Status
Available
Publication
Independently published (2018), 202 pages
Description
When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned. They are Jack, the seemingly unkillable leader whose ever-present grin belies a dark past; Marie, who fights with fury but battles more fiercely to control the beast within; and Frank, the master of logistics, whose cloak hides horrific scars that are far more than skin-deep. As they slash and scheme through kingdom and village alike, the Bastard Champions uncover tantalizing clues to their ultimate quarry: the powerful Blue Fairy, who has made each of their lives a living hell.Second Hand Curses adds a dash of sly wit and a heaping portion of action to the fairy tales you thought you knew.… (more)
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Fantasy — 2019)
Original language
English
Language
ISBN
172688225X / 9781726882255
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Narilka
I love a good fairy tale retelling. Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes takes many well known and loved fairy tales and nursery rhymes, turn them on their head, adds a dash of sly wit and a heavy dose of action. The combination is often hilarious, with a touch of darkness, and pure fun. Here's the
When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned. They are Jack, the seemingly unkillable leader whose ever-present grin belies a dark past; Marie, who fights with fury but battles more fiercely to control the beast within; and Frank, the master of logistics, whose cloak hides horrific scars that are far more than skin-deep. As they slash and scheme through kingdom and village alike, the Bastard Champions uncover tantalizing clues to their ultimate quarry: the powerful Blue Fairy, who has made each of their lives a living hell.
The story is told in an episodic format, with each chapter being it's own story within a story, typically focusing on a specific fable or two. These all combine together to provide a cohesive, overarching whole, with interesting background details of the three main characters worked in. It was a lot of fun puzzling out with fairy tale Jack, Frank and Marie came from and attempting to predict how their personal run ins with the Blue Fairy brought the characters to where they are today.
I listend to the audio book narrated by Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor and Tavia Gilbert. The three narrator format works quite well as each voice actor brought to life one of the main characters and a whole host of side characters. I especially loved whoever it was that voiced the story's narrator.
The author has stated on his website that this book is a stand alone story with no plans for a sequel. I hope Hayes changes his mind and decides to write more in this world some day. I'd love to read more of Jack, Frank and Marie's adventures.
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official blurb:When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned. They are Jack, the seemingly unkillable leader whose ever-present grin belies a dark past; Marie, who fights with fury but battles more fiercely to control the beast within; and Frank, the master of logistics, whose cloak hides horrific scars that are far more than skin-deep. As they slash and scheme through kingdom and village alike, the Bastard Champions uncover tantalizing clues to their ultimate quarry: the powerful Blue Fairy, who has made each of their lives a living hell.
The story is told in an episodic format, with each chapter being it's own story within a story, typically focusing on a specific fable or two. These all combine together to provide a cohesive, overarching whole, with interesting background details of the three main characters worked in. It was a lot of fun puzzling out with fairy tale Jack, Frank and Marie came from and attempting to predict how their personal run ins with the Blue Fairy brought the characters to where they are today.
I listend to the audio book narrated by Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor and Tavia Gilbert. The three narrator format works quite well as each voice actor brought to life one of the main characters and a whole host of side characters. I especially loved whoever it was that voiced the story's narrator.
The author has stated on his website that this book is a stand alone story with no plans for a sequel. I hope Hayes changes his mind and decides to write more in this world some day. I'd love to read more of Jack, Frank and Marie's adventures.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Fairy tale & fantasy retreads with a gang of three. Somewhat amusing.
LibraryThing member MrNattania72
This has been one of the best, most twisted recreation of Fairy Tales. The scenes are filled with action and excited. I don't know if this was a YA book, but I loved it!
LibraryThing member 3j0hn
A really fun entry in the "twisted fairytale" genre. I really enjoyed the characters.
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: I got a copy of this audiobook through Audible.com. This is a stand alone book.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): The audiobook was well done and easy to listen to, no complaints.
Story (3/5): This is the second book by Hayes I have read (the first one was "NPCs") and I kind of feel the
Characters (3/5): The characters are pretty basic and over-characterized...not a lot of depth to them. I did like the various cameos and mash-ups of characters and situations from previous fairy tales, folklore, and historical fiction. However, this is a bit of a mess...this is a mash up of basically any type of historical story. You have references to fairy tales, references to folklore and some classic literature references (Frankenstein) as well...it really is a mess of a mash up.
Setting (3/5): The setting is a pretty typical fantasy setting. There is some discussion of the omnipotent “Narrative” driving the story. This gives a bit of a twist to the world but is something that’s been done in numerous other fantasy tales. There is some discussion of a land across the sea that doesn’t have magic and is more technology based, but this is never really gone into in detail.
Writing Style (3/5): The format makes the story a bit disjointed, you are kind of jumping from story to story and trying to stay in tune with the overall goal of the adventurers at the same time...it doesn't flow very well. As with “NPCs” I thought the writing in general was okay but not great.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this is okay. It's an open-ended story that is also pretty basic. It's entertaining, and I did grow to enjoy the characters and their adventures, but it just felt kind of thin and lacking...I never felt really sucked into this story and there just wasn't enough complexity here to keep me fully engaged. This is the second book by Hayes that I have felt this way about so I don’t plan on reading more books by him in the future, his style just doesn’t work well for me.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): The audiobook was well done and easy to listen to, no complaints.
Story (3/5): This is the second book by Hayes I have read (the first one was "NPCs") and I kind of feel the
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same way about this book that I did about that one...it was okay. I always like the premise of these novels a lot more than the actual execution. The way this book is set up you have three adventurers that are characters from various other fables/history/folklore and in each chapter they deal with a sort of issue/curse. Each chapter is kind of a short story and these chapters are loosely connected by the characters' main goal of hunting down the Blue Fairy.Characters (3/5): The characters are pretty basic and over-characterized...not a lot of depth to them. I did like the various cameos and mash-ups of characters and situations from previous fairy tales, folklore, and historical fiction. However, this is a bit of a mess...this is a mash up of basically any type of historical story. You have references to fairy tales, references to folklore and some classic literature references (Frankenstein) as well...it really is a mess of a mash up.
Setting (3/5): The setting is a pretty typical fantasy setting. There is some discussion of the omnipotent “Narrative” driving the story. This gives a bit of a twist to the world but is something that’s been done in numerous other fantasy tales. There is some discussion of a land across the sea that doesn’t have magic and is more technology based, but this is never really gone into in detail.
Writing Style (3/5): The format makes the story a bit disjointed, you are kind of jumping from story to story and trying to stay in tune with the overall goal of the adventurers at the same time...it doesn't flow very well. As with “NPCs” I thought the writing in general was okay but not great.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this is okay. It's an open-ended story that is also pretty basic. It's entertaining, and I did grow to enjoy the characters and their adventures, but it just felt kind of thin and lacking...I never felt really sucked into this story and there just wasn't enough complexity here to keep me fully engaged. This is the second book by Hayes that I have felt this way about so I don’t plan on reading more books by him in the future, his style just doesn’t work well for me.
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LibraryThing member riida
i have discovered a new favorite book (series?), and possibly author :)
this is like if 'american gods' or vertigo's 'fables' was had more sense of humour and the absurd, but also darker at the same time. each chapter is a heist on its own while building up to the final chapter. very character
good, fun read!
this is like if 'american gods' or vertigo's 'fables' was had more sense of humour and the absurd, but also darker at the same time. each chapter is a heist on its own while building up to the final chapter. very character
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driven, and you do end up loving the characters by the end.good, fun read!
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