The Curious Curator's Book Blog

It's no secret that I love the Fables series, and this volume follows a very cool, but overlooked character: Flycatcher. That being said, I didn't love it as much as I would have liked to.

The story reminded me way too much of Lord of the Rings, and everything happened too fast. The Prince's amazing and sudden magical powers (not the ones related to the armor or sword) aren't really explained, and since the kingdom's very existence depends on that magic, it's a flaw that can't be overlooked. The artwork is also weaker compared to other volumes in the series. Character-wise, Flycatcher loses some of his spark and becomes a pure, incorruptible king-martyr who insists on only seeing the good in people, which might work well in regular fantasy stories but was really strange for the Fables universe. Also, Red Riding Hood is boring. But hey, at least Snow White and Bigby Wolf are still their regular, cool selves.

Still, I like where the story seems to be headed, and I'm curious to see the war developing.