Pages: 184
Rating: G
Summary: In a time when the world was young and many things were quite commonplace that are now entirely forgotten, Sarastro, Mage of the Day, wed Pamina, the Queen of the Night. And in this way was the world complete, for light was joined to dark. For all time would they be joined together. Only the ending of the world could tear them apart. In other words, in the days in which my parents married, there was no such thing as divorce....
Thus begins the tale of Mina, a girl-child born on the longest night of the darkest month of the year. When her father looked at her, all he saw was what he feared: By birth, by name, by nature, she belonged to the Dark. So when Mina turned sixteen, her father took her away from shadow and brought her into sunlight.
In retaliation, her mother lured a handsome prince into a deadly agreement: If he frees Mina, he can claim her as his bride.
Now Mina and her prince must endure deadly trials -- of love and fate and family -- before they can truly live happily ever after....
My Thoughts: I loved this story. I have never actually seen "The Magic Flute" originally an opera written by Mozart in German, but it's one I've always wanted to see, and after reading this book, I've now reserved it from the library. If you are interested in reading the synopsis of the opera, I found it here. I think the book has probably a nicer story, in that Pamina and Sarastro were originally married and that Mina was their child. There are two other characters in the book that the summary does not mention. Gayna is the daughter of Sarastro's forrester. Sarastro has raised her in his house since she was small and her parents died. Lapin is a boy who has known Mina her entire life; he lives in the household of the Queen of the Night. In his family's possession are a set of bells said to summon your heart's true love if you play the true music of your heart on it. Mostly, Lapin has just managed to summon birds of every shape and form. Tern is the handsome prince that Lapin summons, and he is the one in possession of the Magic Flute. He carved it out of an old majestic tree in his home country.
Most of the book is set-up, and the actual climax doesn't happen till close to the end but because it almost reads like an old "Beginning of the World" story, it doesn't seem as cheesy. Like all the other books in the Once Upon A Time series, it's a quick, easy read. However, since it's a story that's probably unfamiliar to most of us, it keeps you intrigued the entire time. I was never quite sure who was going to end up with who, or what is eventually going to happen. I also like the fact that various chapters or even sections within chapters are voiced by different characters. Sarastro and Pamina never get to tell any part of the story, but Lapin, Mina, Tern, Gayna, and Statos do. It can sometimes be a bit confusing who is telling the story though because the chapter headings don't tell you. Usually it can be figured out in the first few sentences. I recommend this one. It definitely has an old legend feel to it. Loved it. =)
Just a head's up, I think Cameron Dokey's writing style is the same with all her books. I've read "Wild Orchid" and "Belle" in the last few months and again, most of the book is setup with the climax happening almost right at the end. They're still good reads, but I wish she focused more on expanding the conflict and condensing the background and setup.
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