Well, I fell off the face of blogging. Let's rectify it with the seven reasons that you should read For Such A Time As This by Heather L.L. FitzGerald.
1. It's a mash-up with the tale of Esther. Yes. Really. I couldn't believe my ears either when Heather pitched it to me, but it worked so well!
2. It's freakin' high-concept. Of the stories in my line-up, this one was the hardest for me to pin down with a genre. Because the reason the mash-up of Snow White and Esther worked so well is that it was also a blend of genre. It's a futuristic sci-fi dystopia, but there's also fire magic, prophecies, and dragons.
3. I said dragons, didn't I? See, this story swapped out the bland old dwarves for seven grand, magestic dragons. AND IT WAS AWESOME.
4. Vashti was such a fun villain. She delights so thoroughly in her wickedness. Sure, it's great to have villains with sympathetic backstories and motives ... but sometimes you just need a power-greedy sorceress with fire magic.
5. Esther is a sweet but strong heroine. She's not a damsel in distress, but she doesn't bludgeon through shouting "I don't need no man!" And she saves the world with a knife she doesn't wield. Figure that one out.
6. Even though it's based on two familiar tales, you're completely unsure how it's going to end. Because while both tales focus on themes of beauty, they both had to be changed and modified to blend together. I was kept on the edge of my seat right to the end, even having read both stories a thousand time.
7. Because the message of sacrifice is so beautiful. We need more stories of sacrifice, and Snow White is such a beautiful catalyst for the tale.
Couldn't agree more!
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