Book #2 - The Snow Queen's Shadow by Jim C. Hines (412 pages)

Well then, it’s certainly been a while since I posted here! My reading list for 2013 has grown substantially but unfortunately something got in the way, a rather pesky thing known as college. Thankfully I graduated and due to the poor economy I have plenty of free time on my hands. A few weeks ago my local Barnes and Noble held a signing for author Jim C. Hines, and after a little deliberation I picked up two of his books. I have previously read one of his books and was left with mixed feelings but nothing lures me in like the prospect of having an authentic signature on my bookshelf and thus, my adventure with The Snow Queen’s Shadow began.

Unbeknownst to me, The Snow Queen’s Shadow is the fourth and final installment of a series about the fairy tale princesses we are all familiar with: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. However, Hines carefully explains every reference to previous events and this (combined with the familiarity surrounding his heroines) allowed me to jump in without feeling like I was missing anything. The story begins innocently enough with Snow and Talia (Sleeping Beauty) on a mission for the Queen of Lorindar, who happens to be Danielle’s (Cinderella) mother in-law. With their mission completed, the two action princesses return to the castle only to learn that the Queen is on her deathbed. Leaving Talia and Danielle at the Queen’s side, Snow hurries to her magic mirror and attempts to hold the Queen’s spirit within its frame; what Snow doesn’t know is that years ago her mother had trapped a demon in the mirror, giving the glass its magical properties. Snow’s actions push the mirror beyond its capabilities and the glass shatters, severely injuring Snow. At this point the plot begins to take form.

The demon is still trapped within the glass but with the mirror in thousands of pieces it now has multiple outlets through which it can infect and possess unfortunate souls and Snow is the first victim, having been in direct contact as the mirror broke. Using Snow’s magical abilities, the demon kidnaps Danielle’s son and begins to infect citizens left and right with the goal of reaching Snow’s homeland of Allesandria and using the land’s magical energies to destroy all life. Naturally, stopping this demon is a job for the remaining two princesses and they quickly set out on Snow’s trail. Along the way they cross paths with witches, dryads, fairies, trolls, and even a mysterious woman who claims to be Snow White’s sister. Throughout the journey, Danielle and Talia wrestle with the possibility that they may have to kill their friend in order to stop the evil inside of her. Shadow ends with enough resolution to provide a satisfying conclusion to the series while leaving enough questions unanswered to allow for a potential sequel.

Hines’s writing is much better in this book than it was in his other works. The action scenes flow naturally from the narrative without it feeling as though Hines has thrown them in for the casual reader, and this can be difficult to achieve. Our heroines have distinct personalities of their own which differ from the traditional Disney princesses though at times they come across as one-dimensional, but I can’t fault Hines for this because it might be due to the fact that I jumped into an established series and did not witness the initial character development. The Snow Queen’s Shadow is a good read for anyone who is a fan of alternate “happy endings” to fairy tales, but the dark tone that Hines takes is better suited towards fans of the Fables comic series or the TV series Grimm than for followers of Once Upon A Time and more upbeat fare. I would definitely recommend this to a fantasy reader and look forward to reading more of his works.

Rating: 7/10

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snow-queens-shadow-jim-c-hines/1031433743?ean=9780756406745