…from a fellow writer at SF Novelists. I haven’t read this, but it sounds intriguing.
Jim Hines‘ The Stepsister Scheme is a story in which three very determined princesses (basically Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) get together. Jim says:
“… the thing about fairy tales and so many of the retellings is that our heroines often end up being symbols rather than fully developed characters. I wanted to make my three princesses real people, with strengths and flaws and depth and personality. I’ve described the book as Charlie’s Angels crossed with fairy tale princesses, but more than that; it’s a story of three women learning to work as a team to save a prince, fight evil, and generally kick ass. Also, it’s got the best use of silverware in hand-to-hand combat of any book I’ve ever seen.“
Sounds great!
Oh wow, I just read it a couple of days ago! It’s a fun read… I just had to buy it the moment I saw it in the bookstore.
A pretty unique take on fairy tales, I have to say. And may I say that it’s about time that princess(es, in this case) save the prince. Written by a guy, no less! 🙂
The story is mostly light-hearted and doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there are touches of darkness, if you will, that round out the story very well.
Several people have recommended Jim’s books to me and I enjoy reading his blog, but so far I have not fallen over any of his works. Next time I’m in Perth I must make a point of doing the rounds of likely shops and hunting them down.