Once Upon an Autumn Eve by Dennis L. McKiernan

Once Upon an Autumn Eve by Dennis L. McKiernan. New York: Roc, 2006. ISBN: 0-451-46069-3

This is the third in McKiernan's series of seasonal fairy tale-inspired stories. It follows in the footsteps of Once Upon a Winter's Night and Once Upon a Summer Day, and is followed by Once Upon a Spring Morn, which I have yet to read and comment upon. Have you noticed how the times of day so neatly correspond with the seasons? Winter and night; summer and day; autumn and evening; springtime and morning. Cute.

If this kind of adult faery tale is your cup of tea, then you'll definitely want to read this one. It's just as good as its predecessors. Liaze, the Princess of the Autumnwood, is our current heroine. Once again (by which I mean, just as in the two previous volumes), she (like her siblings) is ripped away from her lover by one of the four evil witches, acolytes to the evil wizard, Orbane, who has been banished from faery by Liaze's parents.

Once again, Liaze must go on a solitary quest, though eventually joined by worthy if diminutive companions, aided by a rede (poetic prophecy) from Lady Skuld, also known as Lady Wyrd, one of the Fates. Once again there is but a limited time in which to complete the quest and rescue her betrothed knight, the lusty Luc, and many the trials and riddles to endure and solve ere the inevitable happy ending.

In his “Foreword,” McKiernan expresses the fervent hope that this story will hold us (his readers) enthralled. I'm sorry. The first one did, I think. The second one almost did. But by now, the story is becoming just a bit too pat, too predictable, and the overwhelming “niceness” of it all is becoming just a bit too sweet, too much. Yes, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, and it's just as well-written as the others, but too much of a good thing can still be just that, too much. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I waited a year or two before reading it, so that my sense and remembrance of the previous stories had dulled just a bit. So I don't think I'll be in any big hurry to pick up the fourth volume. Yes, I do want to read it eventually, but not just yet. I need to get the sweet taste out of my mouth first. Recommended, if somewhat gingerly.

Once Upon a Summer Day by Dennis L. McKiernan

Once Upon a Summer Day by Dennis L. McKiernan. New York: Roc, 2005. ISBN: 0-451-46012-X

Here's the second in McKiernan's fantasy series based on the retelling of traditional fairy tales for adult readers. This time, the story is a version of Sleeping Beauty, although I never would have recognized it for such, since much of the interaction between the hero and the princess, take place in their magically shared dreams.

From the first volume, Once Upon a Winter's Night, you will recall that four of the many realms in Faery are linked to the four seasons, each eternally locked in winter, summer, fall or spring. The first story revolved around the lord of winter. Now we move on to his brother, the lord of the summer wood. He dreams of a maiden in distress, locked in a tower, surrounded by swords, hanging in midair.

And he has only until the next full moon to save her from some dire peril. After being cursed by one of his family enemies, a witch of considerable powers, he finds himself in a dungeon, about to be roasted and eaten by ogres and goblins. Escaping by the skin of his teeth, and accompanied by a only small sprite and its faithful companion, a bumblebee, he begins a lengthy quest, full of adventures, as he attempts to locate the sleeping maiden, as they continue to spend time together, gradually falling in love in their intertwined dreams.

I must confess that I was not quite as enthralled this time, as I was with the first volume in the series. I'm not entirely sure why: perhaps the novelty of the concept is wearing off just a bit. And now we've had the tales of the two brothers, and what remain are the sisters, the ladies of autumn and spring. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading their tales, and will certainly report on each in its turn, here on Tillabooks. Strongly recommended for all adult fantasy fans of faery tales.

Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan

Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan. New York: Roc, 2001. ISBN: 0-451-45840-0

I love fairy tales, don't you? Especially when they're written (or rewritten) for adults. As a child, I didn't get to read them, because my folks didn't believe in such things, and thought fairy stories weren't proper reading for kids. So I never read the spectrum of fairy tales stories that the author mentions in his “Foreword,” The Crimson Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, and so on. This particular story, he says, came from The Blue Fairy Book, and is supposed to be of Norse origin.

The name of the story was “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” and it was only 11 pages long. To quote the author, “I thought that much too short, and, as is apparent, I did lengthen it a bit.” Quite a bit, in fact, as Once Upon a Winter's Night is a mere 20 pages shy of 400 delightful pages in length.

The tale involves a beautiful, golden-haired poor girl, the youngest of six sisters, who lived on the edge of the realms of Faery. One cold and blustery winter's night, a huge white bear arrives with a note. His master wishes to marry the golden-haired girl who sings in the field. And, not without serious misgivings, she agrees to go to him, riding off on the back of the bear. And thus her adventures begin.

Naturally, there is a dreadful curse, some horrible trolls, ogres and goblins who have to be dealt with, and mainly, there is a lengthy quest, after the prince and his entire household vanish in a flash, when Camille, our plucky heroine, unknowingly violates the terms of the curse. They have been sent to a place “east of the sun, and west of the moon," and no one in all of Faery seems to know where such a place might be. But all's well that ends well, as the bard has said, and we know that there will ultimately be a happy ending.

The reason I read this book, at this particular time (for in fact, I had read it before, probably when it was first published), is that on the new books shelf at my local public library, I recently saw the fourth book in the series, Once Upon a Spring Morn (2006), and naturally decided I should read the books in order. I had forgotten that I had read the first book before, and frankly, I enjoyed it just as much the second time through. The others are Once Upon a Summer's Day (2005) and Once Upon an Autumn Eve (2006).

Highly recommended for all lovers of fantasy and fairy tales. You won't go wrong with this one, and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.