Hines, Jim C.: The Stepsister Scheme
The Stepsister Scheme (2009)
Written by: Jim C. Hines
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 344 (ARC)
Series: Book One (Princess Novels)
Why I Read It: I follow Hines' blog on a somewhat regular basis, but I'd never gotten around to his fiction. I did read a short story of his in the anthology Prime Codex, which nearly had me picking up The Stepsister Scheme the next time I was in the bookstore. I'm still not sure why I didn't. I'd heard good things about the books, really enjoyed his short story set in the same world, and wasn't at all interested in his Goblins series, so it'd be the prime candidate, right? Whatever the reasons, I decided to get it later, and later ended up being when Dreams & Speculation had to move and said she'd send me whatever I wanted from her book donation pile provided I paid for the shipping. The ARC for The Stepsister Scheme was there, so reading it now was the right time.
The premise: ganked from publisher's website: What would happen if an author went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for his plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie’s Angels? What’s delivered is The Stepsister Scheme -- a whole new take on what happened to Cinderella and her prince after the wedding. And with Jim C. Hines penning the tale readers can bet it won’t be “and they lived happily ever after.”
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay, especially since if you know anything about fairy tales, there will be some things you figure out, in a good way. I won't spoil any surprises, but if you're worried, just skip to "My Rating" and you'll be fine.
So I need to get one thing off my chest: when I was reading this book, I really, really wished I still had a copy of that short story Hines wrote in Prime Codex so I could read it again, because the story features Talia, who's a supporting character in this book, and while I remember the story in a vague sense, I'm now hungry for details. And of course, I've given away my copy of Prime Codex, so I'm out of luck. Oh well. I should be able to get my hands on the story again, one day.
There's a lot that charmed me about this book. Hines' writing style is light and readable, fun with darker moments that catch you by surprise. Often, I felt like this book could've easily been marketed as YA without much fuss, and that ability to toe the line between genres, having a style that satisfies both audiences, reminds me very much of Maria V. Snyder's fantasy fiction, and that's a compliment. Their plots are different, of course, as Snyder's work always has fantasy adventure with some kind of romantic bent, and Hines is all about the fantasy adventure, with just enough splash of "true love" to keep us romanticists happy. Not that I'm a romanticist. I didn't say that right. What I'm trying to say is if you have any romantic bone in your body, even if it's the tiniest bone ever, or it's located in your pinky-toe, you're going to like what Hines has to offer in this department. After all, the story isn't Prince Charming rescuing his princess, but his princess rescuing him! That simple plot reversal is enough to provide plenty of entertainment.
What's also charming (I know, ha-ha) is how Hines takes the various tellings of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty and feeds those tellings into his world. We get a mix of the characters' (Danielle, Snow, & Talia respectively) actual histories, and we get to compare those actual histories to the rumors that have floated around the kingdoms, which is all kinds of awesome. I also was grateful for the fact I'd been introduced to some of the more odd, darker tellings of these tales prior to reading this book. If I hadn't participated in my high school's version of Into The Woods, I would've been perplexed by the whole scene with the birds at the wedding. And while I've never read Anne Rice's (written as A. N. Roquelaure), Sleeping Beauty trilogy, I'm certainly familiar with the basic premise, and I doubt she's the first to come up with it, and regardless, I'm satisfied that Hines took a similarly dark route, if not darker, because fairy tales were meant to be dark and disturbing, though Disney has tried their hardest to make them otherwise.
I also really liked how easily these different fairy tales fit into one book, one world-building exercise, in that the world-building encompasses different kingdoms and different rules. It's wonderful, fun, and creative to see how all these pieces fit together, especially Snow's dwarves, which I found to be quite a unique take on the tale. Or the function of Danielle's mother, as opposed to a fairy godmother that we saw in Disney.
There's also plenty of humor to be had, which made reading the book a kind of delight. Arlorran provided some of the funnier one-liners, like "Once you go gnome, you'll never go home" (page 149, ARC) and "Well, sharpen my ears and call me an elf" (page 160, ARC).
The friendship and sisterhood between Danielle, Snow, and Talia was also quite delightful. Sure, they talk about the prince they're rescuing, but they also get to talk about magic and their families and their own personal histories. They're lives are defined by any particular man, unlike their Disney counterparts, and it also means they pass the Bechdel test in spades. Also, it appears Talia's feelings for Snow are, well, ripe for exploration. I can't wait to see where that goes!
My Rating: Good Read
When I requested this book, I also ended up requesting the sequel, The Mermaid's Madness, and then at my local Border's closeout, I found Red Hood's Revenge, so it's safe to say I'm happily continuing this series, and hope to read the second book rather soon. It's fun yet serious, and Hines' style allows for it in a way that's not jarring and feels right at home in the world he's created, which is magical and fun and full of all kinds of creatures. The story itself doesn't pull any punches either. I thought originally that Hines could wrap it up 100 pages sooner than he did, but he chose instead to put his characters on a much darker path, which was fascinating in and of itself, but fascinating too to see how the characters triumphed over their circumstances. Danielle, Snow, and Talia make for a great trio, who not only pass the Bechdel Test, but just create a good story and go on solid adventures. It's a book worth reading, and I'm glad I finally gave it a shot.
Cover Commentary: On one hand, I like it a lot. It's girly without being sexy. It's colorful and fun. It would also look right at home on the YA shelves, which is part of the reason I don't like it as much as I ought, because it looks like it's geared for a younger audience. Also, now that I've read it, I wish Talia was portrayed with darker skin, because it kept picturing her more Arabic in terms of ethnicity, and really, the girl on the cover doesn't match that at all.
Next up: Angel of Europa by Allen Steele