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Five Hundred Kingdoms #3-4
A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Volume 2: Fortune's Fool\The Snow Queen
Rediscover the world of fractured fairytales in NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Mercedes Lackey’s sparkling Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. There are Happily Ever Afters—with some twists and turns along the way!
FORTUNE’S FOOL
Though she’s the seventh daughter of the Sea King, Ekaterina is better at being the family spy than a pampered princess. Her latest assignment matches her up with Sasha, the seventh son of a neighboring Kingdom. Known as a Fool, he’s equally able to slip under the radar. But when Ekaterina is kidnapped by a possessive Jinn, she’s got to get a little bit of help from fortune, a fool and a paper bird before taking down her captor!
THE SNOW QUEEN
She has a heart of ice and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. But Aleksia, Queen of the Northern Lights, isn’t evil. At least, not before an imposter starts using her name and powers for selfish ends. Teaming up with a mother searching for her son, and a girl searching for her lover, Aleksia will do whatever she has to in order to reclaim her good name…
FORTUNE’S FOOL
Though she’s the seventh daughter of the Sea King, Ekaterina is better at being the family spy than a pampered princess. Her latest assignment matches her up with Sasha, the seventh son of a neighboring Kingdom. Known as a Fool, he’s equally able to slip under the radar. But when Ekaterina is kidnapped by a possessive Jinn, she’s got to get a little bit of help from fortune, a fool and a paper bird before taking down her captor!
THE SNOW QUEEN
She has a heart of ice and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. But Aleksia, Queen of the Northern Lights, isn’t evil. At least, not before an imposter starts using her name and powers for selfish ends. Teaming up with a mother searching for her son, and a girl searching for her lover, Aleksia will do whatever she has to in order to reclaim her good name…
517 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
87 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,527 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 18, 2019
Good stories
I really enjoyed Fortunes fool, the first story in this book. Moved fast and kept me entertained. The second story the Snow Queen, started real slow, I had a hard time getting into it. Once you reach the halfway point it picks up, and I enjoyed the ending.
I really enjoyed Fortunes fool, the first story in this book. Moved fast and kept me entertained. The second story the Snow Queen, started real slow, I had a hard time getting into it. Once you reach the halfway point it picks up, and I enjoyed the ending.
February 3, 2019
💘 love love! The Five Hundred Kingdoms stories!!!
Such a wonderful series, love the morals throughout and the twists put on old fairy tales! Would recommend to anyone, going or old!!
Such a wonderful series, love the morals throughout and the twists put on old fairy tales! Would recommend to anyone, going or old!!
March 27, 2019
Great as always
I had read Fortune's Fool before, and loved it as much the second time around. I had not read The Snow Queen, but found it delightful and romantic. I like seeing a Godmother take a leading role in a tale.
I had read Fortune's Fool before, and loved it as much the second time around. I had not read The Snow Queen, but found it delightful and romantic. I like seeing a Godmother take a leading role in a tale.
July 7, 2018
1/2 and 1/2
There is a lot of description and not a lot of action. I skipped some parts that seemed redundantly explanatory.
Fortune’s Fool was not great. Snow Queen was better.
There is a lot of description and not a lot of action. I skipped some parts that seemed redundantly explanatory.
Fortune’s Fool was not great. Snow Queen was better.
February 28, 2015
Overall, I have enjoyed the first 4 books of Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdom series. I would actually give this 2 volume set a 3.5, but I cannot do so. Fortune's Fool I would give a 3 and The Snow Queen a 4.
Lackey creates great characters and playfully mixes fairy tales with real cultural details. It has led me searching more about things on various musical instruments, folk tale beings, and cultures like the Sami people. And up until a point, I find myself engrossed in the plot.
However, sometimes there is too much description (and I say this as someone who loves lots of description) on things less important than the climax and denouement. Lackey builds up to the climax beautifully only to rush the resolution and epilogue. I am then left with more questions than before.
Perhaps this is meant to be reminiscent of the quick "happily ever afters" of the fairy tales it borrows from. But to me it doesn't quite work in the genre of novel (or fantasy) to have rushed endings.
Lackey creates great characters and playfully mixes fairy tales with real cultural details. It has led me searching more about things on various musical instruments, folk tale beings, and cultures like the Sami people. And up until a point, I find myself engrossed in the plot.
However, sometimes there is too much description (and I say this as someone who loves lots of description) on things less important than the climax and denouement. Lackey builds up to the climax beautifully only to rush the resolution and epilogue. I am then left with more questions than before.
Perhaps this is meant to be reminiscent of the quick "happily ever afters" of the fairy tales it borrows from. But to me it doesn't quite work in the genre of novel (or fantasy) to have rushed endings.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews