Review: The Stroke of Eleven

Note: I did receive an ARC of this novel, but I would’ve got it for myself before too long, anyway.

The Stroke of Eleven is the third installment in the Beaumont and Beasley series by indie author Kyle Shultz. Yes, I happen to be personally acquainted with this author, but that’s because his work is awesome. Anyway, the review…

This novel takes place shortly following the events in The Tomb of the Sea Witch, and includes secondary characters that we first met in that story, such as The Mythfits and Malcolm Blackfire. (I am completely in love with Malcolm Blackfire.)

Per his usual modus operandi, Shultz has taken a traditional fairytale from our own culture and turned it on its head. (In The Beast of Talesend it was Beauty and the Beast and Snow White, and in Tomb of the Sea Witch it was The Little Mermaid.) This time it’s Cinderella.

But these stories have never fallen into the tropes of typical fairytale retellings, and trope-avoidance happens even more so in The Stroke of Eleven. Shultz actually starts making many references to beloved classic tales of our time (especially Alice in Wonderland), and in what’s becoming a strong hallmark of his writing, indicates none of this is what it seems.

Now, in my goal to always avoid spoilers, a lot of this review will have to be summed up by the following:

AAAAARRRGHHRRACGHHAH!!!!!!! FIFLEFLPHFFLIPHLEFFT!!!! AAKLJSIAD!!!!

Yup, that’s how I felt about the lead up to the ending. The ending itself was actually not really unexpected on my part. (What? Maybe I’m a genius?) However…the scenes that made the climatic action and the ending possible…THAT was the best. I love what Shultz is doing by blurring the lines between what the “right” and “wrong” decisions may be, and adding new complexities to characters and possible plot threads that give the reader a lot of food for thought.

With regards to the story itself, the twists in Cinderella’s tradition weren’t quite as dark or comedic as Shultz’s previous explorations of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. (Yes, trust me, that all goes together in this series.) I enjoyed the author’s changes to those pieces of lore; yet, what he did with Cinderella was honestly fresh and unique and gave those characters a lot more meaning than the stereotypical “happy ever after.”

This is what’s lacking so much from modern retellings, and while I do appreciate a happy ending, one that’s reached merely by going through a bunch of fluff is highly unrealistic, and does not create a bond between me and the characters I’m supposed to be rooting for. Shultz’s developing circumstances/a universe where not everything will go according to plan and the characters are required to adjust and reconfigure and grow makes much more sense, and this I like.

Further adventures in this world are forthcoming from the author, including spinoffs involving Malcolm Blackfire (SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!) and prequels of the established Afterlands plots. I’m thoroughly looking forward to all of it.

If you haven’t started on this series yet, I strongly suggest you do.

You can find the author at: https://kylerobertshultz.com/.