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Faery #5
Once Upon a Dreadful Time
The vile witch Hradian sets events in motion to free her master, the wizard Orbane, who's been trapped in the Castle of Shadows. But her scheme results in unforeseen consequences-threatening not only the world of Faery but that of mortals as well. Rising to the challenge, the heroes and heroines of Winterwood, Summerwood, Springwood, and Autumnwood join forces to rally humans and Fey alike to a cause that may be lost before it begins.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
369 people want to read
About the author
Dennis L. McKiernan
69 books518 followersMcKiernan 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 25, 2025
Lovely slog of a story
I’ve been trying to get through this series for over 10 years. I love the stories themselves…the bones of them. But the writing (grammar, syntax, style choices, etc.) make it difficult to get through. There is little to no character development. It’s all about events. There is little personality difference anywhere; almost without exception the characters are flat. But the bones of the story are good and lovely.
I’ve been trying to get through this series for over 10 years. I love the stories themselves…the bones of them. But the writing (grammar, syntax, style choices, etc.) make it difficult to get through. There is little to no character development. It’s all about events. There is little personality difference anywhere; almost without exception the characters are flat. But the bones of the story are good and lovely.
February 24, 2019
Book loaned by my good friend Edwina. Interesting closing to the Faery Series.
April 28, 2023
It honestly does take much to make me cry
👨🍳💋
👨🍳💋
August 16, 2023
Not as finely plotted as the earlier books in the series, yet satisfying.
March 23, 2020
This is the last book in the Faery series from McKiernan and if this is any indication of what the other books are like, they should be pretty good reads.
The story is written almost like an old-fashioned fairy tale with disgusting magic spells from the dark witch, horrible creatures that inhabit her stereotypical swamp and a goal of revenge against those who killed her sisters. Hradian the witch keeps watch over the spouses and rulers of the seasonal realms of Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. They are responsible for imprisoning her mentor, Orbane. Hradian figures out a way to free him and imprison the rulers and, of course, she and Orbane, plan to take over the world and let evil reign.
It is up to the group including Camille, Alain, Celeste, Saissa, Valeray and others to figure out the riddle of the Fates and save the world from Orbane and Hradian. Like any good fairy tale, nearly insurmountable odds are placed in front of them, but also like any good fairy tale, good always triumphs in the end.
This is a satisfying culmination of the books of Faery, a place where the laws of science don’t exist, magic rules and fantastical creatures roam the wilds. Although technically a stand-alone novel, readers new to the series should consider starting at the beginning as many of the main characters from the earlier books are in this one. But even if you don’t, you’ll still be able to understand what’s going on without much trouble. It ties up all the loose ends and gives you a satisfying, if somewhat predictable, read.
The story is written almost like an old-fashioned fairy tale with disgusting magic spells from the dark witch, horrible creatures that inhabit her stereotypical swamp and a goal of revenge against those who killed her sisters. Hradian the witch keeps watch over the spouses and rulers of the seasonal realms of Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. They are responsible for imprisoning her mentor, Orbane. Hradian figures out a way to free him and imprison the rulers and, of course, she and Orbane, plan to take over the world and let evil reign.
It is up to the group including Camille, Alain, Celeste, Saissa, Valeray and others to figure out the riddle of the Fates and save the world from Orbane and Hradian. Like any good fairy tale, nearly insurmountable odds are placed in front of them, but also like any good fairy tale, good always triumphs in the end.
This is a satisfying culmination of the books of Faery, a place where the laws of science don’t exist, magic rules and fantastical creatures roam the wilds. Although technically a stand-alone novel, readers new to the series should consider starting at the beginning as many of the main characters from the earlier books are in this one. But even if you don’t, you’ll still be able to understand what’s going on without much trouble. It ties up all the loose ends and gives you a satisfying, if somewhat predictable, read.
Want to read
September 22, 2012I've been trying to read this book for like a month and a half. I really enjoyed the others but can't seem to get past the first few chapters in this one. I don't know. I might try it again when I'm more in the mood for this type of fantasy. I don't think it's badly written or anything just bad timing.
September 29, 2013
Loved it. Imaginative, fairytale style tale with a more robust plot that's akin to epic fantasy. Full of witty, memorable characters and is part of a series that capitalizes on the young romances found in fairytales, but takes it way beyond the old "they lived happily ever after" theme. I definitely recommend it, but you have to read the series from the beginning.
May 8, 2013
There was a lot of repetition built into this story (time passing very slowly). Some of characters (probably because the cast had become so vast) end up as nothing more than caricatures with but a single annoying trait or phrase constantly repeated during the story. There was, though, a good deal of cleaning up the story lines at the end, tying off the loose ends.
Read
May 17, 2008Fifth book in fairytale-based series.
June 9, 2011
This wasn't as good as the others. Too much ick and filth in it. Sorry, but I was disappointed.
December 25, 2012
Good book. A little lengthy but nicely descriptive. Worth a look.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews