Books by Robin McKinley

“Beauty takes a fairy tale that we’ve heard so many times and seen in so many formats, and it re-tells it in a way that is super understandable. It’s very familiar, and the situation in which she finds herself is not because “her evil sisters wished her into it”, or anything like that. It’s a thing that befalls her – it’s a way to save her family. And her relationship with the beast, as it progresses, is very understandable. Sometimes in a fairy tale, when we’re just told the bones of the story, we have to fill in what we think happened. Robin McKinley does a lovely job of filling in the details and the emotions, and the things that would make a young woman fall in love with a beast.” Read more...

The Best Medieval Fantasy Books

Robin Hobb, Novelist

“Spindle’s End is just a great Sleeping Beauty story. It starts with the fairy godmother, who is very young, acquiring the princess just as she has been cursed, and having to keep her safe. The fairy godmother is about thirteen, and the princess – Rosie – is a newborn. The fairy godmother spirits Rosie away to avoid the curse…I don’t want to say too much for spoilers, but it hangs together very well, and gets into some surreal territory – it’s delightful.” Read more...

Fantasy Books Based on Fairy Tales

Ursula Vernon, Novelist

“The Blue Sword is a secondary world fantasy. It takes place not on earth but in a different place with some overlap of certain experiences and ideas…The main characters in The Blue Sword are Angharad ‘Harry’ Crewe and King Corlath. Harry is part of the colonizer culture. Because she is orphaned and has no money and nowhere to live, she’s sent to live at a desert outpost in another country to be near her soldier brother. Corlath is the king of the Hillfolk, who are native to this area. Supposedly he has very powerful magic, but Harry’s people don’t believe it. Corlath’s magic tells him that he needs to kidnap Harry, so he does, and she is once again displaced from her home. Now she’s stuck with these desert nomads who have no idea why she has been kidnapped by their king, because he himself doesn’t know. He only knows that it’s important because the magic said so. This is a ‘fish out of water’ story. Harry has to learn the language and the customs. She learns to sword fight and to ride horses the way that the Hillfolk ride. They don’t use bridles and bits.” Read more...

The Best Fantasy Novels With Battle Couples

Valerie Valdes, Novelist