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4 out of 4 stars
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Fairies, Sorcery and the Devil by Donald R Richter is a well-detailed fantasy novel that takes every reader deep into the imaginary world of fairies, sorcerers, and sheer magic. Comfortably establishing itself under genres like fantasy, adventure, folktale, and even religious fiction, the novel tells us about Jack Robinson, a normal eighty-four-year-old widower who finds himself at home, mourning his wife, who passed away a month earlier.
However, when Jack, standing in his backyard that fateful evening in July, suddenly sees a green light passing over the trees, right into his very backyard, he does not realize that his life is about to change drastically. The whizzing green light he saw turns out to be a green fairy known as Elizabeth under attack from the blue fairies. With the aid of his gun, torch, and wasp spray, Jack saves the green fairy, which in turn tries to kill him. Does he survive?
As the mind-blowing story unfolds, Jack is sent to find Merlin, who is an old magician and sorcerer far away at the magic castle with a seriously sick wife named Juliet, who needs regeneration to save her life. Does Jack succeed in his quest to meet Merlin at the magic castle?
The book has a lot of positive aspects, and it was also beautifully written. The descriptions were vivid, which is very important in fantasies where the author has to create extraordinary settings and characters. The characterization was well done, with complicated characters like Jack, Andre, Boris, and Margaret being beautifully developed. I especially liked Jack because of the way he handled the overnight changes in his life. I saw myself willing him to succeed in his mission and also wanting the blue fairies to lose; this only happens when a story is well characterized.
The book had many dominant themes like revenge and war, and even the way Jack saved the green fairy in the beginning also provides a theme of mercy and kindness. The novel is also filled with suspense as we are constantly on edge, trying to find out if Jack's mission will end successfully. Another positive aspect of this novel is its comprehensive language which helps the reader enjoy the work without much interruptions to look up new words. The book had a few grammatical errors, a testament to good editing.
The only negative aspect I noticed in the book was the presence of many vulgar words, and apart from that, it was a great read.
Therefore, I rate the book four out of four stars because I consider it a wonderful literary work and there was nothing to warrant the deduction of a star. It was a wonderful blend of adventure and fantasy, taking us into the dark world of magic. I recommend it to lovers of fantasies and anyone in search of a good novel to read.
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Fairies Sorcery and the Devil
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