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ankiaisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Dementia, Grief, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
dexkit10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Murder
librarymouse's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
aidorei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Summary
The Sleeper and the Spindle is a tale of two different princesses, one now a Queen in name and right and another having been forgotten for so long it took her own bad fortune encroaching upon others to get anyone to even attempt to find her again. A duality story about two women who are never definitively named, but are akin to Snow White and Sleeping Beauty regardless of this.
A trio of dwarfs accompany the Queen (Snow White) on her journey and offer a hit of levity and color to an otherwise simple premise: the world is being taken by a sleeping curse and people are still managing to reach out and speak in their dreams, implying something is truly wrong in the mix.
Though neither princess has ever met the other, the Queen is willing to leave her own wedding day for the sake of the country-side and endures a journey through many hazards just to make it to the tower in which Sleeping Beauty is purportedly lying sleeping (yet undying) in her bed.
The Queen didn't seem too keen on getting married in the first place, if one was to guess; a lot of the exposition and personal reflection of her own storied 'chapters' before the journey were akin to going through motions and knowing that some day she would just be a bridge. It wasn't something she openly disparaged but there was an underlying hint of a woman built for adventure even in those early chapters.
The first glimpse we get of anything truly happening in the castle and it's famed tower is an old woman wandering through and, for some reason, making sure everyone seems comfortable. It is meant to be believed that
It has been 70 years and no one had even questioned the validity of the story, just accepting that anyone who tried to enter was being killed by the danger outside of those walls (in the thorns that had grown to protect and that our heroic Queen slashed and burned her way through to uncover the mystery.)
The Queen understood the breadth of the witch the moment she spoke with her, having dealt with her own such situation in her step-mother and the curse put upon her, and leads the old Woman to finally take back her power and fell this witch, regardless of if it means her death or not. She gathered that the people would be freed even if the Old Woman did not survive.
A spindle stab to the heart and the boasting queen is bested and lies merely ashy ooze and nothing more and the people are stood there, baffled at their sudden awakeness, and told to take care of the old Woman because they owe everything to her; the Queen offers no more information on this and leave with her dwarfs.
It's then that the story comes full circle and we get the conclusion of the Queen finally realising her own agency and power and she chooses to go the opposite direction of her own castle, wedding, and destiny and continue on her adventures with her dwarf companions and... do good in the world as much as she can while seeing everything.
Opinion
The story itself was charming, with enough creepy to feel still decidedly Neil Gaiman while still holding true to the ideas we have in our minds of the original Fairy Tales. He always manages to weave in a little bit of soft macabre with fantastical places and descriptions of otherwise simple things.
The art was charming. Stylized in such a way as to seem almost like a debossed shot from behind of everything going on, still the right side up and everything moving forward, but a peek behind the curtain at what could be. A lovely accompaniment to the overall story.
More of both would have been appreciated, and while it's understood the story has existed in this form for a long time, hope can still be held for an extension.
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Confinement, and Murder
There are spiders mentioned and webs shown as well as the bones of some of the dead. Some images could be disturbing to certain people.betweentheshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I also appreciated the fact that it almost reads like a picture book, because of the illustrations and the tone. But, it's juxtaposed with the darker nature of the story (much like a lot of the original fairy tales from Brothers Grimm). I just really enjoyed this, and am glad I finally got to read it!
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Confinement, and Torture
Minor: Gore, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
thereaderfriend's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Confinement, and Torture
Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gore
whitto's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Torture, and Violence
This is a dark fairy tale that is not for children. I would say age 15+ or for a 12 year old who can handle brief gore