Once Upon A Dreadful Time

Author: Dennis L. McKiernan
Rating: 3.75 Bookworms

My Opinion:
When I went back to the library to return the other 3 books I had in the Once Upon A Time series I discovered the fifth book in the series. I thought there should be a final book that resolved the struggle between the royalty of the Forrests of the Seasons and the evil wizzard Orbane. It just didn't feel complete. Sure enough there was book five on the shelf. Of course I had to read it.

In this book Dennis L. McKiernan takes us back to the world of Fairy recaping the experiences of each of the children of King Valray as they fought with the evil Orbane or one the four witch sisters to save their true love. As the family gathers for an annual festival at King Valary's castle the last living acrolyte, Hradian plots to obtain the key to the Dark Castle that holds Orbane prisoner. By casting a powerful spell she tricks Luc into giving her the key and hurries to free her master. The royal family discovers the theft and so begins the final struggle between good and evil that threatens all of Fairy and even the mortal world.

Once again the three fates offer assistance to the royal family in the form of riddles which must be solved in order to stop Orbane. Each of the sisters delivers her message to one of the knights who must lead the armies into battle. Orbane gains his freedom and quickly takes steps to defeat his enemies by casting the entire royal family into prison in the Dark Castle. They try in vane to escape but realize that they are helpless to defeat the clever enchantment without the key.

Of course the brave knights are desparate to find the royals but they also know they must prepare for the battle and so move forward with those preparations hoping that they can once again capture the key to the Dark Castle so they can rescue their loved ones. This battle is so dire that even the Elf King is drawn into the battle. This is diffucult for him because Orbane is his true son.

Can Orbane be stopped before he pollutes the River of Time? Can the royal family be rescued? Will the evil Hradian get the revenge for the deaths of her sisters? You will have to read on to find out.

Buy It Or Borrow It? Definately borrow it from your library. These are fun books to read but I doubt I would go back to them again. I think the world of Fairy is an interesting and wonderful place and I have enjoyed my vist. I will look for other books by this author because I think he creates believable characters and his stories are easily followed.