As I mentioned last week, this episode is a bit of a departure since instead of going to the usual FairyTale world, we visit Wonderland from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I love the fact that they got Roger Daltry to guest star in this episode when he does the voice of the very familiar caterpillar during the Queen’s adventure into Wonderland.
Of course, we begin with Mary Margaret’s escape from jail. Henry seems to think this is Emma’s doing, but she has no clue how Mary Margaret escaped. With Mr. Gold threatening Emma if Mary Margaret is not back the next morning for her arraignment, Emma is off in her cute yellow bug to see if she can find her.
Of course, it is foggy and while driving through this sudden fog she hits someone! He turns out to be Jefferson, someone we have never met before because, it turns out, he hasn’t been able to leave his house for years. How he managed to be on the road away from his home so Emma could hit him is never explained, however.
We are soon in Fairytale Land where we see Jefferson again, with his daughter Grace. She is obviously the apple of his eye. When the Queen arrives at their home he tells Grace to hide while he deals with the Queen. She obviously wants him to do something for her, and soon finds a way to get him to agree by promising his daughter will want for nothing if he does this one last favor for her. When are people going to learn that this woman cannot be trusted? You would think it was obvious at this point.
Meanwhile, back at the home front, Emma is dropping the injured Jefferson off at his enormous house. Emma had told him she was looking for a lost dog, and he offers to make her a warm drink to help her on a cold night like this and she accepts. While drinking she begins to feel woozy and before you know it – bam- she is out cold. Jefferson soon as her tied up. Seems that this Jefferson guy is not the good guy we thought he was!
Back in Fairytale Land we see his daughter asking for a white rabbit in the marketplace, and then when they go home she is setting up a tea party with some familiar looking creatures. He tells her to play at her neighbors as he has something he has to do. We know he is going to help the evil Queen, and he doesn’t look too happy about it.
But back at the big house in Storybrooke, we see that Emma has managed to free herself and is scouting the house out when she discovers Mary Margaret tied up in another room. She frees her and the two are about to make their escape when our Mad Hatter discovers them. Drats!
Meanwhile, back in FairyTale we see the Hatter take a box down and bring it to the Queen. He opens it for her, and inside is a beautiful top hat. When he spins it, it turns into a magic portal. Both he and the Queen jump into the portal that takes them to a room full of doors, one of which he opens that leads them to a magic wonderland of mushrooms and very strange talking caterpillars (yay Roger!).
While back in Storybrooke’s Hatter Mansion Jefferson is telling Emma how she is the key to everything, because she is special and has brought magic into the town. He tells her how he kidnapped Mary Margaret to stop her from a fatal crash and that Emma needs to believe what Henry tells her because the book is truth. She needs to make a magic hat and he will help her. But Emma isn’t buying any of this, and refuses to cooperate with him. She will not make him a magic hat that will allow him to go back home.
We are soon back in FairyTale/Wonderland where the Hatter and the Evil Queen are crashing through a maze to find a box that the Queen wants. When she grabs it, they are discovered by the Queen of Hearts guards and a quick race ensues for the two to return through the looking glass to home. But as they are escaping the Queen takes a bit of mushroom as if she is stopping for a snack.
Only she pops it into the box she has stolen, which then puffs some purple smoke and voila, there is her father. She knows only two can return since only two came, so Hatter is stuck in Wonderland while she and dear old Dad make their escape. Which is kinda weird since we know she will kill Dad later, but heck sometimes family is important. She does tell the Hatter how he is right, one should never abandon family, as she leaves knowing he will never see his daughter again. What a b#%h!!
So here we have Jefferson or The Hatter, stuck in his old house, where he can see his daughter in town living with some couple, not even aware he is nearby. Hence the need for Emma to use her magic that she has brought into town. Perhaps he isn’t so much evil as desperate. Especially when we see that in Wonderland he is caught by the Queen of Hearts who, predictably says “off with his head!” when brought before her for sentencing.
But I guess that only means you have to go around without one, because when they do take his head off, it doesn’t end in a bloody gruesome sight but rather a headless man who is told by the Queen of Hearts to make a new hat to get himself home with, since that is how he got there. Now we know why he wants Emma to make a magical hat! It is so he and Grace can go away together.
Emma says she is starting to believe; even that Mary Margaret is her mother. But Emma is just saying she believes him to put him off his guard. When his back is turned she wacks him on the head, a fight ensues as Emma runs to rescue Mary Margaret and suddenly he is pushed out a window to the grounds below. Way below, remember this is a big house. But when Emma and Mary Margaret look out the window he is nowhere to be seen, just the hat is there.
They head out and at the car Emma gives Mary Margaret the option to leave or stay and face the music. Mary agrees to return and next thing we know, she is sitting in her cell reading the local rag when Regina comes into the Sherriff’s office shocked that Mary Margaret is there. But Mr. Gold escorts her out and lets her know that even though Emma brought Mary Margaret back Regina will still get the results she needs at the arraignment. So we know some kind of deal is in the making, just not what it is…
We leave it this week with Emma and Henry sitting together, and Emma is telling him about her finding Mary Margaret as they look through his book. Sure enough, there is Jefferson/The Mad Hatter trying desperately to make a magical hat. When Grace (the hatters daughter) comes by for Henry, Emma asks if she can keep the book a bit longer, she wants to look through it some more.
Could it be that the hatter got through to Emma and she is finally beginning to believe Henry about what is going on in Storybrooke? Could we finally be seeing some movement towards Emma getting the curse lifted? This just is sounding better and better! I can’t wait for next week!
I recently had the opportunity to interview Elizabeth Moon about her epic fantasy Paladin’s Legacy Series. A continuation of the Deed of Paksenarrian Series that ended in January 1989 with Oath of Gold, it is very readable as a stand-alone series and is an amazing tale of the journey’s of four characters whose lives have been greatly changed by the events in the previous series.
Elizabeth is a very busy writer, and we really appreciate her taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about the characters and thinking behind the writing of this great adventure series.
Elizabeth Moon Q &A:
1. One of things I really enjoyed in this series is that even though it is a world of magic and all kinds of creatures like the Elven folk, there is a real grounding quality to many of the characters. They feel like people I could know. What process do you go through to develop someone like Kieri, who is such a powerful and yet quite human character.
It varies with the character’s position in the book. Kieri, for instance, was seen in Sheepfarmer’s Daughter almost exclusively through Pakenarrion’s point of view. His character is revealed through her character (and her slowly growing understanding of other people.) As he grew in importance in her life, I began to know more about him (and have no way to explain how these details arrive in my head!) That’s when I began making notes on him, letting him tell his story (the way we all have a story inside) and even writing some sections from within his viewpoint, earlier in his life, feeling out what he remembered and what he didn’t. By the end of Oath of Gold, I knew a lot about his early life, enough to know I wanted to write a book about him someday. In the years between the early Paksworld books and the new ones, I listened to him (yes, my head is full of imaginary people and they do talk to me. But I know they’re imaginary.) When he became a lead character, it was time to dig even deeper, understand the layers of motivation (and their roots) to understand why he did this particular thing at this particular time…what he would notice and not notice, what social signals he would be tuned to, and which he would ignore.
Dorrin was very much a background character in the earlier books, but bloomed quickly into a major one in these–I knew very little about her, except that she was estranged from her family by her own desire and a Knight of Falk with a very strong sense of right and wrong. The rest developed by observation and thought: what kinds of mistakes would someone unfamiliar with the court make? (What kinds of mistakes had I made in unfamiliar social settings?) Where would her childhood memories help and hinder her in dealing with the Verrakaien children? People act not from one simple layer of motivation, but from multiple layers–I’ve said before that I see what they actually do as a sort of vector sum of competing motivations. Dorrin–and other characters–have surprised me repeatedly. It all comes down to listening to them, digging for the motivations that underlie what they do, rather than imposing actions on them and ignoring motivation. I like reading characters who act from different levels within themselves–whose history makes psychological, emotional, spiritual sense of their behavior. So I try to write them.
2. I read that you were in the Marines, and that you also are part of the SFWA fencing group. I felt that there was a certain authenticity to the military parts of the book and was wondering just how much of your background is used to write about things like military campaigns and to help stage the sword fights. Do you stage the sword fights before you write them?
A lot of my background, before, during, and after the Marines turns up in the military sections of my books. I was interested in military history very early (unsuitable for a girl, but I knew many WWII and Korean War vets as a kid–and a few WWI vets.) The ’50s and ’60s were a time of constant adult talk about war–especially the then-recent past of WWII, and the fears of a nuclear world war in the near future. I read military history avidly (and still do read it.) . But books can’t substitute for experience. The Marines taught me what no books could–about the military, yes, but also about myself. All this background funnels into the books.
The sword stuff is definitely influenced by having done Renaissance style fencing with people who are a lot better at it than I am. The group I used to fence with weekly (not that often now, thanks to the cost of gas and other limits) helped me a lot, both reading the swordfight sections and sometimes working through them to be sure they’d work in real life. In the current group of books, Rolyan’s interruption of the assassination attempt early in Oath of Fealty, for instance, would not have worked as first written, but was worked out in my fencing instructor’s back yard.
3. A lot of your women characters are very different from a typical fantasy female character. They are strong and tough, but also very much reveal the vulnerability a woman would feel in a world like this, which is after all pretty dangerous for a woman on her own. Is this a deliberate decision or is that just the way you see someone like say Paks or Dorrin?
It’s the way I see everyone–male and female, young and old–everyone has both individual and culture-specific vulnerabilities. Some are physically weaker than others; some are less able mentally, some are culturally defined as safe targets for aggression. Even the rare person who is convinced of invulnerability is riding for a fall someday, somewhere. For me, it’s important to show some of that vulnerability in all characters, even if they’re going to triumph in the end. Maybe particularly if they’re going to triumph in the end.
In addition, strengths and weaknesses may change place in different situations: Paksenarrion’s strong loyalty (a “good” trait as a young soldier) was also a weakness or limitation in situations where it interfered with good judgment. Her ability to care about others, to make friends–which to some might seem softness, and therefore vulnerability (certainly it caused her pain when her friends died) –is also a great strength to a paladin, who must be able to gain others’ confidence quickly. Farin Cook (a strong minor character in the new group) maintained her independence in the Verrakai household under a vicious system by being both very competent as a cook and covertly stubborn–and hard on her subordinates. She did not let herself show any affection for them or anyone else, knowing the Verrakaien would use someone she loved against her. Now, however, she needs better social skills to take advantage of the very different situation with Dorrin as her lord. Farin’s barriers are coming down, but with difficulty–she never had Paks’s gift of open friendliness.
4. I am really intrigued by the Elven folk and how you portray them here. The other worldly quality has some roots, it seems to me, in Tolkien and also in the old Arthurian tales. Where is your biggest inspiration for them? Any plans to do books that delve more into their lives?
Tolkein was certainly an influence but so were folktales, mythology, and several other writers. None of them completely satisfied me with their elves…and no reason they should have, because an unsatisfied reader who also writes is then free to write her own version (and it will work for some readers and not for others.) I was intrigued by the idea of immortality in the mortal world…what price would that exact? First, consider the elves’ creation myth. Why do they think they were brought into the world? To sing, to make music, to make beauty, to care for the natural world and help it grow more beautiful. How does that central myth affect their choices? Then: they’re immortal, but have no afterlife–so can be killed by trauma (and perhaps a few illnesses.) How does that affect their choices? What activities will they shun? What will horrify them, delight them, terrify them? How do their central creation myth and their physical nature affect their attitudes to those not like themselves? Dragon, rockfolk, humans, different animals. Why was the First Tree’s acceptance of a human’s song so devastating that a large number of them turned against their purpose, turned to destruction?
5. Honor is a word that I see show up often in this series. Kieri talks of it when thinking of Paks ordeal, Dorrin talks of it when making a decision about the found jewels. Even the Elven folk refer to it. Yet it is not a word heard a great deal in our own world. Why is it so important to these people?
It’s important to me and thus it’s important in the books…I choose to write about people and cultures in which the concept of honor has relevance. On the practical side, a concept of honor brings with it a number of intriguing complications. Not everyone agrees on what honor is, for one thing, leading to intercultural misunderstandings. Decisions involving honor also bring in other virtues–the foundation virtue of courage, without which no one can stick to any other virtuous course–and judgment, without which no one can discern what is right or honorable in a situation.
Title: Divergent by Veronica Roth
Yet another great dystopian YA science fiction series to have come out lately, it is garnering tons of chat across the web. It is interesting how some of the best fantasy and science fiction books being produced today seems to be coming out of the YA area of the genres. This one is the first in a three part series that promises to be full of thought-provoking and conversation-stimulating topics.
The story is set in a future Chicago that has gone through some massive changes. In this society, everyone is placed in one of five distinct classes that are ruled by the virtues they embody: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness) and Erudite (intelligence). When a person turns sixteen in this society they are tested to discover which of these five groups they will join and then they will spend the rest of their life devoted to those virtues. You can’t change your mind, and if it is a different one then the one your parents are in, you must leave them behind forever.
When Beatrice is tested, it turns out she is gifted to be in any of the factions, so she must choose the one she wants. Her choice surprises many, but the secret she harbors is the reason for choosing that she will never reveal. But the entrance to these groups is filled with hardship and for Beatrice the struggle to find her identity, understand the beginning of a romance she discovers and live the choice she has made is a hard one. She makes some tough decisions about family, her own sense of self and also about the kind of city she wants to live in.
Divergent is more than just a story about a possible future, it is also a story about the kinds of choices many young people must make today and how they can affect their role in their own future world. One of the real strong points to this novel is the characters and how they relate to each other. It really does make the story that much stronger, and keeps it from being preachy to teens about choices. This is just the beginning of the story, for Book 2 will be out in May and Book 3 doesn’t yet have a release date. Great story, wonderful characters, how can you go wrong with the start of a science fiction series like this?
Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Release: August 2010
Pages: 400
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction
The buzz going around the web is that this series is the new Hunger Games. It is set in the future, but a future we aren’t sure we will survive. The main players are all teens, mostly boys, and the story is fast paced and highly addictive.
It starts with Thomas, who wakes up in an elevator with no memory of anything except his name. When the tiny room stops he is pulled up into a place, a vast self-contained land called “The Glade” that is in reality a huge self-sustaining farm. Everything the group of teen boys need is provided including seed for growing crops, animals to butcher and eat and material to build whatever they need. The group has been here for two years, and all they can tell Thomas is that every 30 days a new boy arrives and no one can leave. Surrounding The Glade is a giant maze with walls a hundred feet high and extending for miles in all directions.
It all so far seems fairly predictable, a kind of new version of Lord of the Flies to those who have read that classic tale. But then it all changes very quickly when the elevator arrives and a comatose young girl is revealed. She brings change and a lot of questions with her. I will warn that there is some violence, but not to the level in an adult book as this is written as a YA book.
I can’t recommend this one enough. It is gripping; the characters so well fleshed out you will think you know them in your own life. Even better, there are two more in the series with talk of a film (naturally). If you check out no other YA fiction this month, you need to take a look at The Maze Runner to get your fill of that sitting on the edge of your seat thrilling writing.
Boy, talk about a dark one, this great fantasy tv show episode just brought up all kinds of things about our lovers Mary Margaret/Snow and David/Charming. The key phrase throughout was “Evil isn’t born, it is made” and it is a big clue to discovering what is happening in both places. After finding out that Red is actually a werewolf that killed her lover, well I thought I couldn’t get any more shocked but this episode was a doozy.
In Fairytale Land we see Snow in a scene that is a bad parody of the Disney films, with a bird landing on her finger that she then tries to smash. A bit of homage to Shrek, I am thinking, as well as a good indicator that the potion she drank is working to make Snow mean. Even when they redirect that anger towards the Queen, it just makes Snow want to go out and kill her. Not the solution that the dwarves and Jiminy were trying for. When she steals the knights armor it just goes to prove that Snow is not the gal we know. The dwarves and Jiminy decide it is time for Rumpie to help.
But back in real time, Emma has to question Mary Margaret. After all Mary’s fingerprints are all over the box with Kathryn’s heart, which later is established by DNA (Wow- that quick?) is indeed Kathryn’s heart. So it looks like Mary did do the deed. It doesn’t help when Henry and Emma search her room and find a hidden knife. So it is to the jail for MM, with Mr. Gold offering to represent her. Not so sure I would trust him, but he does seem truly interested in getting her off the charges.
Henry meanwhile is sure she isn’t guilty and when he sulks into his hot chocolate, August comes by and tells him to look in his book for the answers. Which of course leads to the big question about the guy- just who is he? So far, no clues to which fairy tale character he is, if he is one at all. Makes you wonder if he is the one who knows the whole story, because he doesn’t act like someone who doesn’t remember his past, more like someone who knows it and keeps it a secret. But why?
Back in FairyTale, Snow goes to Rumpie for help in killing the Queen. He is only too glad to oblige. Of course, he grumbles that love is the only thing he has been unable to bottle, but we know this is a clue for things yet to come. The man never says anything without a reason! We aren’t at all surprised when Charming comes to him for help in stopping Snow from killing the Queen, which for the price of a princely cloak Rumpie seems willing to do. But when Charming tries to stop her by kissing her all he gets for his trouble is a sock and getting tied up. To make matters worse, in the end it is Charming and not Snow that is arrested for the attempt on the Queen.
Back at home, we see more clues for us when Dr. Harper puts David under hypnosis to see if he can remember anything that will either condemn or free Mary Margaret regarding Kathryn’s murder. What he does remember is from when he was Charming! So perhaps this means that everyone’s memories are starting to come back!
But what he may be remembering is not Mary Margaret killing Kathryn but rather Snow attempting to kill the Queen. Which might explain why Regina has planted the knife (Henry figures this one out, of course!) and is trying to get MM blamed for Kathryn’s death. But the real question is, if Regina killed Kathryn, why? She has nothing to gain from it, outside of using it to frame MM for the death. Perhaps that is reason enough for someone like Regina.
So Mary Margaret finds a key to release her from jail in her bed, and Emma comes to tell her the heart is indeed Kathryn’s but she knows that Mary Margaret didn’t do it. The trick is proving it. The closing scenes were great – with Regina going to Gold for help but he just tells her she is more powerful then she can imagine (after all, isn’t he Mary Margaret’s lawyer? Why would he help Regina then?), as we see Rumpelstiltskin gleefully adding a hair each from Snow and Charming, to give him the elusive Love Potion. But for whom is he making it?
Stay tuned as next week we leave this all behind and take a turn in Wonderland where we meet The Mad Hatter and more! Looks fun and very interesting, so be sure to check here for details!
One of the joys of doing this website is that I get introduced every once in a while to an author that I find myself thinking, “how did I miss this great writer?” Elizabeth Moon was one of those for me, as it was suggested I look into her books for this site. I have been reading science fiction and fantasy since the 60s (if that doesn’t date me too much) and I watch for women writers. The field of science fiction is dominated by the guys, although fantasy has certainly made up for it in the last decade or so. But there are thousands of authors to explore and sometimes even the really good ones slip past us.
Having downloaded the series in preparation for this spotlight, I found myself frequently reading into the wee hours because I just couldn’t put the story down. It didn’t motivate me to stop for the night when I knew I had the three books on my Kindle and could just breeze from one to the other as soon as I was done. The adventures are intoxicating, the plotting between the several dukedoms set against the political machinations and military strategies of our heroes are intricate without being bewildering. This is no mean feat and I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when the planning for this series was happening at the Moon household. But then, you and I get to simply enjoy the end result. I recommend taking the plunge now – you will soon find yourself lost in the dream of Moon magic.
Book One – Oath of Fealty
The first book of the Paladin’s Legacy Series, Oath of Fealty is said to take up where the story ended in Sheepfarmer’s Daughter (completed twenty years ago) but you don’t need to read it to understand the story here. It is in the aftermath of a legendary battle in the Eight Kingdoms, and the realms must regroup and learn new ways. Two kingdoms find that they are about to crown new kings. Kieri is the long-hidden inheritor of the throne, and the other a young fresh-faced son stepping into the place of power far sooner than he had supposed he would need to. Both kings face dangers both from within and without, and must find their own path to the answers they need.
While the newly crowned kings struggle with these revelations of disloyalty and deceit, Dorrin is the last of a family revealed to be both evilly dangerous and treacherous. Inheritor of a land she had forsaken years ago, she must first take their power from them and then turn them over to certain execution. And while Dorrin looks to regain that trust, the mercenary captain she long fought under has inherited an entire company, and all the headaches, conspiracies and rumors of war that swirl around them. Assassinations are planned and executed, brigands chased across the countryside and still the peace they have all fought for continues to elude them all.
Book Two – Kings Of the North
In Kings of the North, we continue to follow the adventures of the characters introduced in Oath of Fealty. A young King Mikeli of Tsaia, having survived several attempts on his life, now faces potential dangers from abroad as well as continued threats within his own kingdom. Though he has granted Dorrin Verrakai the title of Duke, everything in his past warns him not to trust a Verrakai Magelord…and yet she is the only lord with military experience. The mysterious crown she brought him as a gift may instead be a curse.
King Kieri of Lyonya, older and more experienced in war, is pressured to find a wife and produce an heir, while his subjects ignore what he sees as greater problems–the relationship between elves and humans, in this dual-ruled kingdom, had worsened and his own Elven grandmother will not help him heal it, the economy is failing, and across the great river looms Pargun, a constant threat.
King Torfinn of Pargun is beset by both traitorous relatives who want to usurp his throne and a rebellious daughter who wants to escape the duties of a princess. And now Lyonya–which he has not perceived as a threat before–has as its new king the duke who had fought and defeated Pargunese troops in Tsaia. With enemies on two sides, west and south, as well as conspiracies and treason within, what can he do to protect his people?
Book Three – Echoes of Betrayal
The mystery continues to deepen in Echoes of Betrayal as we see that when Paksenarrion told the Thieves’ Guild enforcer that perhaps Gird had a plan for him and the Thieves Guild, Arvid Semminson thought it was a joke. He took on leadership of the Guildhouse in Vérella and–in the previous book–at least pretended to be turning over a new leaf, in order–he told himself–to protect the thieves who had survived the winnowing. But he had old enemies there and elsewhere who found a way to sabotage him. Only by Gird’s help can he survive–and those who ask for help will not only receive it, but must pay the price. Exactly what Gird’s plan for Arvid might be, he doesn’t know–but he will begin to find out what the price is.
In Lyonya, King Kieri knows the country is no longer in danger of scathefire, the unquenchable fire of dragonspawn. But even that does not help when his Elven grandmother, the Lady of the Ladysforest, has finally given her approval for him to marry. If he can defeat the Pargunese invaders–surely only human troops–Lyonya will be safe. But all is not as it seems. At Midwinter Night, he is lured from the royal ossuary and confronted with ancient treachery that may keep him from fulfilling his destiny
Dorrin Duke Verrakai, meanwhile, in her role as Constable of Tsaia, faces her severest challenge yet when a member of the royal succession manifests the one talent Tsaian law will not tolerate while under her guardianship. The royal family itself harbors a source of treason no one has suspected yet.
As you can see there is plenty of intrigue, romance and swashbuckling adventure in this series. I have been reading it steady for three weeks now and only wish she would write a little faster because now that I have finished Echoes of Betrayal, I want more. You will too – so check this series out by our spotlight author Elizabeth Moon. She is a classic, and her books are bound to be so too!
Title: Smoke and Magic
Author: Patti Larsen
Release: February 2012
Genre: Steampunk YA Fantasy
When sixteen year old Auberdeen (Burdie) Hayle arrives in London by steamer, the Victorian city is dark, smelly and to her eyes, mysterious. It is also a place she has not gone to willingly, but was sent by her parents for her own protection. The power plays in the coven her mother has taken over could prove dangerous for a young girl who could one day inherit the coveted position. So she is sent to stay with relatives for the time being, with her snarky but wise Persian cat Sassafras to both keep her company and keep an eye on her.
But the carefully detailed plans are sent slightly askew when a young man decides to hide from the police in Burdie’s hansom cab. Soon he has drawn her into a hidden world of underground magic filled with mysterious and dangerous happenings. What is revealed there makes her begin to wonder if she can even trust the people her mother has sent her to in London.
Burdie will charm readers with her spunk and blunt opinions. She doesn’t always listen to her demon cat Sassafras and she frequently lets her vanity lead her astray. But at the end of the day this sixteen year old witch is a force of nature and more than a handful for anyone.
If you have been following Patti’s earlier series, The Family Magic Series then this adventure tale of one of the predecessors of the coven will charm you, but you don’t have to have read them to enjoy this wonderful steampunk fantasy for young adults of all ages. Smoke and Magic does indeed seem to have a magic all its own that will keep you enthralled and wanting more adventures of the spunky Burdie.
