Title: The Snow Queen
Author: Mercedes Lackey
First published January 1, 2008
336 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9780373802654 (ISBN10: 037380265X)
Rating: 3.8
Overview
In the land of eternal winter, Queen Elsa is known to be the most powerful sorceress with a heart of ice. She’s feared by many, but when an unknown entity begins to threaten her kingdom, Elsa is determined to bring justice.
A young warrior, who follows the ancient traditions, goes missing and his family fears the worst. Elsa must use her powers to embark on a perilous journey to find the missing warrior and confront the enemy behind the chaos.
With the help of her magical abilities and her unwavering determination, Elsa must defeat the most formidable foe she’s ever encountered to protect her people and her home.
About the Author
On June 24, 1950, Mercedes was born in Chicago. She had a typical childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972.
In the late 70s, she worked as a model for artists before transitioning to computer programming. Eventually, she ended up at American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Along with her fantasy writing, she wrote lyrics and recorded almost fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
Mercedes considers herself a storyteller, and her characters drive her stories. She believes that this is why she receives letters from readers ranging from thirteen to sixty years old.
She writes song lyrics because she sees them as a “story pill,” reducing the story to the essential elements or encapsulating a crucial moment in time. She frequently writes lyrics when she needs to get to the heart of a critical scene, and it helps her clarify her thoughts.
Music is essential to medieval people, and bards are the primary news bringers. When she writes “folk music” for her fantasy worlds, she enriches the whole world, whether she uses the song in the text or not.
Mercedes started writing out of boredom and continued out of addiction. She can’t help but write, which leaves her with no social life.
Her love for fantasy led her to construct her worlds with the same care as a high-tech science fiction writer. She applies the principle of TANSTAAFL to magic, meaning that magic comes at a cost, and the cost to the magician is often high.
She tries to keep her world as realistic as possible, with people dealing with everyday problems like stubborn pumps, bugs in their food, and complicated love lives, along with invading armies and evil magicians. Even evil magicians are not flat stereotypes; they have their quirks, like everyone else.
In everything she writes, Mercedes tries to expound the creed she gave her character, Diana Tregarde: “There’s no such thing as ‘one, true way’; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good — they’re the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren’t willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race.” She also writes under other names.
Editoral Review
In Mercedes Lackey’s “The Snow Queen,” the acclaimed fantasy author breathes new life into the classic fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen. First published in 2008, the book is a charming and captivating read for both young adults and longtime fans of Lackey’s work.
Lackey is renowned for her imaginative works of fiction, particularly in the realm of fantasy. Her writing style is fluid and graceful, effortlessly bringing to life characters and settings that feel both strange and familiar.
In “The Snow Queen,” she weaves a tale that is equal parts enchanting and thrilling. The plot is centered around two sisters, Gerta and Kay, who live in a world plagued by a seemingly endless winter.
When Kay disappears, Gerta sets out on a perilous quest to find her, encountering talking animals, magical spells, and dangerous foes along the way. The story is filled with fairy tale motifs, but Lackey’s inventive twists and turns give it a freshness and vitality all its own.
One of the strengths of “The Snow Queen” is its richly drawn characters. Gerta is a plucky heroine who is quick to adapt to the strange circumstances she finds herself in, while Kay is a complex figure whose motivations are not always clear.
Supporting characters like the wise reindeer Orm and the sinister Snow Queen herself are equally well-defined. The book’s pacing is another strong point.
Lackey keeps the story moving at a brisk clip, never allowing it to bog down in exposition or unnecessary detours. The result is a story that is both thrilling and satisfying.
If there is one weakness to the book, it is that some readers may find the plot a bit predictable. The story’s structure is somewhat formulaic, and those familiar with the original fairy tale may find themselves anticipating certain plot twists.
However, Lackey’s imaginative flourishes more than compensate for any lack of surprise. Overall, “The Snow Queen” is a triumphant reimagining of a beloved fairy tale.
Mercedes Lackey proves once again that she is a master of the fantasy genre, and readers of all ages are sure to be charmed by her imaginative world-building and enchanting storytelling. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
