The Princess and the Unknown Curse
Reviewed date: 2006 Jan 16
27 pages
The Princess and the Unknown Curse is a self-published fantasy novelette. (I got a copy because I know the writer.) It's well-done: a center-folded pamphlet with a thick paper cover, all nicely printed. The pages are a bit thin and the text tends to bleed through to the other side, but in that respect it's not much different from many professionally published mass-market paperbacks.
The story is engaging enough, too. Princess Tristara's marital ambitions have been stymied by a fairy's curse that drives off her suitors. Determined not to become a victim of circumstance, Tristara sets off to track down the fairy and hopefully get the curse removed. But finding the elusive fairy proves difficult, and the world is a dangerous place for unescorted princesses, so Tristara naturally falls into the hands of the evil--but you must read for yourself.
The Princess and the Unknown Curse reads like a juvenile at times, and would make a great illustrated storybook. I'm not too familiar with the field of fantasy short fiction, so I won't wager a guess as to whether it could be accepted for publication in a magazine or collection. I certainly liked it.