  I think my favorite part is the mix of technology and magic that is employed by The People.  Just like humans they have learned to utilize technology to enhance or replace their natural abilities.  I love that even with these advances they are still bound by their own ancient rules.  Characters in this book are all well plotted with even the random side characters getting some page time.  Pretty much everything is explained in a fairly realistic manner, considering we are dealing with 12 year old geniuses with unlimited funds, 700 year old fairy commanders, super geeky centaurs and a dirt metabolizing dwarf. The only downside to the ebook is that it is missing the cool cipher code that is in the hard copy, this is a fun little extra, but not necessary for the enjoyment of the story.  This is a great book for reluctant readers, or one to read out loud with the family.  There is a lot to talk about and little to no objectionable material.  I would pretty much recommend it to anybody.  I give it 8 out of 10 red gummy bears (those are my favorite).
What do you think of fairy technology?  How awesome would it be to be able to get your hands on The Book?  How would you use your own personal Butler?