false 176796 9 Mercedes Lackey takes readers back to the ballet with her latest fairy tale fantasy, <I>The Black Swan</I>, which retells the story of <I>Swan Lake</I>. Lackey preserves much of the ballet's action but provides a happier ending than the original German folktale had. She also gives the characters depth and motivation by providing them with histories. <p> Baron Eric von Rothbart, a powerful sorcerer, hunts down women who have betrayed men and transforms them into swans who can only resume their true forms by moonlight. His lonely daughter Odile, who watches the flock and studies spells, longs vainly for his approval. One day von Rothbart tells Odette, the swan princess, that she can break the spell by winning and holding a man's faithful love for one month. He's even chosen a candidate, Prince Siegfried. Unfortunately, the prince is a womanizing hedonist. Should Odette succeed nevertheless, von Rothbart secretly plans a trap for them and the prince's ambitious mother, Queen Clothilde, who schemes to rule in her own right. But he must use Odile, who has befriended Odette and is no longer her father's puppet.<p> Some readers may find the descriptions of dancing and costumes tedious--and Prince Siegfried a questionable hero. Odile, however, is as vivid a heroine as any Lackey's written. <I>--Nona Vero</I> 833323 1999 The Black Swan (Fairy Tales, #2) total:1275|5:319|4:416|3:409|2:103|1:28| 1275 4720 1599 44 2 1 false false Wed Aug 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 15:13:18 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 17:24:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 true false Tue Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 09:04:59 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 12:21:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Nov 17 11:42:43 -0800 2007 Sat Nov 17 11:42:43 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Mar 18 14:51:09 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 09 16:17:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 2 true false Wed Oct 24 13:46:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 24 13:55:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 16 17:30:04 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 08:02:32 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 19:30:05 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 15:46:14 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 15:37:07 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 16:30:41 -0700 2009 Swan Lake so I can't address how well, or how closely, this book followed the original story.

The summary on the back was *extremely* misleading, and bore little resemblance to what Lackey actually wrote.

For example, the back says Odile "feels only fe...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 01 04:34:40 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 01 04:35:31 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 09:52:14 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 18:10:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true false Sat Oct 31 12:39:09 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 23 09:16:25 -0800 2009 Odile's struggle between h...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 11:59:03 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 05:58:31 -0700 2008

The Writing

Lackey is a good writer. She has an okay sense of pacing, good dialogue, and good setup of plot, charac...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 23:02:49 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 23:04:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Mar 07 13:56:33 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 09 13:55:54 -0700 2009 2 3 0 false false Thu Mar 19 22:41:46 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 17:12:31 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu May 07 07:36:30 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 07:37:31 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 22 11:48:34 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 11:49:16 -0700 2009 1 5 0 false false Mon Sep 28 23:12:55 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 23:13:14 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Mon May 04 05:31:54 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 05:35:18 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 15:16:48 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 15:17:12 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=176796