Published By: Envelope Books
Pages: 162
Released On: 04/03/2023
Princess Raine is a smart kid—a very smart kid. And that’s her problem. No one likes smart kids, especially when they’re unaware of the effect they have on Other People. Even her Dad (that’s the king) finds her too much.
To make things worse, she has two funny, silly, younger brothers—twins—both as dumb as a bar of soap—whom everyone loves. It’s not fair.
So when the kingdom of Rainland is threatened by a massive and abnormal heatwave, the reason has to be a natural phenomenon, like global warming—right? It couldn’t be the arrival of some magical, mythical, fire-breathing monster.
Could it?
The king wants Raine to go and investigate but she refuses; let him send his younger son, if he’s so sure there’s a monster: it’s always the youngest who slays the dragon in fairytales.
And then, as the people of Rainland decide they’ve had enough and turn to revolution, something totally unexpected happens and everything changes. But how? Read on.
*****
Thanks to Envelope Books for the gifted copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This was unusual in the sense that it is written as a filmscript as opposed to a regular novel narrative, and that took me some getting used to but overall I thought it was a good choice, and at such a short page count, it was really fast to read. I highly recommend reading it out loud – I think scripts should always be read out loud.
Out of all the Envelope Books I’ve read, this was the most fun. It’s fantasy and magical and exciting and silly and funny, but it doesn’t hide away from heavier topics.
It’s quite a short book at only 160-odd pages which meant it was really quick to read; combined with the fast-paced plot and exciting characters means I zoomed through it.
Again, for such a short book, and with no narrative devices like in a “normal” book, it could have been difficult for Stephen to really show his world building skills but he’s somehow managed it. The world of Rainland was fabulous to read about, as were the characters, particularly Princess Brainy herself, she really lit up every page.
It really shows family dynamics, particularly of younger and older siblings and how relationships can differ depending on social status – particularly considering this book is about Royals, with Brainy’s father being the King.
I loved the magical element – give me a book with magic and fantasy in it and you’ve instantly got a winner! But it’s not all magic. Stephen shows the juxtaposition of magic alongside science and logic and intelligence, and whilst magic will always win with me, it was an interesting concept.
I could definitely see this on the stage, with its heroes and villains and fairies and magical kingdoms – it reminded me in some ways of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I don’t usually re-read books because I have so many unread to get through, but I am keeping this book on the shelf to read again. Firstly, just because I enjoyed it so much, but also because I think I will get something different out of it when reading it again and I’m excited to see what I can uncover. My favourite Envelope Book so far.
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