My true love gave to me “The Disenchanting of Princess Cerridwen” by Angela Korra’ti, author of the urban fantasy Faerie Blood and a story set in that world in Defiance, along with Joely Sue Burkhart and Laura Anne Gilman.
This story reminds me of a fairy tale I read when I was a child. It was scandalous enough to my young mind that I never told my mother about it, but thought of it whenever she asked me why I still read “those stories,” both because it was scandalous and because it was such a great story. In it, a young woman, forced to steal a holy relic by a tyrant, is cursed by the monks and turned into a man, which was actually quite all right with her since she was in love with the princess. After killing the tyrant in an appropriately bloodthirsty manner (wildly swinging swords included), the two marry and rule the kingdom side by side, of course living happily ever after.
I’m pleased to be able to say that Ms. Korra’ti’s story is even better than that. There’s more grief, more mayhem, and even more magic. There is also a happy ending.
Download: The Disenchanting of Princess Cerridwen
About Angela Korra’ti +/-
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The very first thing Angela Korra’ti ever wrote, at age 8, was a short story about a girl spirited away to rule over the leprechauns for a day. She progressed rapidly to pretending to take notes in class when she was actually writing novels, and writing fanfic before she had any idea what fanfic was! And music has been a part of her life almost as long, thanks to six years playing flute and piccolo in school band and an adulthood dabbling in guitar, bouzouki, and mandolin; in anything she writes, music is likely to make an appearance.
Angela (Anna the Piper to her friends) lives in Kenmore, Washington, along with her partner and housemates, two cats, two birds, and a whole heck of a lot of computers and musical instruments. And despite the fact that she is a mild-mannered former employee of a major metropolitan newspaper, rumors that she is a superhero are exaggerated. (Even if she did pull the door off a refrigerator.)
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About Faerie Blood +/-
Kendis Thompson is an average, ordinary software tester in Seattle. She has great friends, great housemates, a cat she loves, and her beloved violin. The aunt who raised her lives nearby and is always ready to share her love and comfort.
Then one day, Kendis goes biking and is attacked by a troll. In Seattle. A Real. Live. Troll. She fights back, but she’s no match for a creature made mostly of stone. When she screams for help, it arrives in the form of Christopher MacSimidh, who gives the troll what for—until the troll gets the upper hand.
And then everything starts going wrong.
There are faerie in Seattle, and Kendis is a target. Her mother was a faerie princess and her father was human. She didn’t know, since both died when she was a young child, but now her magic is starting to show up and both courts are determined to get something out of her. But what? and why?
With the help of her best friend, Jude; the Warder of Seattle, an old woman named Milly; her Aunt Aggie; and her new friend Christopher, Kendis is going to hold her own against both courts and all the trolls, sprites and assorted other creatures they can bring against her. Probably.
Though she didn’t count on the fairy biker gang, or the elven Elvis impersonator. |
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About Defiance +/-
Laura Anne Gilman, Joely Sue Burkhart, and Angela Korra’ti take us back to the days of the Civil War with ministering angels, magical creatures, and death. Each of the women in these stories refuses to take on the role she’s been assigned by birth, race, or circumstance. Each woman demonstrates life changing defiance.
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Read an excerpt.
Buy the book.