A Princess of Roumania: 1 - Softcover

Park, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765374420 ISBN 13: 9780765374424

Publisher: Tor Books, 2006

Synopsis

This is a truly magical tale, full of strangeness, terrors and wonders. Many girls daydream that they are really a princess adopted by commoners. In the case of teenager Miranda Popescu, this is literally true. Because she is at the fulcrum of a deadly political battle between conjurers in an alternate world where "Roumania" is a leading European power, Miranda was hidden by her aunt in our world, where she was adopted and raised in a quiet Massachusetts college town.
The narrative is split between our world and the people in Roumania working to protect or to capture Miranda: her Aunt Aegypta Schenck versus the mad Baroness Ceaucescu in Bucharest, and the sinister alchemist, the Elector of Ratisbon, who holds her true mother prisoner in Germany. This is the story of how Miranda -- with her two best friends, Peter and Andromeda -- is brought back to her home reality. Each of them is changed in the process and all will have much to learn about their true identities and the strange world they find themselves in.
This story is a triumph of contemporary fantasy.

About this title

Review:

" Paul Park knows fairy tales, contemporary and classic fantasy, and literary science fiction, and he borrows tropes from all these genres. So readers will find, as they enjoy this long novel (the first volume of two or more), that it provides the pleasures of the familiar-- indeed, the archetypal-- without neglecting some twists and enigmatic variations all its own. At times, though, it' s bound to remind you of the Harry Potter books, Phillip Pullman' s novels about Lyra Belacqua and even Gene Wolfe' s recent "The Knight "and "The Wizard," as well as such older classic as The Wizard of Oz, Joan Aiken' s Dido Twite chronicles and even Philip K. Dick' s classics as "The Man in the High Castle," But then all these works draw from the same well of fantasy, the same pool of dreams and nightmares."
--Michael Dirda, "The Washington Post Book World" on "A" "Princess of Roumania" " In less-capable hands, the plot of the missing princess would seem trite, but Paul Park makes "A Princess of Roumania" unique. . . .The result is a powerful novel that should appeal to adult and sophisticated young adult audiences. . . .the stage is set for a terrific series. I can' t wait for the next installment." - "Rocky Mountain News," Grade A-
" Elegantly imagined and densely poetic novel . . . . we may be looking at one of the major fantasy works of the decade." Gary K. Wolfe, "Locus "on "A" "Princess of Roumania" " Could become one of the most engrossing fantasies ever written. . . .The opening pages have a sustained brilliance it is extremely difficult to convey; they compriseperhaps the most taxing and densely intricate exegesis yet put to paper. . . .The story so far of "A Princess of Roumania "is intense, contorted, distorting, hypnotic; it seems deeply though-and felt-through-- as far as we are allowed to follow it. It is a book . . . to read in a deep silent room, so you don' t miss a word." --"Interzone"
"It's a journey almost as gratifying as the magic trick pulled off by Park, who should be knighted for breathing life into an oft-tired genre." - "Entertainment Weekly" on "A Princess of Roumania"
"Complex, elusive, haunting, written in a transparent prose that slips you from one world to another with prestidigitous ease, "A Princess of Roumania" is a quietly and profoundly original novel. To compare Paul Park with Philip Pullman or John Crowley gives a hint of the kind of satisfaction his fiction provides."--Ursula K. Le Guin
"Many of those of enjoyed the works of Philip Pullman or Madeleine L'Engle will be thrilled to discover "A Princess Of Roumania,""--Kim Stanley Robinson
"Immediately appealing in all the ways that the heart-tugging matter of high fantasy ought to be. A huge achievement."--John Crowley on "A" "Princess of Roumania"

" Could become one of the most engrossing fantasies ever written."
" Paul Park knows fairy tales, contemporary and classic fantasy."
" Elegantly imagined and densely poetic novel . . . . we may be looking at one of the major fantasy works of the decade. "
" Paul Park knows fairy tales, contemporary and classic fantasy, and literary science fiction, and he borrows tropes from all these genres. So readers will find, as they enjoy this long novel (the first volume of two or more), that it provides the pleasures of the familiar -- indeed, the archetypal -- without neglecting some twists and enigmatic variations all its own. At times, though, it ' s bound to remind you of the Harry Potter books, Phillip Pullman ' s novels about Lyra Belacqua and even Gene Wolfe ' s recent The Knight and The Wizard, as well as such older classic as The Wizard of Oz, Joan Aiken ' s Dido Twite chronicles and even Philip K. Dick ' s classics as The Man in the High Castle . But then all these works draw from the same well of fantasy, the same pool of dreams and nightmares. "
--Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World on A Princess of Roumania & nbsp; " In less-capable hands, the plot of the missing princess would seem trite, but Paul Park makes A Princess of Roumania unique. . . .The result is a powerful novel that should appeal to adult and sophisticated young adult audiences. . . .the stage is set for a terrific series. I can ' t wait for the next installment. " - Rocky Mountain News, Grade A-
& nbsp; " Elegantly imagined anddensely poetic novel . . . . we may be looking at one of the major fantasy works of the decade. " Gary K. Wolfe, Locus on A Princess of Roumania & nbsp; & nbsp; " Could become one of the most engrossing fantasies ever written. . . .The opening pages have a sustained brilliance it is extremely difficult to convey; they comprise perhaps the most taxing and densely intricate exegesis yet put to paper. . . .The story so far of A Princess of Roumania is intense, contorted, distorting, hypnotic; it seems deeply though-and felt-through -- as far as we are allowed to follow it. It is a book . . . to read in a deep silent room, so you don ' t miss a word. " -- Interzone
& nbsp; "It's a journey almost as gratifying as the magic trick pulled off by Park, who should be knighted for breathing life into an oft-tired genre." - Entertainment Weekly on A Princess of Roumania
"Complex, elusive, haunting, written in a transparent prose that slips you from one world to another with prestidigitous ease, A Princess of Roumania is a quietly and profoundly original novel. To compare Paul Park with Philip Pullman or John Crowley gives a hint of the kind of satisfaction his fiction provides."--Ursula K. Le Guin
"Many of those of enjoyed the works of Philip Pullman or Madeleine L'Engle will be thrilled to discover A Princess Of Roumania ."--Kim Stanley Robinson
"Immediately appealing in all the ways that the heart-tugging matter of high fantasy ought to be. A huge achievement."--John Crowley on A Princess of Roumania

"Could become one of the most engrossing fantasies ever written."

"Park. . .should be knighted for breathing life into an oft-tired genre."

"A powerful novel that should appeal to adult and sophisticated young adult audiences."

"Elegantly imagined and densely poetic novel . . . . we may be looking at one of the major fantasy works of the decade."

"Paul Park knows fairy tales, contemporary and classic fantasy, and literary science fiction, and he borrows tropes from all these genres. So readers will find, as they enjoy this long novel (the first volume of two or more), that it provides the pleasures of the familiar--indeed, the archetypal--without neglecting some twists and enigmatic variations all its own. At times, though, it's bound to remind you of the Harry Potter books, Phillip Pullman's novels about Lyra Belacqua and even Gene Wolfe's recent "The Knight "and "The Wizard," as well as such older classic as The Wizard of Oz, Joan Aiken's Dido Twite chronicles and even Philip K. Dick's classics as "The Man in the High Castle." But then all these works draw from the same well of fantasy, the same pool of dreams and nightmares."
--Michael Dirda, "The Washington Post Book World" on "A""Princess of Roumania"
"In less-capable hands, the plot of the missing princess would seem trite, but Paul Park makes "A Princess of Roumania" unique. . . .The result is a powerful novel that should appeal to adult and sophisticated young adult audiences. . . .the stage is set for a terrific series. I can't wait for the next installment." -"Rocky Mountain News," Grade A-
"Elegantly imagined and densely poetic novel . . . . we may be looking at one of the major fantasy works of the decade." Gary K. Wolfe, "Locus "on "A""Princess of Roumania"
"Could become one of the most engrossing fantasies ever written. . . .The opening pages have a sustained brilliance it is extremely difficult to convey; they comprise perhaps the most taxing and densely intricate exegesis yet put to paper. . . .The story so far of "A Princess of Roumania "is intense, contorted, distorting, hypnotic; it seems deeply though-and felt-through--as far as we are allowed to follow it. It is a book . . . to read in a deep silent room, so you don't miss a word." --"Interzone"
"It's a journey almost as gratifying as the magic trick pull

About the Author:

PAUL PARK is the author of A Princess of Roumania, and numerous other novels. He published his first novel in the 1980s and swiftly attracted notice as one of the finest authors on the "humanist" wing of American SF. His powerful, densely written narratives of religious and existential crisis on worlds at once exotic and familiar won him comparisons with Gene Wolfe and Brian Aldiss at their best. He lives in North Adams, Massachusetts.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0765374420
• ISBN 13: 9780765374424
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480