Originally a short story in the Marvin Kaye edited anthology The Fair Folk, Except the Queen had alwasy been meant to be turned into a longer work. Each author took a sister each to write for (Yolen took Serana; Snyder took Meteora) and then divided the rest of the cast between themselves. And the tone of the novel shifts accordingly. Serana is the quicker to adapt, to take things in and make things work for her, while Meteora is a little more flighty, more prone to allowing things to happen and then moving with them. Between their alternating chapters and the chapters dedicated to the Queen, Lankin, and Sparrow, the world is well molded.
Interestingly the sisters, who think their punishment is random and happenstance, find themselves embroiled even further into the Queen’s secrets. Even stripped of their powers, and made into old women, the two find themselves drawn into the same fight unwittingly and find the most unlikely of allies. At its core Except the Queen is a fairy tale about acceptance and moving on. Serana and Meteora both have to learn how to handle the “real” world without magic or Fairy machinations. Both have help–most notably Baba Yaga makes an appearance to meddle in the lives of several of the characters–but for the first time they have only themselves to truly rely on. How the two come to accept their fate was intriguing; neither consciously came to a sudden realization. Instead their changing attitudes were slowly shown in the way they perceived the world and treated others.
I’ve admired both Yolen and Snyder for a long time. Jane Yolen’s series The Great Books of Alta formed a cornerstone of my childhood, while Midori Snyder’s Oran Trilogy played a significant part in my teen years. They both are accomplished writers and together have created an entertaining fantasy novel that weaves fairy tales, folklore, and the real world’s own fading trends into an engrossing read.
And like their other books, there are some cultural soap box sort of moments: the sisters marveling at “eagle mail” (the USPS) as a form of communication, and Baba Yaga’s tutoring of Meteora in the use of swear words (all the marvelous ways the f-word can be used!), for instance. Or both Meteora and Serana’s (not quite concealed) bitterness over losing their youth and beauty and being ignored as one of the many “frumpy, old women.” Their often disparaging remarks regarding their looks versus how others view them was interesting. Where Meteora saw herself a lumpy, doughy mess, Sparrow saw her as an older woman who matured gracefully and still retained her striking looks, but dressed badly. Or Serana’s secret admirer’s belief that she was beautiful and elegant. I sometimes felt as if Snyder or Yolen was taking a shot at today’s culture that values staying younger and thinner longer, but I could never be quite certain.
I found the repeated use of the phrase “except the queen” to be amusing more than annoying, especially as each sister says it at least once per (her own) chapter, but doesn’t seem to understand the significance of the statement until very late in the game.
The ending is perhaps the weakest point of the novel, unfortunately. Several character developments are hinted at, but revealed clumsily, while others come out of left field and linger like a bad taste. The resolution to the main issue left me confused and thinking I completely missed a thread of the story. I think if I were to re-read the novel, knowing the end, it would make more sense, and some inconsequential details would line up better; but as it stands I was left flabbergasted. Which is unfortunate, because the novel on the whole was full of promise.
