Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey

        
Fortune's Fool
(Five Hundred Kingdoms #3)
by Mercedes Lackey
Summary from Goodreads:

"The Barnes & Noble Review

New York Times–bestselling author Mercedes Lackey spins a variety of fairy tales -- think The Little Mermaid and old Russian folktales -- into a satisfying romantic fantasy in this third installment in her Five Hundred Kingdoms series. 

Katya, the youngest daughter of the Sea King, is sent by her father on a spying expedition. It's a perfect assignment for one with the unique ability to transverse both land and water. Once on land, Katya encounters a spectacular battle between two mages, then meets Sasha. He is also of royal birth -- the seventh son -- destined to play the part of the Wise or Fortunate Fool and Songweaver. Their instant affinity and blooming romance is interrupted when Katya's father calls her back on business: Two magical maidens have gone missing from an island. Katya disguises herself and gets kidnapped by the Jinn who is keeping the others prisoner, but it will take all her cleverness and powers, as well as Sasha's magic, to get them out alive. Readers will admire Katya's spirit, and fans of the previous two books -- The Fairy Godmother and One Good Knight -- will welcome the return of the Little Humpback Horse. Ginger Curwen"

Rating:

I relished reading this book. It has a nice fantasy/fairytale plot that’s involves outwitting “The Tradition”. I enjoyed voyaging through different myths, legends and fairy tales created from Japan, Russia and the Middle Eastern Regions.

The characters were created with the right hint of courage, uniqueness, magic and most of all the power of being clever. Lackey presented the readers with characters that you would truly learn to love. Katya and Sasha are both clever and funny; and every other character created for this tale is definitely noteworthy.

While Lackey seemed to be very descriptive in a lot of aspects, the story was good, and it opened a new way of re-telling folk stories. It has the right amount of adventure, humor and romance that gets you turning page after page despite the pull of every thought being narrated and the idea of explaining the plans and consequences of actions, which has always been Lackey’s style.