A review by purplepenning
The Beast of Talesend by Kyle Robert Shultz

3.0

The Beaumont and Beasley books by Kyle Robert Schultz are a series of fun, quick, twisted fairytales set, mostly, in an alternate version of early 20th-century Britain. The main characters are a reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast, and interact with the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and more. The bicker-banter humor of the main protagonist (detective-turned-Beast Nick Beasley) and friends is mostly fun but definitely started to wear me down. The fairytale interpretations are clever, though — and there's a sardonic dragon with a heart and hoard of gold who eventually appeared enough to keep me reading. The series isn't finished yet, however, and I'm not sure I'll remember to check back for the finale. Which is too bad — the dragon's story still interests me and there's some big, timey-wimey, fabric-of-reality stuff I'd like to see resolved. Overall, I'd rate the series at a 3 but the short stories fare better ("The Last Days of Lady Cordelia" is masterfully creepy and "The Janus Elixir" gives us a good dose of that sardonic dragon (Malcolm Blackfire) and his assistant.