The Fairy Godmother cover art

The Fairy Godmother

Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 1

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The Fairy Godmother

By: Mercedes Lackey
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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About this listen

From the best-selling author of the Heralds of Valdemar series comes an enchanting new novel.

In the land of Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale....

Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella - until an accident of fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! Determined not to remain with her stepfamily, Elena set out to get a new job - and ended up becoming the Fairy Godmother for the land.

But "Breaking with Tradition" was no easy matter. True, she didn't have to sleep in the chimney, but she had to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who kept trying to rise above their place in the tale. In fact, one of them was so ornery that Elena could do nothing but change him into a donkey.

Still, her practical nature couldn't let him roam the country, so she brought the donkey - er, the prince! - home to her cottage to teach him some lessons. All the while keeping in mind that breaking with tradition can land everyone into a kettle of fish - sometimes literally!

And so begins a whole new tale....

©2004 Mercedes Lackey (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Classics Fantasy Feel-Good

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This audiobook was very well written and and kept me entertained and engaged. Lackey has produced a story that takes a very wry and alternative look at a well known fairy tale (Cinderella) and has produced a version of the story that veers away from the traditional pathway and into another, more interesting path.
In this book the central female character, who is normally portrayed traditionally as the 'helpless girl in need of a rescuer' (invariably male in the traditional tales) is the architect of her own rescue and indeed the shaper of her own destiny. In this tale the characters (including the fairy godmother) are constantly waging a war against 'The Tradition', which is constantly trying to move the characters and situations into the well-worn grooves of the traditional tales (champions must always slay dragons, stepmothers are always evil, witches always wear black…). There is humour aplenty amid the reworking of this tale and was enjoyable all the way through.
The narrator is excellent, with a beautiful voice, well suited to the story.

An entertaining read

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This is my first book by Mercedes Lackey and it's not what I expected. I don't know what I did expect but this is definitely not it.

This story is about a girl who should have become the princess, should have had her prince charming arrive, should have had her happily ever after but didn't, not quite anyway.

She got too old, she missed the boat, she turned onto a different path. She became the Fairy Godmother she should have had.

This is her story, how she learnt her role, how she helped others and how she finally got her own happily ever after.

Unusual, different and wonderful!

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If you want something different then try this novel. I wasn’t sure at first but once I got into the story I loved it. The power of the ‘Tradition’ was an important part of the story, which for me linked to the conditions of worth we are all brought up with and the rules ‘the majority of us’ are expected to follow without question and in general to the way we are ruled by the few. This is well written and employs so many traditional story lines and the breaking of them. I loved it and the narration was excellent! A clever take on society and tradition. I loved it!

Well written and different.

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This is the first book I’ve listened to by this author but it won’t be the last. I loved this story and the characters within it. I’ve just downloaded book 2 but where is book 4 Audible?

Loved it.

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Where does The Fairy Godmother rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It’s one of my favourite stories to listen to, I can’t say that I have rankings as there are too many I enjoy

What did you like best about this story?

This is a new twist on an old tale, we are so used to fairy tales that’s it’s refreshing to see a new spin on them. The idea that someone can break their “destiny” is a fun one and also one we can empathize with.

Any additional comments?

Any of Mercedes Lackeys books are worth reading, she has a way with words that makes characters real. They are not fairy tale characters with a happy ending, they usually have to fight to get it. Fantasy with a dose of reality hidden behind the story.

A good twist on an old favourite

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I love Mercedes Lackey's book and I had read all the four other Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. I enjoyed listening to the start of the series as it explained some of the references made in later books. The heroine Elena Klovis is easy to feel for, you want her to overcome her dreary existence of serving her step mother and sisters and boy does she by becoming a fairy Godmother. She gets to use the force that pushed her to be Cinderella to help and save others like her while taking proud princes down a peg or seven.
The narrator gives a wonderful performance and is easy to listen to.

Turn all we know of Cinderella on its head

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