Enchantment
A novel by Orson Scott Card

Ah, fairy tales. Plots and themes that everyone knows, yet of which infinite variations exist (sort of like my personality... but the nice young men in their clean white coats tell me I'm getting better). This time around, it's Orson Scott Card who steps up to the plate to take on Sleeping Beauty in his recent page-turner, Enchantment.

Observant readers -- i.e. those who can read (which I promise to learn someday... really!) -- will notice that instead of the traditional Once upon a time, Card begins his story in 1975 with a 10-year old Russian boy named Ivan being told that he is now Jewish. Ivan learns that his father, a professor of ancient languages, has converted to Judaism as a way to get his family out of the USSR, and Ivan soon finds himself growing up in New York, where he becomes both a track star and a student of ancient languages under his father. But enough of the background -- I know you all want to hear about the wondrous beauty asleep somewhere in the forest. Heck, I want to hear about the girl, and I've read the book!

To make a long story short -- [Insert deep breath here] -- Ivan discovers Katerina (Beauty) asleep in a Ukrainian forest due to a witch's spell. He wakes her while defeating a magical bear (who happens to be a minor god whose power has been stolen by said witch), then travels across a magical bridge where he finds himself betrothed to the princess of a small medieval country. He is informed of the fact that the witch (gee, can you guess who the antagonist is?) is vying for the throne to which he has just become heir, and thus must find a way to defeat the witch and win the heart of his new fiancee, all while trying to get home. And just to complicate things, Ivan a) is already engaged to a girl in New York; b) has gained a rival who believes that he should be the next king; and c) has the strange task of delivering a message that simply says "Deliver this Message." Did I mention that this is just the first third of the book?

The book grabs your attention almost immediately -- partly because of the large mechanical arm attached to the side that doesn't allow you to do anything else but read. Man, that thing has a strong grip! (Note: that may have just been my copy of the book; please don't write the publisher if your book lacks such an arm) -- and keeps your interest throughout. The characters are believable, and though the reader does have to accept some rather handy coincidences -- the phrase "Gosh, that's handy" is often, well, handy -- it is wise to keep in mind that this is a fairy tale. Filling the novel with various twists and turns, Card succeeds in keeping the reader guessing as to what exactly is going to happen, even though the general plot is well-known.

The main problem, though, is one that seems to be apparent in many of Card's stories, whether they are one book or in a series: the ending is something of a letdown. Everything is there that is necessary -- he ties everything together nicely -- but the specifics of what happens leave the reader with a slight feeling of disappointment. It's an enjoyable book that has a nice spin on an old story, but the ending seems a little too far-fetched, even though this is a fairy tale. Though not enough to prevent one from reading the book, so you should all get out there and read the book!

(And for those of you who are wondering, I am, in fact, not on the payroll of Orson Scott Card. Yet.)

RE-READ FACTOR: Depends on the reader, really. I read it twice, and enjoyed the book both times (even though there aren't nice pictures to look at... sigh), but I didn't really find anything the second time that I missed the first. The ending seemed better the second time, though... that's not to say that the ending changed between my readings, of course. But wouldn't that be cool?

SEQUEL FACTOR: Unlikely. While the door is left open enough for a sequel to not be completely out of the question, the "Happy Ever After" basis of the story should prevent it. A sequel is also unnecessary, though one would not be shunned.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: I feel confident in saying that this factor is high (and if you feel that I'm wrong... well, then, your people can just get in touch with my people). There are three strong female characters: Katerina, who does an excellent job of being a strong woman in a definitely male-dominated society; Baba Yaga -- the witch -- who tries hard, and usually succeeds, to get her way; and, somewhat surprisingly, Ivan's mother, who always seem to know more than she lets on. (Was there too much punctuation in that sentence? Nah, you can never have too much punctuation... and that was not a challenge for all of you writers out there...)

-- K. Burtt, who attempted to wake sleeping beauty with a kiss, but was only slapped with a restraining order.

Enchantment, published by Del Rey, is currently available in paperback.

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