Not your average fairy tale
Other than the first three books of the Riftwar Saga, this is the only other book of Feist's that I have read and I must say that it is on a completely different level to what I was used to from this author. As can by seen from the title of this book this is <i>not</i> a fairy tale, far from it. In fact this is not even a children's book, particularly since the antagonists are very nasty pieces of work, and in some cases, have a very nasty sexual side to them. The Riftwar novels are probably for all ages and tend to shy away from many 'adult only' concepts, however this book confronts them head on and leaves us with a shiver down our spine.
It is interesting how sanitised the world of the fae has become, and while it would be easy to point the finger at Enid Blyton's direction, I suspect this idea of fairies goes back to the mid to late nineteenth century. Before that the fae were spiritual creatures, sometime mischievous, some times a lot worse, that lurked just outside of the realm of humanity; haunting dark woods and luring unsuspecting travellers to their death. While I have not read them in their original form, one might suggest that the Brothers Grimm did not set out of write children's stories.
The other interesting thing about this book is that I believe it is set in America, or that was the impression that I got from it, however the mythology in the book is strictly Celtic. This is a shame because I don't actually think Celtic mythology really works in an American setting. Instead, if one is setting such a book in the United States, it would be more realistic to draw upon the myths of the Native Americans. Such spirits were as mischievous as the fae were in England.
I can't remember much of this book but what I can remember is that I liked it. This goes to undermine my argument in previous entries about a good book being one that I remember. Obviously in this case I was wrong (and I can probably pull out a few other books where this applies as well). However, there is also the other angle where we are dealing with a book that way back when I really did not like, but after reading it again twenty-five years after I first read it I discover that it was actually a really good book. This was the case with Lord of the Flies and with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
