50bookchallenge, 15000pages
Book #96 -- Charles DeLint, Jack the Giant-Killer, 186 pages.
Part of Terri Windling's "Fairy Tales" series, DeLint's novel is a decidedly modern retelling of the English classic "Jack the Giant-Killer". Shy, reserved, Jacqueline Rowan, called 'Jacky' by her friends, literally stumbles upon a magical world when she witnesses what she thinks is a little old man getting murdered by a group of bikers and tries to intervene. The old man was in fact a hob, one of the Light fairies, and the bikers the fearsome Wild Hunt, who now have Jacky's scent. Jacky is drawn into an ancient war between the Seelie (Good) and Unseelie (Evil) fairy courts. The Seelie Court's wise man tells her that she is 'a Jack', a plucky human hero with the ability to defeat the Unseelie fairies and their giant champions, and rescue the Seelie Laird's daughter. Many of the elements of the traditional story are present, from the evil giants to the captured maiden, but overall the story is presented less as a retelling and more as a new example of the English 'Jack' stories. Much emphasis is placed on Jack as not a single person, but an archetype, with Jacky as the latest installment. Other fairy tales, such as "Kate Crackernuts" and Hans Christian Anderson's "The Wild Swans", present cameos.
I feel horrible that for many years I believed "Jack the Giant-Killer" as just an alternate title for "Jack and the Beanstalk". The first time I read this book I couldn't understand why there was so little resemblance to the fairy tale. It was only when researching for my book that I discovered that "Jack the Giant-Killer" is in fact a completely different story, although they are both considered part of the "Jack Stories".
Progress toward goals: 259/366 = 70.8%
Books: 96/150 = 64.0%
Pages: 25931/50000 = 51.9%
2008 Book List
cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven
Part of Terri Windling's "Fairy Tales" series, DeLint's novel is a decidedly modern retelling of the English classic "Jack the Giant-Killer". Shy, reserved, Jacqueline Rowan, called 'Jacky' by her friends, literally stumbles upon a magical world when she witnesses what she thinks is a little old man getting murdered by a group of bikers and tries to intervene. The old man was in fact a hob, one of the Light fairies, and the bikers the fearsome Wild Hunt, who now have Jacky's scent. Jacky is drawn into an ancient war between the Seelie (Good) and Unseelie (Evil) fairy courts. The Seelie Court's wise man tells her that she is 'a Jack', a plucky human hero with the ability to defeat the Unseelie fairies and their giant champions, and rescue the Seelie Laird's daughter. Many of the elements of the traditional story are present, from the evil giants to the captured maiden, but overall the story is presented less as a retelling and more as a new example of the English 'Jack' stories. Much emphasis is placed on Jack as not a single person, but an archetype, with Jacky as the latest installment. Other fairy tales, such as "Kate Crackernuts" and Hans Christian Anderson's "The Wild Swans", present cameos.
I feel horrible that for many years I believed "Jack the Giant-Killer" as just an alternate title for "Jack and the Beanstalk". The first time I read this book I couldn't understand why there was so little resemblance to the fairy tale. It was only when researching for my book that I discovered that "Jack the Giant-Killer" is in fact a completely different story, although they are both considered part of the "Jack Stories".
Progress toward goals: 259/366 = 70.8%
Books: 96/150 = 64.0%
Pages: 25931/50000 = 51.9%
2008 Book List
cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven