Fun fairy-tale retelling for older teens as well as adultsEkaterina, "Katya" for short, is the seventh daughter of the Sea King's fourteen children. Her father is a very wise man who has brought peace rather than endless war to his kingdom. He believes that all his children should have useful work to do based on their individual talents, rather than getting spoiled, lazy and causing trouble due to idleness. Katya can function equally well breathing air and walking on land and breathing water and swimming under the sea. Her father also gave her and all her royal siblings dragon's blood, which imparts the ability to everyone who drinks it to understand the speech of all animals, and to a special few, including Katya, the ability to speak and understand all human languages. Because of these things, her father offered Katya the job of being his eyes and ears on land. The peace of his realm is not threatened only by events under the sea. Wars of aggression on the land can easily spread underwater, and he is determined to nip in the bud the destructive acts of magical villains before they get out of hand.Prince Sasha is the seventh son of the King of Belrus, a small kingdom very near the Sea King's domain. Sasha is known as a "Fortunate Fool." In public he plays the part of a grinning idiot whose gift of luck brings peace and plenty to his father's kingdom, but in private his family knows him for an intelligent, decent, caring young man.In between missions for her father, Katya encounters Sasha, and it is instantly clear that both of these intrepid virgins (neither of them has ever been attracted to anyone else romantically before) are made for each other. But before they can fully cement their romance, Katya is kidnapped by an evil Jinn, and Sasha is determined to find her and do everything he can to aid her in the brave escape he is confident she is inevitably planning.This is the third entry in the 500 Kingdoms series by Mercedes Lackey, originally published between 2004-2011 by Harlequin's LUNA fantasy line. I had not read any of her books before stumbling on this series. I wasn't expecting to enjoy these books as much as I have because I'd never before been a fan of traditional fantasy novels. For my own preferences, books in that genre tend to be over-long because of spending a great deal of time lovingly detailing the magical world at the expense of a central, character-based story. In contrast, LUNA books must inevitably be tightly written because that imprint has a standard word length of no more than 120,000 words. This requirement pushes participating authors to stick to the main storyline which, because this is Harlequin, is a paranormal romance, with a secondary action-adventure plot.As a long-time fan of paranormal romance, this series provides a type of fantasy story I could definitely get interested in for the romance alone. But Lackey has provided me with several other major attractions. First, the series employs fairytale-retelling, which I've always enjoyed, and which is brilliantly done here. The concept of a world driven by a magical "Tradition," which forces the people of the 500 Kingdoms to live out familiar myths and fairytales, is an enthralling choice for magical world-building because it is rooted in a universal truth of ordinary, human existence--all too often major, life choices are forced on us seemingly irresistibly by our upbringing, conventions of our local and national society, and by the options available to us in the era of history in which we live.I constantly marvel at Lackey's sheer creativity in the way that she mixes and matches elements from fairytales and folklore from around the world, resulting in comically incongruous fantasy mashups. In this book the emphasis is primarily on Russian fairytales, but we get a taste of other traditions, too, such as tales from Japan.Speaking of comic incongruity, the second major thing I adore about the 500 Kingdom books is that Lackey is truly brilliant at subtle, witty, often laugh-out-loud humor in every entry in this series, including this one. I love comedy, and the intermix of fantastical creatures with both adventure and romance creates endless possibilities for humor.Regardless of the genre of fiction I read, I always prefer character-driven stories, and Lackey's series is totally character driven. Since this book is written for the adult, romance genre, we get to experience the dual points of view of both Katya and Sasha throughout the book. But because this book is based on fairytales, Lackey also from time to time moves into omniscient, storytelling, narrator mode, which works really well since that is the standard voice in traditional fairytales and strongly summons for the reader the mood of fairytales. In addition to the protagonists, the many subcharacters, both human and nonhuman, are vividly drawn and contribute tremendously to the story, while never upstaging Katya or Sasha, who are always compelling, every time they appear on the page.Katya is a strong, sympathetic heroine whose missions for her father involve lots of flexibility, cleverness, and the ability to involve other people and magical beings in a team effort to defeat terrible villains. Sasha functions much the same as Katya, being assigned by his father, a king, to help protect his kingdom. Both have drunk dragon blood. Both are equally kind-hearted, valiant, and willing to risk their lives to defend the weak and those they care about against evil, magical villains. Both have been trained to understand and deal with the problems caused by the Tradition and are skilled at nudging it toward happy endings rather than tragic ones.Sasha is particularly gifted at maneuvering the Tradition in two ways. He frequently does favors for people and animals, and as part of Sasha's magical luck, the Tradition forces them to repay those favors, usually just when Sasha desperately needs help. Sasha also regularly engages in on-the-spot composition of songs that are easy for anyone to sing, which allows them to rapidly spread throughout his kingdom. The continual repetition of lyrics that communicate a desired outcome exerts a counter pressure on the Tradition, steering it into paths that keep Sasha's kingdom safe and prosperous. It is fascinating to see a romantic hero whose weapons against horrible villains are not alpha-male battle skills, but rather his wit, big heart, and his magical luck as a Fortunate Fool.For those who are reading the series in order, this is the third book, and it is fun to re-encounter two lovable, and quite amusing, talking dragons which are central characters in book 2, One Good Knight. We also meet again an extremely funny subcharacter from book 1, The Fairy Godmother, a flying "humpback" horse who is very clever but quite homely. In this story, as in every one I've read so far in this series, unicorns appear. Male ones are attracted to female virgins, and female ones are attracted to male virgins. They are utterly gorgeous, but completely dumb, and every time they appear, the results are hilarious, as in this book when--prior to meeting Katya--Sasha is constantly bombarded with their fawning attentions.As is typical in actual fairytales, all the main romantic protagonists in this series are quite young, ranging from 16 to, at most, 20--in this book both protagonists are 18. Because of that, if it weren't for several tasteful, loving, non-graphic sexual encounters between the romantic protagonists in this book--and similar scenes in most of the other books in this series--these books could easily qualify as Young Adult (YA) suitable for ages 12 and above. The author's voice and tone are ideal for that genre. As it is, these books are definitely appropriate for teens 16 and older.The books in this series as of today's date are:The Fairy GodmotherOne Good KnightFortune's FoolThe Snow QueenThe Sleeping BeautyBeauty and the WerewolfA Tangled Web (a short story from a previous anthology)I read a Kindle re-issue of this book which is well formatted and well edited.I rate this book as follows:Heroine: 5 starsHero: 5 starsSubcharacters: 5 starsFantasy World-Building: 5 starsWriting: 5 starsRomance Plot: 5 starsAction-Adventure Plot: 5 starsOverall: 5 stars
I originally reviewed this book on my blog - The Cosy Dragon. For more recent reviews by me, please hop over there.In another tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Sasha and Katya are both seventh born children. The difference between them is that one belongs on the land and the other in the sea. Both have important roles for their kingdoms, but both are equally alone as well.Sasha and Katya show very little character development. Sasha is the kind hearted soul he has always been, and Katya the strong willed woman who loves clothes! Their relationship also seems a little quick moving, but then again, the Tradition is behind it.I like how this book has two climax points. The first is with Katya, which introduces her nicely, and the second is with the Jinn. The various adventures Sasha had didn't hold as much weight with me because I knew that as a Fortunate Fool he would come out of them ok every time.Nippon. Anyone who has studied Japanese will see that Lackey has blatantly ripped off their language. I'm not sure I found it great - I wanted something new, not something I was familiar with. Granted, it was a bit like medieval Japan, but in a Fairytale book I felt there should be more.Three Baba Yagas! How scary. This is a fairytale that everyone should be familiar with, the strange house that walks on two chicken legs. This book really makes an effort to draw in a number of Fairytales, which is excellent.The ending is a little bit too clear cut for me. Or rather, not the ending itself, but the little epilogue that is at the end, in a years time. All too very convenient and unlikely, even with the Tradition. I was under the impression that the castle was further away from Sasha's kingdom that it appears, and it isn't near the water except by a stream.I'd recommend this book for adults only, simply because it has explicit sex scenes in it. They aren't really necessary for the book, and they do feel a little gratuitous, but I guess Lackey doesn't get to explore that much in her other books.
What do You think about Fortune's Fool (2007)?
Sasha, seventh son of the Tsar is a Fortunate Fool and a Song Weaver. For the former he gets kicked around in public; for the latter he tours the kingdom and prevents major problems. Ekaterina (Katya) is the seventh daughter of the King of the Sea and her job is to do whatever her father says needs doing, especially since she can comfortably go on land. When they meet the Tradition helps the obvious thing happen, but then they must fight against the Djinn that has taken over an empty castle near Sasha’s kingdom. other allies help too, and the Tradition aids them as well. Interesting take on Russian folktales mixed with the Little Mermaid. Third book in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series.
—Lucy
I love Mercedes Lackey, and I love the 500 Kingdoms. I love this fairy tale world, it's great. It's light and fluffy and creative and fun.Lackey isn't exactly the most polished author in the world, though. This fairy tale was very much a romance, and the two lovers were constantly "temporizing" at each other while they tried to figure out what to say. The plot was predictable, but eh, it's kind of supposed to be, right? Also the poor guy apparently had CONSTANT boners. Constant. Boners while making out, okay. Boners while having sexy dreams, okay. Boners when he reads the love heart at the end of a note? Uhhh.... well, okay, guy who is getting laid for the first time, fair enough, but do we need to hear about it every time?I actually wouldn't mind if Lackey could bring herself to actually come out and say "penis". But no. Many euphemisms and jokey references to rushing blood. Poor guy is stuck with constant bulging in his "apparatus".Please Mercedes. Please hire a team of hardass editors, and listen to them. And run around shouting PENIS at the top of your lungs until you're comfortable with the word.
—Gwen
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.For more of my reviews, please visit my blog: The Blair Book Project @ www.theblairbookproject.blogspot.com
—Janus Vielle (The Blair Book Project)
