- Hardcover: 422 pages
- Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group (May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0399234667
- ISBN-13: 978-0399234668
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16.2 x 3.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,667,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
The Sunday Times, 31st March 2002
Written with rich inventiveness, good characters and real stylistic skill and flair - a fat treat in which to lose yourself.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
The Financial Times, 23rd March 2002
Electrifying storytelling, a must read for fans of quality fantasy of any age
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very real characters and a good storyline,
By A Customer
This review is from: Spindle's End (School & Library Binding)
Even though I may be a little older than the target audience, I have always enjoyed RM's storycraft. This book is an honourable addition to a fine collection of stories. The characters are drawn with considerable insight and observation into the way in which real people might react in the unreal situations portrayed, with a good deal of humour in the process. I also liked the descriptions of the cat, Flinx - surely RM is a cat owner?The story is essentially that of Sleeping Beauty but with many a twist to make it both interesting and relevant to today. The princess, her young foster-mother, and her aunt-by-adoption are all girls and women for whom it is possible to feel real liking. The male characters are also sympathetically drawn and one can see why particular partners get together rather than feeling that they have been joined just for the sake of a particular development in the plot. The magical bits are perhaps a little similar in concept to The Hero and the Crown, but not to the extent that one feels it's just a repeat. All in all, a very enjoyable and oddly comforting read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, if a tad confusing,
By
This review is from: Spindle's End (Paperback)
This is my third exploration of Robin Mckinley's work (my first two being Beauty and Rose Daughter) and i was, as usual, impressed by her ability to create truly vivid scenes. Obviously it is a re-telling and therefore one might question her originality, but the plot is so developed that the recycled material doesn't really affect your reading of it.
The heroines are likeable, and all romantic plotlines tie up rather nicely. One of the latter does seem a tad contrived, but at least it ties in with the original idea of the fairy tale. Mckinley's prose, as always, has moments in which it truly shines. The last quarter of the book is truly packed with action and information, and I am torn between judging it as compellingly written (you really feel that you are in the centre of the action; it's almost as though everything is rushing past you) and condemning it as being too confusing; the magical details do tend to be slightly overpowering. Overall, if you're looking for a light fantasy read then this is the place to go; i give it 4/5 stars due to its ability to keep me reading until 3:30am (few books are ineresting enough to do so). If you have enjoyed McKinley's work in the past then i heartily recommend, and it should appeal to any adult or child who loves fairytales. However, if you prefer clear-cut, unfussy prose with little description, or if you feel that originality is a key componant to enjoying a book, then this may be one to avoid.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bring back Aerin!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Spindle's End (Hardcover)
Having waited excitedly (and for too long) for the next book from Robin McKinley, I read Spindle's End the day it arrived. Having given myself a severe headache in doing so (due to the involved nature of the plot) I am torn between recommendation and reservation. As I expected, it is very difficult to put down, but it is also difficult to read. The characters do not draw you in the way Aerin, Harimad and Beauty (the first one!) do with their doubts, flaws and normality. Rosie is flawed, but a little two-dimensional. The curse hanging over her is never fully explained (although in fairness the original fairy tale was illogical also) and despite showing McKinley's usual flashes of brilliance, I did not feel this was sustained throughout the story. No real tension is created by the evil fairy - Maur was a much more awe-inspiring and well-drawn foe, and yet Rosie's surroundings are so beautifully evoked, and the people who love her so nicely characterised that I still recommend you read it. I cried my eyes out at the end when all the threads are finally spun together (in a quite unexpected fashion), which proves what a consummate storyteller Robin McKinley is - even when you have your doubts about her tale, she can still tug at your heart! If a litle more thought had been given to the detail, and and she had been less obsessed with brackets (an annoying but addictive habit!)to explain all the details that had been missed out I would have given this book five stars. But four by McKinley's standard is about 13 by anyone else's, so read it, enjoy it, and keep campaigning for another tale about Aerin!
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