Book Review: Spindle's End

Title: Spindle's End

Author: Robin McKinley

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Genre: Fantasy

Page Count: 422

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Cover Rating: 2 out of 5. It would be good hanging in a museum, and I like it well enough, but it just isn't a cover, you know? It fits the book's plot, but it's not very dynamic.

Inside flap:

"We will keep her safe."

All the creatures of the forest and field and riverbank knew that the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: some unknown time in the future Rosie would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep from which no one could rouse her.

   Katriona had whisked Rosie away from her lethal name-day and disappeared into the countryside with her. Katriona is a young fairy, apprenticed to her aunt, who is known to be the best fairy not only in their small home village of Foggy Bottom but in all the wild backland of the Gig. The two of them raise the princess as if she is their own in order to protect her. No other human, not even Rosie herself, knows her true identity.

   But Pernicia is looking for her, and Pernicia is formidably powerful and tirelessly intent on on revenge for a defeat four hundred years old. Two village fairies and all the animals in the realm may not be able to save Rosie.

My expectations: High. I loved Chalice and Dragonhaven so I was really looking forward to reading this book.

It did not let me down.

About the book: Robin McKinley is like the ultimate in Fantasy literature. Her writing is superb, and she manages to do it with long sentences; I much prefer long sentences as opposed to short ones. This book, Spindle's End, lives up to that reputation. The world that's created in this book, from the magic to the small town life, is very well set up, the characters are great for the book, and while the plot is based on Sleeping Beauty, it's not the usual overused idea--she's elaborated on it until it's much more original than any other retelling.

• Plot:

We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty, right? Princess gets cursed, lives with fairies, finds handsome guy in the woods, (if I were her, I would have kicked him and told him to take a hike) falls in love with said handsome guy, finds out she's a princess and can't marry the man she met, sobs her heart out, goes to castle, she's cursed by the evil fairy, and back comes the handsome guy to--ta-da!--and he wakes her up with a kiss.


Spindle's End is nothing like that. First of all, while there is a good-looking boy who starts working around Rosie, nothing happens between them. Second of all, the way the curse is set and they way Rosie starts living with fairies is different than the Disney version. Third of all, the ending--


Right. Don't give it away! Although once Peony came into the picture I could guess what was going to happen. It's a bit in the open, but the action is a little distracting from it. There is a lot more action than in the typical Sleeping Beauty. The romance is also much better; there are all sorts of complications, mis-beliefs, the usual things, but it's all put together very well and quietly; it's important for the plot and certainly adds, except  it's not like LOVE TRIANGLE and I'LL DIE WITHOUT HIM.

• Characters:

Rosie. One of the best female protagonists I've met up with, I've got to say. She's no Katsa or Fire, but she is tough underneath the curly head of hair, while at the same time she's not nasty or spiteful and enjoy to talk to poeple. And no, she's not the sweet, singing, dancing Beauty either--instead, she'd much rather hang around the smithy and work with the animals. She hates all those domestic duties that she'd been blessed with--sewing, knitting, etc., and a perfect complexion just makes her more irritable. (Girl, do you know how much some teenagers would give to be completely zit-free?)


Peony is the opposite of Rosie in all but appearance. She's sweet, she's tender, she's just the perfect image of what Rosie is not. She likes to sew, embroider, loves beautiful things, and doesn't have the gumption that Rosie has. However, she was an excellent character--the perfect foil against her best friend's temperament.


Katriona was strong when she had to be at the start. I liked Katriona; I missed her narrative when it shifted away from Rosie to her, but that was all right for the plot.


Narl was your typical strong and very, very silent type. He doesn't speak much at all and deals a lot with iron, that metal fairies hate and usually stay away from. He's no father for Rosie, but he takes her on and teaches her about animals. I really, really liked him as a character.


Aunt was strong, powerful, and smart when it came to what to do with Rosie when Katriona came home with her; a good character.


There are a lot of minor characters as well, but suffice it to say they're all about as good as the ones mentioned above.

• Setting/Elements:

I love the world in this book. Magic! Fairies! Animals! Forests! It's all described very well. I have to say that occasionally the animals' names got me confused, since there are dogs and foxes and mice and other creatures all running around they've all got titles. That confused me sometimes, but I got it organized eventually.

Other: D-word and the the term "bloody". It's nothing serious, and while there is some romance it's not in your face and screeching.

Do I recommend this book? YES. Yes, yes, yes.


-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: Dragonhaven

Title: Dragonhaven

Author: Robin McKinley

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Page Count: 342

Rating: 5 out of 5

Cover Rating: 3.5 out of 5. I like it, although I do think they could have added something a little more decorative for this particular edition. This cover's fine as it is, and I like the dragon with the words in the center of it against the sunset background, but it's just not screaming "PICK ME UP!" which is a pity seeing as Robin McKinley's books deserve the best covers you can get them. (If you want to see a cover I think is somewhat better and more dynamic than this one, go HERE.)

Inside flap:

Think yourself out of your comfy chair and your nice house with the roads and streetlights outside--and the ceiling overhead low enough that a fifty-foot dragon can't stand on her hind legs and not bump her head--and think yourself into a cavern full of dragons. Go on. Try.

Jake lives with his scientist father at the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park. Smokehill is home to about two hundred of the few remaining Draco australiensis, which is extinct in the wild.

   There are five million acres of the Smokehill wilderness and the dragons rarely show themselves. Jake's never seen one except deep in the park and at a distance. They stay away from the Institute--and the tourists. But dragon conservation is controversial. Detractors say dragons are much too dangerous and much too expensive, and should be destroyed. Supporters say there is no record of their doing anything more threatening than eating sheep, there are only a few hundred of them left at best and they should be protected.

   But they are up to eighty feet long (plus tail) and breath fire.

   One Jake's first overnight solo in the park, he meets a dragon--the thing that he would have said he wanted above everything else in the world. But this dragon is dying--dying next to the human she had killed. Jake knows the news could destroy Smokehill. The dead man is clearly a poacher who attacked first, but that will be lost in the outcry against all dragons.

   But then Jake noticed something even more urgent: the dragon had just given birth, and one of the babies is still alive . . .

My expectations: I expected a good read, a good plot, excellent writing, and appealing characters.


I got it all and then some.

About the book: Overall, this was excellent. Scratch that last. Make that every single chapter was excellent, not just overall. I highly enjoyed reading about Jake's (poor Jake) adventures with dragons and baby dragons and evil school equivalency testers. This book is also funny; there are phrases that made me grin or even chuckle out loud while I was reading. There are also questions raised throughout about legal issues and politics. Now before you say "That sounds so BOR-ING!" let me explain that it is presented in a really interesting fashion. McKinley incorporates Jake's thoughts smoothly into the book and makes it feel natural for these topics to come up.

• Plot:

I loved the plot. As you can see from the inside flap, he finds a baby dragon--or a "dragonlet"--next to the dead dragon and starts to take care of it. To make a long story short, there are a lot of problems with keeping a baby dragon safe and secret from all the prying tourists, government officials, and law-makers who want to crackdown on Smokehill for the poacher's death. So Jake is forced to be hidden away with one of the park Rangers named Billy and his wife Grace who take care of him and the dragon for a time. After that, it's Lois (he names the dragonlet Lois) growing up and then something momentous happens in meadow which changes everything.

• Characters:

I loved Jake. Poor guy. He couldn't talk to any people but a few, he had constant headaches, he had a dragonlet to take care of for goodness' sake, and he has to worry about the fate of Smokehill--and how it ties to the dragonlet. I found him an appealing character due to his personality and to his rather take-it-as-it-comes attitude.


Lois (the dragonlet) is funny. She can't talk or anything, but it's interesting to see how a dragon might grow up.


Billy is quiet, smart, and sensible. I like this Ranger, and I also like his wife, Grace. As for the other Rangers, there really isn't much about them but they seemed to be made of somewhat similar stock.


Eleanor is a pain in neck. She's a little kid, and little kids are alway inquisitive--not a good thing if you're trying to keep a major secret like a dragon. I liked her spunk.


Martha is smart. I really liked Martha since she seemed like a strong character and sensible. She isn't about the throw herself off a cliff or do anything drastic.

• Setting/Other Factors:

Well, there are DRAGONS. I mean, dragons are usually a big draw in a book and they were an even bigger draw due to the nature of the writing, characters and the plot. I loved Smokehill--get me out there with a backpack! The world the Park is in is closely related to Earth: basically, it's the same thing except, obviously there are dragons.


I loved the way McKinley presented dragon development, personality, habits, and relationships. I really liked reading about how dragons hot, how the igneventators are rumored to be the source of the dragon's fire, and about what they look like and their size.

Other: There is a bad word here and there. It's not all that repulsive, though, and the rest of the book sort of balances it out. Sometimes language can be annoying and just overboard, but I don't think that's the case with this one.


I am astonished that I actually struggled through the first 100 pages at one point. This is actually my third or so time trying to read this book through, but this time I finished it in a day. I can't believe I was so stubborn. :P

Do I recommend this book? If you haven't noticed the 5 out of 5 rating, or the "I loved . . ." and "I really liked" beginnings of sentences then let me tell you now: I highly recommend this book!


-----The Golden Eagle