Musings on the Written Word

Friday, February 15, 2008

Once Upon a Summer Day

Book 2/25

Dennis L. McKiernan's Once Upon a Summer Day

I read Mr. McKiernan's Once Upon a Winter's Night several years ago, and I fell in love with Faery and the Forests of Seasons. Mr. McKiernan truly has the Bardic Gift, and his ability to weave tales from every region into a single, coherent story (a world, even), is something I am in awe of. While I don't entirely agree with his assessment that romances are meant to be flavored in French, he captures the passion and tragedy of the fairy tale romances perfectly.

Once Upon a Summer Day takes place shortly after its predecessor, when the family of Valeray and Saissa are still within the Summerwood. In a change from Once Upon a Winter's Night, the story is told from Borel's perspective, rather than a mortal's. That, alone, took away some of the marvel of the worlds of Faery, simply because they were new to Borel, but not surprising. Whereas Camille was continually delighted by everything she saw, Borel simply accepted the changing realms as a part of Faery. The wonder was left to the microworld of Buzzer, and her abilities to navigate a world she had not been born into.

While Flic was amusing, his conversation, again, took away some of the magic that Scruff had brought in the first book. It seemed, almost, like the same story, save the companion could now speak clearly. Unfortunately, the insight into Borel was sorely lacking. Camille was full of thought, imagination, questions, and wonder, which covers the pages of the book. Borel, on the other hand, simply seemed to be hollow, with very little to contribute via the mind. His manipulations of Chelle's dreams gave a partial view into his thoughts and life, but not enough that I felt I understood him. Perhaps part of it was due to the fact that his, Wolves - so much a part of him - were kept from the majority of the story; he was an incomplete character on a quest.

The loss of time while playing eches against the King Under the Hill seemed unfair - to the readers. While it was true to lore, it seemed as if that was done simply to hasten the story along to the discovery of the manor. Camille lost days and nights rapidly along the River of Time, but there was an explanation to the loss, and her troubled heart was given its due. Borel was agitated and upset, but he seemed to simply brush it aside and continue on. A further story could have been slid into the quest, as was done with the Pooka and the cursed knights.

The book was a clever retelling of "Sleeping Beauty," though not as new and original as I had hoped. While Mr. McKiernan certainly expanded the tale, weaving back in the sex and violence stripped from the original tale, the basics remained the same: the vines, the spinning wheel, a dramatic length of time spent in sleep (though not the hundred years so popular in the original story, thankfully). The connection in dreams was an interesting twist, but the consequences of those manipulated dreams seemed to simply remain hanging. Why was the Eagle introduced, and then completely forgotten? The impression I had - as with the Wolves - was that the Eagle would have some part to play in the story, but he was simply an anecdote.

The book was still beautifully written, and Mr. McKiernan is an author who believes in winding his tales down from the climax, detailing the return to the Winterwood and Alain and Camille's wedding. He provides a sense of closure to the story, and he satisfies the reader that there is something between rescue and blissful love. I just wish he had delved more into Borel's character; I knew more of Chelle than he, and her place in the story was fairly minor.

Still, Mr. McKiernan's Faery books are always enchanting, and he constantly introduces new mythologies and lore into Faery, making it remain the vast and unchartable realm that it is meant to be.

Posted by Andria :: 1:58 PM :: 0 comments