Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Cinderella. Some stuff happened involving an evil stepmother, some nasty stepsisters, a glass slipper, and a prince. Cinderella and her prince fell in love, were married, and lived happily ever af-. . . .
Not so fast.
The story’s not over. Not by a long shot.
Shortly after their marriage, Cinderella, better known as Princess Danielle Whiteshore, is unexpectedly visited by one of her stepsisters, who promptly tries to kill her. After being saved by one of the palace servants, Danielle learns that her beloved Prince Armand has been kidnapped by her stepsisters, Stacia and Charlotte, who’ve gone from bullying losers to magic-wielding menaces. And there’s more: Danielle’s pregnant. Oh, she’s not going to stand for this. Luckily, she has allies. It turns out that her mother-in-law, Queen Beatrice, has a few tricks up her royal sleeve.
Enter Princess Talia Malak-el-Dahshat, who was once upon a time known as Sleeping Beauty, and Princess Ermillina Curtana, better known as Snow White. Talia’s a warrior like no other, courtesy of those fairy blessings she received as a baby, and Snow’s a master of mirror magic, thanks to her own now-deceased mother’s teachings. They serve Queen Beatrice as her agents, handling all sorts of exotic problems. Now Danielle, who has an affinity for animals, must join with Talia and Snow to track down the evil stepsisters and the missing Prince. But when their search takes them into the treacherous, magical depths of Fairytown, they discover who’s really behind their problems of late, and it may be more than even these three talented young women can handle. In this fairy tale, all bets are off.
In The Stepsister Scheme, Jim Hines brilliantly remixes and reimagines three of the most popular fairy tale heroines of all time, recasting them as action heroines and secret agents in a world of magic, treachery, intrigue and adventure. These aren’t damsels in distress by any means, but strong-willed, competent, self-sufficient women capable of overcoming all sorts of problems. Hines doesn’t shy away from the earlier, darker, bloodier versions of the tales, either. These stepsisters suffered mutilation for the opportunity to wear a glass slipper, the seven dwarves aren’t what you’d expect, and Talia has had enough sleep to last a dozen lifetimes.
The plot is fast-paced and exciting, as Hines takes our heroines from the palace to the wilderness, from the capricious Fairy courts to the sunless depths of a magical realm, with ogres, trolls, goblins and much more to act as deterrents. There’s strange magics and sharply-executed combat, and some genuine bonding between the three princesses along the way, and hopeless odds to be overcome. In short, this is one hell of a book. I’m a sucker for retold fairy tales, and Hines has found a new and interesting interpretation that lends itself to some grand stories. (Knowing that a future installment is called Red Hood’s Revenge becomes a whole lot cooler once you know that “the Lady of the Red Hood is one of the most feared assassins this side of Adenkar.” Frankly, this book manages to push a lot of my “Wow, what a great idea” buttons, and it does it with style and enthusiasm. It’s been rightly compared to a fairy tale equivalent of Charlie’s Angels, and I’d have to agree with that wholeheartedly. (Queen Beatrice even mentions taking in “three extraordinary girls” at one point.)
Once again, Jim C. Hines proves that he’s not just another fantasy author, and hopefully The Stepsister Scheme is the first of many stories exploring this new setting. I can’t wait for the next installment. As a final note, this book has an excellent cover by noted artist Scott Fischer, who does a superb job of portraying the three princesses as comic book/action heroines. I don’t gush over covers often, but this one gets high marks from me. Mark my words, this is a fantasy adventure worth checking out.