『31 Days of Blogtober』 - The Sleeper and the Spindle - Neil Gaiman

Plot: A thrillingly reimagined fairytale weaving together Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. 
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue the world from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. 

Opinion: I didn't know what was expecting me when I started the book and I got positively surprised. Beautiful illustrations in metallic ink and a special way of weaving together two different fairytales in one retelling with a dark twist. I really liked the way of storytelling by Neil Gaiman in combination with the illustrations by Chris Riddell. The way both fairytales are well known but so different told in this short story. The unexpected twist at the end and the independent queen who's about to save the world turn this short story into one unique telling.

I personally loved that short story a lot and got especially surprised by the little twist at the end. I can't remember a Gaiman book I didn't love and this story adds another one to it. Not only is it beautiful to look at, the cover is stunning and the see through overlay makes it even more magical. Chris Riddell's illustrations underline the enchanted storytelling and add to your reading experience. This is a book which manages with just a few sentences a page and the matching beautiful illustrations.

You shouldn't go into this expecting a Disney Fairytale and super great character development, it's only a short story. Very well written in Neil Gaiman's typical dark twisted writing paired with Chris Riddell's beautiful inked illustrations.

A short fairytale retelling with it's own touch of darkness which reminds us of the original gruesomeness in fairytales.

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Want to buy?: Eng. Hardback | Eng. Paperback | Ger. Hardback