The Snow Queen (Five Hundred Kingdoms Series #4)

Loved this book

I have been a fan of Merry Lackey for years. I read her Arrows Valdemar series as a child and fell in love with them. As an adult, I have discouvered her again, and have just finished the Snow Queen. Can't wait for the next one!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

wonderful adult fairy tale

As the Snow Queen of the Palace of Ever-Winter, Godmother Aleksia insures magic is handled safely. However the Godmother Elena through their mirror communication system informs her that someone pretending to be the Snow Queen is killing people. Aleksia is angry and disturbed, but plans to put an end to this odious affront.--------- At the same time that Aleksia learns of the deception, the Snow Queen abducts Veikko. His mother the Wise Woman Annukka and his fiancée Kaari vow to save him from the evil one. When these two courageous women meet Aleksia, neither trusts the other until the trio realizes an adversary to all of them is using powerful magic to cause havoc across the land. ----------- The latest Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms (see THE FAIRY GODMOTHER, ONE GOOD KNIGHT, and FORTUNE¿S FOOL) is a wonderful adult fairy tale starring three heroines facing danger with courage, wit, and humor. The story line is action-packed from the moment the mirror hot line activates and never slows down until the ¿Queens¿ confront each other. Readers will appreciate the enchanting SNOW QUEEN as Mercedes Lackey casts a reading in one sitting spell on her audience.----- Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Another great book in this series...

Love the Five Hundred Kingdoms Series!

Must read.

What happens when the Tradition works on a Godmother? This story is a very involved plot with complicated characters. The outcome is never quite certain even though as a reader of the series you are sure that the outcome will be a "Happily Ever After Ending." And of course there are happy endings and there are "Happy Endings."

I very much enjoyed reading it. It is one that I would recommend. It is also one that gives you more information about what it takes to be a godmother and from a perspective different from Elena's.

One of my favorites of the series

Book four is far better than books 2 or 3 in the Five Hundred Kingdoms Series. If you liked the first book then you will certainly like this one too. The characters and the setting are all intriguing and fun to read. I especially liked that the entire book was set in a wintry landscape - very appropriate for reading in the winter in Minnesota!

Loved it!

I have enjoyed pretty much everything Mercededs Lackey has written. This is the 1st in a new series, The 500 Kingdoms. The books sets up a totally different take on traditional fairy tales. The series covers not just Grimm's fairy tales but other countries stories as well. The premise is based on "The Tradition" which is a magical force that nudges people into following the traditional path of a fairy tale, whether they want to or not. This is the story of Elena and how she became a Fairy Godmother from a failed Cinderella story. Her prince never came. The Fairy Godmother's job is to watch over the kingdoms and prevent true evil from taking hold.

The book is an easy read and fun. There are laugh out loud moments. I mainly enjoyed the premise of Fairy Tales being acted out in real life. Characters are well written and the plot engaging.

If you enjoy Lackey, you will enjoy this

What a fun break from her Valdemar series. Actually, in general, this series is much more mature. More plot, more character development, and an interesting idea. If you are a fan of mythology its fun to recognize the different myths and elements in Lackey's stories. It is the perfect book to read on a rainy day, in bed. I look forward to more books in this series.

Below is my order of favorites in this series, NOT in the order they are written
1. The Fairy God Mother
2. The Snow Queen
3. One Good Knight
4. Fortune's Fool

A Welcome Change

I've often enjoyed Mercedes Lackey's writing, but I find these a welcome change from even your regular fantasy. The idea of the Tradition, a guiding force/hand of destiny, based on mythology, is not unlike looking at the evolution of culture from the basics. Mercedes Lackey is never exceedingly heavy on plot, delving more into character development, but this series seems to be her most balanced. The characters are intriguing, the plot is good, and its a good break from everything- even other reading!

A new take on an old fairy tale

Ok..I have to say, I've been a fan of Mercedes Lackey for a long time and enjoy reading about her Godmothers. I must say this was very enjoyable and a good read on the whole.

Excellent Author

I own many of Mercedes Lackey books and in the second of a series she has created another success. The book is well written and I was kept interested until the last word. When I read if my interest isn't captured within the first couple of pages I don't read or buy the book. Not so in the case of this book. I look forward to reading the next Godmother book!

More wonderful Mercedes Lackey

This is a book in the 500 Kingdoms Series.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Being a longtime fan of Mercedes Lackey...

I guess I'm a bit biased overall because I've enjoyed her characters and plot lines for years. That said, I've really become a big fan of this series in particular. I have always enjoyed traditional folk tales and fairie tales, and this series takes my old favorites and gives them a different flavour. I particularly like the interplay between the characters and the 'behind-the-scenes' insight into the thoughts of the "Snow Queen". It gives more depth to the character than the traditional version and at the same time makes her more human. All in all, this was a great "escape" book to let me forget about the daily turmoil and completely relax and enjoy myself. I'd gladly recommend it to anyone fond of the old stories.

Mrs. Lackey does it again

Excellent story, great characters, good suspense.
I keep thinking that she is going to run out of storylines in this "Five Hundred Kingdoms" saga.But they just keep getting better.
Keep them coming........but of course don't forget the Harold & Companions stories!!!

Loved it

I loved this book! Mercedes Lackey is my fav author. I recommend all her books!

What a fun book!

In all of the 500 Kingdoms, there is not another author who holds a candle to Mercedes Lackey!

This story incorporates good, old-fashioned fairy tales with suspense, and a touch of the unexpected; which makes this book almost impossible to put down from beginning to end. I read this book in just two evenings (I only have time to read after going to bed). I couldn't put it down!

The 500 Kingdom series are a must read for every fantasy enthusiast.

short

was a bit shorter than the other 500 kingdom books. but the plots was well writen

Another fractured fairy tale

I used to be a great Lackey fan - bought every title she wrote the moment I saw it in a bookstore. But lately, her books have been lackluster at best. Instead of buying her books automatically now, I check them out of the library first...and this has saved me a considerable amount of cash, as none of her books since 'The Fire Rose' has been worth the investment of either time or currency. Her latest tome, a 're-imagining' of the classic tale 'The Snow Queen', is the worst yet. Lackey discards the most intriguing aspect of the original tale - the quest for Kay by Gerda - and focuses on the Snow Queen herself. Now this could be an interesting angle...but unfortunately, Lackey botches it. Her attempts to make the Snow Queen sympathetic results in some of the most hare-brained plot twists I have ever read in any fantasy novel. For instance: In order to make the Snow Queen a good guy, Lackey invents a FAKE Snow Queen who actually does all the bad stuff. Wow, brill. And the Snow Queen (this is the REAL Snow Queen, mind) that Lackey creates is a crashing bore, and that's because the character is a victim of Lackey's over-reliance on character introspection, which she substitutes for action, character development, or anything else required to make a story worth reading. We get pages and pages of the character's inner thoughts, meticulously - one might say, excruciatingly - analyzing every single aspect of any given event to the point of outright boredom. People don't act in her books, they mostly THINK about acting, so that by the time they actually do something, the reader is so overwhelmed by the tedious set-up for any given action that the action itself comes off as anti-climactic. I don't know what's happened to Mercedes Lackey, but I would guess by her habit of putting out several novels a year (some written exclusively by herself, others collaborative efforts) that she's written herself dry, and needs to ease back and try taking a sabbatical or something. I intend to take a sabbatical from any more works from Mercedes Lackey, until I see evidence that she's returned to the quality writing that got me so hooked on her novels of Valdemar. Otherwise, this author/reader relationship is NOT going to have a happy ending.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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