Spellbound

by Vivian Vande Velde

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568656890
• ISBN13: 9781568656892
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

entertaining fantasy omnibus

This is an omnibus of two novels and one short story that I'd bought several years ago with the notion of reading it with the kids. Interestingly, in the foreword, the author explains that they were written in reverse order--that is, the one that takes place most recently in the story world was the first one written. Perhaps as a result of that, the first novel in the volume (that is, the last one written) is my favorite. ***** The Changeling Prince. A sorceress, Daria, has a household full of servants and warriors that are animals she's changed to human form. Weiland is an experiment. She changed him when he was very young, and keeps him in human form most of the time, trying to see if that will make him more "human." Everything changes when Daria moves her entourage to town, and they're in frequent, and confusing, contact with people. Most importantly, Weiland meets and befriends a thief named Shile. Weiland's attempts to make sense of everything, and his conflict between morality and his own mortality are what made this story worth reading for me. **** The Conjurer Princess. I wasn't sure at first how this connected to the previous story. Lylene's older sister's wedding is interrupted when the groom is killed and Beryl is abducted. When neither the law nor the church will help, she takes it upon herself to rescue her sister. The first step in her plan: become a sorceress. As with the previous story, Lylene has some morality/mortality choices to make, and they're honestly and realistically handled. It's not until over halfway through the story that she meets up with Shile and Weiland, and that likely contributed to my not liking this story quite as much, because I was expecting and waiting for that connection. **** "Just Another Dragon-Slaying".This is the short story, and where Vivian Vande Velde started the concept. Weiland and Lylene are hired to kill a dragon--a fairly simple task that they've done before. But this time, it's not quite the same. It's got a fairly clever plot, and a rather shocking development. I'm don't think I'll be reading these with the kids, but I'll probably keep an eye out for more books by Vivian Vande Velde.

An omnibus of The Changeling Prince & The Conjurer Princess

Spellbound is the omnibus edition offered by the Science Fiction Book Club containing two books: The Changeling Prince and The Conjurer Princess. I found both to be quirky, imaginative fantasy, though darker and for an older audience than VVV's other books. The Changeling Prince is the story of Weiland, who is only human when the sorceress Daria chooses to change him from his natural wolf shape. At sixteen, he has already learned to survive at all costs against Daria's cruel whims and his brutal companions. Life in Daria's hall with her other creatures (bears, birds, mice all turned into humans) is harsh, but it takes a drastic turn for the worst when Daria decides to take her changelings to town with her. While masquerading as one of the bodyguards, Weiland discovers Daria's insidious plans and true identity. He also learns the value of human companionship and kindness. Weiland finds he must make a decision: keep quiet and watch Daria destroy an innocent family, or tell his new friends about Daria and risk her punishment. Or worse, at her death, be transformed back into a wolf for the rest of his life... The Conjurer Princess takes place some ten years after the events of The Changeling Prince. At her sister Beryl's wedding, Lylene watches in horror as an invading lord kills Beryl's husband and kidnaps Beryl. After half a year, when no one seems to be taking action against this crime, she decides to go by herself and rescue Beryl. She first goes to the wizard Harkta to learn magic from her, but the magic has unexpected side effects... However, armed with her newly acquired powers of conjuring a temporary fetch of anything, Lylene is ready to take on the world. On the road, accompanied by two mercenaries named Weiland and Shile, she must separate friend from foe and find the truths in a world where nothing is as it seems. Of the two, I liked The Conjurer Princess better; it's an often bittersweet, painfully realistic fairy tale. Lylene is not your typical sweet and beautiful princess, though she is basically honorable and consistently tries to do the right thing. The Changeling Prince is also excellent in a darker way, with fully developed, atypical characters and a quickly moving plot. This anthology also includes a short story called "Just Another Dragon-Slaying" which tells a bit about What Happened After; it falls in chronological order after The Conjurer Princess. Anyway, YA fantasy fans looking for something a little more reality-driven should try this duet. It's entirely unlike any other I've read.Ailanna