A Voice for Princess

At 160 years old Kedrigern is a relatively young, bachelor wizard of some reputation. He is a master magician, specializing in the performance of counter-spells, that is, magic to counteract the incantations of other spell-casters. Kedrigern is a respected member of the Wizards' Guild, though he cannot see why such an organization needs to exist. It all seems too much like the bureaucracy of the new upstart practice of alchemy. Then to Kedrigern's chagrin the Guild proposes to allow the membership of an alchemist, Professor-Doctor-Master Quintrindus. Kedrigern speaks strongly against the idea, but when it is put to the ballot he is the only person who votes against. Greatly miffed Kedrigern resigns. There seems to be something seems to be wrong with the world. A lot of it has to do with the much vaunted, but obviously fake, claims of alchemy, but there is something else playing on his mind. Along the way Kedrigern will take on the services of a house-troll, move residence to a newly built bungalow on Silent Thunder Mountain and spend more time in the quiet contemplation and study of magic, but none of these things seems to fix the disturbed feeling that plagues the wizard. Can it be that Kedrigern is lonely? Can it even be that the time has come to seek a wife? After several less than successful starts in romance Kedrigern comes upon a talking frog in a swamp. Apparently the frog is a princess under an incantation from a vengeful bog-fairy. Kedrigern somewhat hastily counters the spell, but is successful, at least to a degree. Standing before him is a beautiful princess, but all she can say is 'Brereep'. This is a lighthearted book in the tradition of humorous authors such as L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Piers Anthony and Terry Pratchett. The book is in part episodic, perhaps as a result of its origin as a series of short stories in the magazine . The plot does, however, roll along in an enticing way and we are soon bemused by the magical goings on in this vaguely medieval world of dragons, kings, barbarians and peasants. Morressy has drawn the character of Kedrigern very well and the wizard's good-natured, canny personality dominates the book. Princess, as a character who cannot speak in words, has a remarkable presence in the background of the tale. She is no prop-character and on several occasions proves to be a heroine in her own right. Of course this is a tale where right wins out in the end, and where the cruel and wicked get their just deserts, but really this is not a story of particular thematic emphasis. The book is more for entertainment and as such it works very well. This is of course the first novel in the five volume long Kedrigern Series. The second book is Questing of Kedrigern. This is not serious 'literature' with high-minded objectives, but there is something very charming about Morressy's storytelling and I have been tempted, as a result, to give the book five stars.

A Voice for Princess is the highly entertaining story of a great wizard named Kedrigern of Silent Thunder Mountain. Kedrigern discovers a toad that is actually a beautiful princess turned into a toad by a bog-fairy. He breaks the spell, only to find that it was booby-trapped. And so, the hapless princess ceases to be a toad with a princess' voice, and becomes a princess with a toad's voice! Kedrigern realizes that this magic will take greater power to break, and sets off to obtain that power. If you like your fantasy served up with wit and humor, then this book is for you!

Kedrigern is a young wizard of well renown, about 160 or 170 years old (wizards, you see, live to be about 500 years old). Unlike most wizards, he doesn't sport a long, flowing white beard, wear an impressive pointy hat, or go around in robes writ with mysterious symbols. Kedrigern actually looks about 30 years old and often is mistaken for a normal human. He's a solitary homebody who resents visitors and abhors travel with a passion. Unfortunately for him (but good news for the reader), Kedrigern must often undergo plenty of journeying in order to best serve his clients. On one such trip, he encounters an enchanted toad sobbing piteously in the heart of the Dismal Bog. The toad informs him that her name is Princess and that she's been put under a frightful curse. Kedrigern undoes the curse but with the side effect that, while Princess had regained her normal beautiful form, her voice now solely consisted of a frog's "Brereep." The rest of the novel details Kedrigern's many frustrated attempts to rediscover a voice for Princess. Along the way, he confronts brigands, malcontent apprentices, covetous barbarians and malevolent princes. It's really too much to ask of a wizard who only wants to stay home. This is the book that introduces that grumpy master of counterspells Kedrigern of Silent Thunder Mountain, his lovely wife Princess and their messy but utterly faithful house servant Spot. Author John Morressy excels in this sometimes gentle, sometimes unsettling whimsical fantasy. The scenes he writes vary from the gently absurd, the amusingly farcical to the mildly grotesque (man-eating rodents, anyone?). In reading this book, you'll learn of the mendacity of alchemists, the benefits of raising a troll young, the good fortuity which comes of aiding someone with ingrown toenails, and how, at times, it's actually a good thing to NOT smell a rat. If you can, get instead the Meisha Merlin-released omnibus: Kedrigern Chronicles, Volume 1, The Domesticated Wizard. It includes this same novel A Voice for Princess, plus The Questing of Kedrigern and several Kedrigern short stories. A warning, though: there's quite a few misspellings which might now and then hinder the reader's enjoyment. For those who enjoy John Morressy and his type of humorous fantasy, try out Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Songs from the Seashell Archives and Robert Asprin's Myth and Phule's Company books. I know there are also other books of this ilk out and about, but I can't think of the rest of 'em right now.

A Voice for Princess is the highly entertaining story of a great wizard named Kedrigern of Silent Thunder Mountain. Kedrigern discovers a toad that is actually a beautiful princess turned into a toad by a bog-fairy. He breaks the spell, only to find that it was booby-trapped. And so, the hapless princess ceases to be a toad with a princess' voice, and becomes a princess with a toad's voice! Kedrigern realizes that this magic will take greater power to break, and sets off to obtain that power. If you like your fantasy served up with wit and humor, then this book is for you!