I picked up ‘Glass Slipper Scandal’ by Tansy Rayner Roberts, because I have always been fascinated by fairytales and fairytale retellings. The story is fairytale mashup story that plays with all the tropes.
I love Tansy’s short fiction and this story is no exception, it has just been so much fun! Glass Slipper Scandal is part of Tansy’s Sheep Might Fly! podcast (which is wonderful – go subscribe. It is always first on my list of things to listen to when it is out). So I listened to the novel in a serialized format, which I enjoy.
Review of Glass Slipper Scandal by Tansy Rayner Roberts
A playful and funny take on all the fairytale tropes of the Western fairytale kanon. The story was originally published as a serial, so the plotting is tight and the pace is high.
Title: Glass Slipper Scandal
Author: Tansy Rayner Roberts
Series: Castle Charming #1
Genre: Fairytale retelling
The story is about a two men living in a fairytale kingdom: The new quill (read journalist) and the new garde. They get swapped into intrigue of a kind that would ONLY happen in a fairytale kingdom – and it is just so much fun. The story is very much playing with the tropes of the fairytale genre and the tropes are like laws of nature in story. The characters are aware of the tropes and the story is playing with it. The Glass Slipper Scandal is winking at the audience, but it isn’t annoying in any way.
Both Kai and Dennis, the two main characters, are interesting characters. They are however not necessarily the protagonists of the story, but rather the viewpoint characters. They are however fleshed out and interesting with their own ambitions and personalities. But the real driving forces in the story – are as in all fairy tales the royals – whom are such great characters.
The story is so playful and loves all the fairytale tropes. If you find that kind of thing silly and stupid, this is not the story for you. If you like me likes story that play with those tropes, this is perfect!
I am very much looking forward to more of these stories in the future. I wonder if Tansy with write enough for a small collection of these.
The stats: Glass Slipper Scandal
Published: Sheep Might Fly! 2016
Read: April 11 to May 23, 2016
Format: audiobook
83 pages
Author: Female, white, Australia
The protagonist: Kai & Dennis, reporter and royal guard, young, able bodied, one of the queer (the other we do not know yet)
This review was originally posted: May 23, 2016. Updated June 24, 2023
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