Once Upon a Summer Day: 6

Once Upon a Summer Day (2005) is the second fantasy novel in the Faery series, following Once Upon a Winter's Night. In the previous volume, Camille challenged the marriage of the troll princess to Prince Alain and won all three contests. When the troll king refused to honor his terms and attacked Camille, the thralls rose up and, with a little help from the dwarf band, killed all the trolls and goblins. Upon returning to Summerwood Manor, Camille also solved the previous disappearance of Prince Alain's parents. In this novel, Prince Borel of Winterwood passes an enjoyable summer day with his brother, sisters and sister-to-be at Summerwood Manor. Lazing in the gazebo, he falls asleep and dreams of a Demoiselle within a stone chamber with a band of shadow across her eyes. Free-floating daggers are outside the tower facing inward at him. The young lady cries out "Aidez-moi" and he awakes with a jerk. Prince Borel tells his siblings and Camille about his dream before supper and they discuss the possibilities. Borel is morose during the meal and Alain calls for a gala that evening to cheer him. Borel seems to enjoy the singing and dancing, as do all within the manor. The next morning, Borel awakens early, dresses for the road, and leaves the manor with his wolves. For the next four days, they travel toward the Winterwood. After his arrival, Borel bathes, eats and sleeps until he has recovered from the travel, then he arms himself and sets out to consult a dream diviner. On his way, Borel scouts the hut of the witch Hradian. Since the primitive hovel seems to be deserted, he searches inside for any indications of the witch's intentions. He stuffs scrolls and a memoire into a rucksack and departs the hut. Just then, the witch lands on her besom and sends him flying with a black wind. In this story, Prince Borel escapes from a keep that is guarded by Red Caps and Trolls. In the process, he frees Flic, a meadow sprite, and Buzzer, a bumble bee. From what he has learned from the memoire, Borel seeks the lands of Duke Roulan and Buzzer leads the way. This story is a greatly enhanced version of Sleeping Beauty. The author presents a compelling argument that the fairy tale is a condensed and simplified version of the original bardic tale. This version, however, is much too long to be told in a single evening, since verbal renditions have a very low data rate. Indeed, this novel would provide enough material for a cinema taking five or more hours. Nonetheless, this fairy tale has much the same flavor as others in that genre. Like the previous work, the vocabulary and settings are enchanting and the story is so engrossing that the chapters seem to fly by. Putting this novel down takes true willpower or maybe just overwhelming sleep. Highly recommended for McKiernan fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of faery lands, noble princes, evil witches, and magical creatures. -Arthur W. Jordin

Having followed Mr. McKiernan's books for awhile now, I was not surprised to be spellbound by another of his writings. I have read all of his books now, except for his short stories, and he constantly amazes me. His world of Faery is more magical then others I have read. He truly inspires me. I love the 'Unce Upon A' series. I never wanted to set the book down. I was truly captured by the story, I wanted to know what happened as fast as possible. Borel rocks in his devotion to a maiden in a dream. I wished I was her locked in a tower, so he could rescue me. Flic, his companion, was agreat releif at stressful moments. Bringing an insight, when Borel seemed at a loss. I cannot wait to see what adventures lie ahead for the rst of Borel's family. Thanks again Dennis, for being the gifted scribe that you are!

The sequel to Once Upon a Winter's Night is an entertaining, action-packed, and sometimes humorous story. Keeping with the theme of the series, Once Upon a Summer Day is based on a fairy tale, though which one may surprise you. Those familiar with this author's work won't be surprised to find "red slippers" here and there, and I look forward to seeing how these might come to play in upcoming books. Once Upon a Summer Day stars Borel, Prince of Winterwood, and two unlikely companions on their quest to rescue a damsel in distress. I enjoyed returning to Faery, and as in the first book the author does an outstanding job of transporting the reader to this magical realm. My favorite scenes were those where the mystery and mysticism of Faery come most into play, like those with the King Under the Hill. I also loved the rich, evocative use of language, which is very much a part of what Faery is. Although I missed the sweetness of the first book, the second installment of the Once Upon a... series doesn't disappoint in the least. Faster pacing, loads of adventure, and heroes/heroines to cheer for, this was truly Borel's tale, and a definite keeper.

The second in the "Once Upon A..." series of enhanced faery tales by Dennis McKiernan, of Mithgar fame. All in all, this story was a fun read. McKiernan develops his characters well, and ties this tale in well with the first "Once Upon A..." book. The story moves at a good pace, not bogging down in my opinion, even with the requisite visit by the hero Borel, to the 3 Fates. I have read all of McKiernan's other works (save some short stories in publication), and find this compares well in quality, if not in scope, to his world of Mithgar. I look forward to the remaining books in this series.

Once upon a time in the world of Faery, Prince Borel Winterwood visits his brother Alain in his realm of Summerwood when he has a dream about a beautiful maiden who is in a stone turret, a blindfold hiding her weeping eyes speaking in the old language. When he wakes up he finds that the dream was a visitation from an imprisoned golden maiden, who will die thanks to the curse of the witch if he doesn't rescue her before the next full moon. In his quest to find the woman Chelle who he knew as a child, he gains two allies in Flec the sprite and Buzzer the Bee. He and his two friends help the three crones who are disguised; in return for his kindness they each give him a riddle to solve that will lead him closer to Chelle. Along the way they fight evil monsters sent out by the witch to kill them and though Borel is near where Chelle sleeps, the path to her turret is filled with danger. He knows he might be killed but does not give up trying to reach the woman he loves even though he courts her only in dreams that they both share. Dennis L. McKiernan always manages to enchant his readers with his fabulous fantasy novels. ONCE UPON A SUMMER DAY is his magical rendition of Sleeping Beauty only updated with more characters both good and evil including monsters, trolls, goblins, the sprites and other players. This romantic fantasy is very different because the lovers come together for the most part only in their dreams. Readers will not be disappointed with this beautiful adult fairy tale. Harriet Klausner