Adventures in Reading

When I learned that Mercedes Lackey already had a new book coming out in the Five Hundred Kingdom series, I could not resist adding my name to the list at the library. The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey is a reinterpretation of Hans Christian Anderson’s beloved fairy tale by the same name. In Lackey’s retelling, Godmother Aleksia actually assumes the role of the “terrible” Snow Queen and under this guise helps wayward magic souls nearing the dark side by helping them appreciate the love, bounty, etc. they already have at hand. But when a Traditional Snow Queen starts operation next store and the blame of ever winter and entire villages dying is blamed on Aleksia the real story begins.

The Snow Queen is set apart from the other stories in the series mostly because of Godmother Aleksia: prior to becoming a Godmother Aleksia was unwittingly pursuing a Traditional story where she would kill her sister to marry her brother-in-law. Even when she is rescued from this and set in place as the Snow Queen, Aleksia remains concerned how her isolation and solitude makes the dark side in many ways appealing.

The Snow Queen is an enjoyable summer read and more similar to the first two novels in the series. Oddly enough I keep finding fragments of Terry Pratchett throughout this series, and either Lackey is paying homage to my favorite fantasy writer or I’m looking for him where he doesn’t exist! But the two authors employ some similar ideas when it comes to story telling and tradition.