The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines

October is filled with new fairy tale related releases, so today I offer another new book that was officially released yesterday, The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines.


This novel is the second in Jim C. Hines's Princess series following The Stepsister Scheme released in January 2009. There will be at least two more in the series: Red Hood's Revenge (2010) and Secret of the Snow Queen (2011).

Here's is Jim's synopsis for the new book:

There is an old story — you might have heard it — about a young mermaid, the daughter of a king, who saved the life of a human prince and fell in love.

So innocent was her love, so pure her devotion, that she would pay any price for the chance to be with her prince. She gave up her voice, her family, and the sea, and became human. But the prince had fallen in love with another woman.

The tales say the little mermaid sacrificed her own life so that her beloved prince could find happiness with his bride.

The tales lie.

The first chapter is online for previewing here. (This is a PDF file, not an HTML, so be aware if that is an issue on your computer.) He also answers some reader questions on his release day post: Happy Mermaid Day.

These books are humorous and fun, rather Charlie's Angels meets fairy tales, with creative twists on the original tales. I've not read Mermaid's Madness yet. I'm still debating whether to buy the paper or Kindle version, I admit. My reading is also lacking as my writing has demanded the majority of my time the last few weeks.

(If we waited for me to read all the releases, much of this blog would be woefully outdated. My job is to spread the news, not critically review each new offering in the fairy tale realm. My purse also hinders acquiring everything for review, too. The library doesn't acquire most of these books despite my sweetest dreams, at least not in a timely manner.)

Anyway, I enjoy Jim's blog and his website. For examples of Jim's humor, see 20 Neil Gaiman Facts (spoofing all the Chuck Norris jokes out there) and Slush Reading, Seuss Style. (The Gaiman one has become an internet sensation in less than a month.)

If you are looking for light reading with fairy tales thrown in, look this one up. We all need some frivolity in our lives...