SNOW WHITE: FIRST REVIEWS
Thank you for this fabulous review by KEN KING
SNOW WHITE
WRITTEN BY: JORDAN TATE
COPYRIGHT: JORDAN TATE 2021
PUBLISHER: BLACK MASS EDITIONS
PAGES: 201
I like reading all new takes on fairy tales we all grew up with. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm passed down the original stories which the Disney and other children’s adaptations were derived. Most of those stories from the former are decidedly dark and not kid friendly in the least. If not for the efforts of bigwig corporations with dollar signs in their eyes, I sincerely doubt any of said tales would be read at bedtime for little Johnny or Suzie. Not unless the parental units were wanting their offspring to experience nightmares instead of visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. They would then cease to be responsible adults and be edging ever closer to the realm of sadism. Even the Brother’s Grimm had their stopping points. There wasn’t much fleshing out of the characters and the stories were more cautionary tales to spring on the unwary masses and to warn them of the dire consequences they might stumble into should they stray off the straight and narrow path. Even then, it was no guarantee that misfortune wouldn’t come your way. in fact, it was rather likely. A pessimistic bunch were the peasants in the days of yore.
Jump ahead a century and a half. Enter: Jordan Tate.
Her version of SNOW WHITE is what the Grimm Brother’s might have written had the styles back in those days had allowed, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s like the story by fate and/or circumstance had to fall into another’s hands. Jordan Tate expands on her characters to lengths before unimagined. The main players are the only ones necessary to expand on and she did just that. Snow White (Eira), the so called, Evil Queen (Astrid), Snow White’s mother (Celestia), and her monster husband, King Phillip, Astrid’s true love, Andras, a magician, who, by foul magic, is turned into an Honest-to-God werewolf, by a sorcerer in King Phillip’s employ, Mortem. Yes, the dwarves are here and go by their Disney names, there are other characters as well, Astrid’s parents, her aunt and uncle, Celestia’s parents, a king and queen over a small province, and yes, even the magic mirror are all here. But they are regulated to background figures and of no real importance except to drive the story along for the main players. If Tate had decided to give them all a back story, this would be a novel of Stephen King sized proportions.
Jordan Tate covers a lot of ground in 200 pages that most authors would just be getting warmed up. A lot of places in the book are “mirrors” of what we, as a society, face in modern times. In some cases, even worse. Astrid is seen as the villain in many incarnations of this classic tale. Jordan Tate chooses to show the real evil coming from another entirely different source that wasn’t there before. When these characters are given their just desserts, you don’t feel sorry for them one bit. But the good guys you feel compassion for, as they were just born of an almost morally bereft time and just happened to be victims of circumstance.
I recommend this book if you want an alternative to what you have read before. I know I did. If Ms. Tate decides to go this way with other beloved classics, then my COMPLETE GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES is going to collect dust and cobwebs as it has been for many years. Keep sending them, I say. Jordan Tate has crafted a master work here. Definitely check it out.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Just throwing this out here. If there is/was a character I would have liked to see more of where it came to their backstory and maybe future appearances, then it was Mortem, the evil wizard. He kind of reminds me of Mister Sinister of X-Men fame. What do you think, Jordan? Think you could make this happen? I know that’s a story I would love to read.
RATING
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