Once Upon a Summer Day

Faery #2

by Dennis L. McKiernan

The acclaimed author of the Mithgar novels, Dennis L. McKiernan enchanted fans and critics alike with the bestselling Once Upon a Winter’s Night . Now, this gifted author presents us with a delightfully new version of an age-old tale that fires the imagination and touches the heart… Once upon a summer day, Prince Borel of the Winterwood falls asleep, and a beautiful, golden-haired maiden with a shadowy band across her eyes comes to him in his dreams and pleads for aid. She returns time after time, and the prince is certain that she is real and in deadly peril. Yet he knows not who she is…nor where she is imprisoned. Opposed by witches and trolls and goblins and beings even more dreadful, and aided by a field sprite, Borel begins a desperate quest through the wonders and hazards of Faery, seeking a mysterious masked demoiselle guarded by perilous blades. And though time touches not this land of legend, time is running out…“Superb…charming and magical…McKiernan escorts fantasy lovers into an enchanted place that deserves more tales.”— Midwest Book Review

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Romance, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Retellings, Adult

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

McKiernan was born in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri and received a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1958 and an M.S. in the same field from Duke University in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T, initially at Western Electric but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.

In 1977, while riding his motorcycle, McKiernan was hit by a car which had crossed the center-line, and was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast, for many months. During his recuperation, he boldly began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.

McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales draw from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.

McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

(Biography taken from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Regan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blerg.

At first I thought I was struggling with this book because I started reading it as soon as I got progressive bifocals and it was literally hard to read - like, WITH MY EYES - so I was struggling there. Because I liked the first book and couldn't quite parse how I could enjoy the first book but be so freaking NOT into the second.

But my eyes adapted and I was still struggling. I just...I found it boring. And fleshed out with tripe. And I really thought a super short version of this tale would have been more than plenty. I know Sleeping Beauty has never been one of my faves, maybe that's part of it, but all of what was interesting and toothsome in the first book was lacking in the second.

Not sure if I'll read more of this series or not. This may have been a sophomore slump, it may also be that the first book was a freshman fluke. Either way - blerg to this one.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had read Once Upon a Winter's Night because the fairy tale is my FAVORITE and I loved the unique background he creates to explain the "theory" or evolution of fairy tales- their source, their oral corruption to being written. This is a continuation of the Faery world and examines Borel and Michelle aka Chelle aka Sleeping Beauty. I could have done without the... more adult content- it kind of ruined it for me.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grand retelling of sleeping beauty tale. As the author claims, he this is the rest of the story. Prince Borel of the Winterwood demense dreams of beautiful golden haired maiden trapped but where is the question. This tale is the quest to rescue her with unlikely companions. All cautionary tales of the faery are made real.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 2 out of 5]

In "Once upon a Summer Day", McKiernan expands the story of Sleeping Beauty to a 368-page fantasy novel, populated with elves, witches, ogres, goblins, and sprites. Elven prince Borel of the Winterwood dreams of a golden-haired princess surrounded by floating daggers, and sets out to rescue her. In the course of his quest, he encounters many non-canonical perils. Unfortunately, in his effort to expand the fairy tale to novel length, in addition to the expanded plotline, the author resorts to superfluous padding, including 500 words on the proper elf wines to accompany the hero’s simple four course dinner upon return from traveling (“My lord, I have selected a special blanc to accompany the heartiness of the soup: a full-flavored substantial white wine with grape and apple aromas mixing well with the mustiness of barrel-aging and culminating in a robust aftertaste… .”) In recent years, other fantasy novelists have expanded fairy tales to novel length, staying true to the core of the story which creating a credible world for its occurrence. "Once upon a Summer Day" is not such a successful effort.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 See, any of the newer novel adaptations of Disney's Sleeping Beauty would pale in comparison to this. I am really falling in love with these reimaginings of classic tales, the characters are compelling, the humor is there, and the animal sidekicks are the best. It's even the kind of overarching plot that I'm inclined to follow through with the rest of the series. Yes, I want to read a book from the Autumnwood and Springwood's rulers perspectives, I know I'll get a unique and enticing story arc that stands on its own that will still move the overarching series plot along.

[James L. Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic !!! Because he took a simple story and made it into i can’t put this book down story

Fantastic !!! Because he took a simple story and made it into i can’t put this book down story ñ.

[Tinuviel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah, Iago, the writing!! I hate-read this 10 years ago, in spurts because I used to pride myself on finishing books, and still remember it as one of the worst reads of my life. The prose, so flowery, so overwrought, so rage-inducing. Today, I would DNF without a second thought.

[Lark of The Bookwyrm's Hoard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It doesn't quite live up to its predecessor, Once Upon a Winter's Night, but it's enjoyable. Review to come.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun read, once I got about halfway through. Very slow start and some cumbersome language. I skimmed a lot. Overall, light and entertaining.

[Kathleen Hybertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Upon a Summer Day is a continuation of an epic story arc where four royal siblings are responsible for enchanted forests reflective of each major season. In spite of the title, Once Upon a Summer Day is the story of the “winter lord,” Lord Borel. In a reasonably interesting alchemy of fairy tale references with the author’s own rather minor twists, the “winter lord” treks off to rescue a princess. The story has more meat than the Mario/Zelda storyline I just typed, but the bulk of it is relatively predictable. One is certain that dreams and reality are going to be linked in some obvious way and one is certain that the retelling of fairy tales as legend will reflect what the protagonist has done.

Since there are so few surprises in this novel, my review will have to be brief lest I vary even further into the land of spoilers beyond the boundary of social acceptability than I did in the last sentence of the previous paragraph. I can say that the book reads more swiftly than I expected when I realized it was intended to be part of an epoch and that I appreciate very much that the author kept the point of view very keenly from the perspective of the “winter lord.” I also rather enjoyed the anti-Jiminy Cricket nature of the field sprite who accompanied Lord Borel throughout much of the journey.

My favorite line in this novel was an exchange between Borel and the astral presence of the princess he needed to rescue. They were in the Autumnwood, his sibling’s demesne, when she asked:
“’Then nothing changes in the Autumnwood? All things plucked replaced?’ Borel nodded. ‘How sad,’ said Chelle, ‘Wonderful, but in the end quite sad.’” (p. 122) Even though its appeal to the necessity of different times for different purposes wasn’t entirely original (aka Ecclesiastes 3?), I thought its usage here was clever.

Once Upon a Summer Day doesn’t quite have the explicit action, truly insidious magic and subterfuge, or depth of characterization that I enjoy, but it was a pleasant adventure to read. It would certainly make a terrific counterpoint to those who are gorged with the atrocities in books by George R. R. Martin and David Gemmell.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful book, once it finally gets going. The beginning was a bit disappointing and I am a bit annoyed that very little of the actions takes place in the Summerswood... In fact, the hero of this one is Borel, the prince of the Winterwood.

However, McKiernan writes a wonderful quest for his hero involving Sleeping Beauty-- He makes the tale interesting-- full of romance and love-- as well as adventures. Along the way he tosses in some odd creatures (A sprite and a bee) who give the novel a bit of a whimsical nature.

One of the most interesting things in this story is the concept that somewhere people were telling Fairy Tales and thus-- the world of Faery was created by the gods for their amusement because they so enjoyed the stories that were being told. As each tale is told, it is expanded with lots of details not in the original. For example, the actual tale of Sleeping Beauty focuses on the beauty and provides little details. McKiernan tells the story of the quest of the prince-- how did he travel far and wide to get to the place where he could rescue her with a kiss, etc.


The first of this series is so much better, with a style that is more interesting, and a mystery that needs to be resolved... and this one is more about getting this huge quest accomplished and getting help, etc. It isn't a bad story-- it is a fanciful fairy tale-- and well done-- but at times it just becomes a bit too serious and at others a bit too cutesy.


However, I want to read the rest of the series because the reader knows when he gets to the end that these adventures are simply an overture to a grand battle that will take place as the forces of evil appear to be gathering to exact revenge on the parents of the Lord of the various seasonal woods in Faery.

[Teresa Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the second book I have read in this series. The first "Once Upon a Winter's Night" was lent to me by my son last year. In the Once Upon series, McKiernan writes of classic Fairy Tales as he feels they were told in the beginning. He feels that stories were passed from generation to generation by bards who told and re-told the stories. With each passing down of the tale, the original story became smaller and smaller until we have the tales as we now know them, short and to the point. McKiernan was woven in detail and magic and chivalry which, instead of detracting from the fairy tale as I first thought it would, actually amplifies the story and expands the imagination. This second book did not disappoint me as I was swept in the retelling of "Sleeping Beauty." I would recommend this to anyone who is found of the fairy tales we remember from our youth.

[Kipahni · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty much everything I didn't like about the first in this series I don't like in this book. There are ridiculous dialogue, corny love parts and the only saving grace in the book is the fact that it's an interesting story (Sleeping beauty).

[Lace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales and the way McKiernan takes the tale and makes it his own is well done. I also love how this story connects with 'Once Upon a Winter Night', his re-telling of 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon'- another favorite tale of mine.

I really look forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Carrie Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an unimpressive read. It took the author nearly 100 pages to get to the point, and even then it never actually got there. I tried really hard to finish this book. Considering I have two more books after this, I suspect it will be many years before I try again. I am a big fan of this authors work, and I am incredibly disappointed. I think I will stick to his Mithgar series from now on.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book! It might have a little to do with my copy being signed by the author and that the main female character is named Michelle. I found the concept of this world very fun and it kept my interest.

[The Fairy Godmother]

Second book of the series. Retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

[Ion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the way he re-spins this fairytale. I really like the French elements that are encorporated and that his female heroine isn't a cake. Loverly.

[Lbd · Rating 4 out of 5]

book three of the season royals. fun fairytales revisited.

[Doris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a great book! So far it has put me to sleep 3 times. I don't need a sleeping pill!

[Amberle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great grown up version of sleeping beauty

[Sarah Insomnia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This looked a lot better than what it was. Everything kind of drowned in the excessive descriptiveness of the writing...

[Dana Caplinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this favorite series from a decade ago. It's a bit hokey, but I still love it!

[Danae]

cleaner then the first one but it still could've done without the sex.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, couldn't put it down.

[thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm finding McKiernan's "once upon a..." books to be a fair bit more pulpy than his Mithgar novels. Still, I have enjoyed two I've read so far.

[Isabelle Arné · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not extraodinary I'm hoping more adventure for the next books. The romace is really beautiful !

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad

[David Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty much like the first book. I probably will not read the other two of us I become extremely bored. Please please take the time to read something else.