CCC
A faithful retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a twist.
There are things that can't really be explained in the town of Littleton, curses and boons that the residents take as a part of life. But even they know there is evil, a fiend the plagues the black forest.
Beauty, Hope, Faith and Corbin their elder brother had a seemingly bucolic existence on a small farm near the edges of the dark woods. It is there that de Beaumont family's course changes irrevocably when an annual trip is met with tragedy, which breeds revenge. Corbin is forged into the weapon to mete out vengeance.
The characters in the story are quite good, well rounded and entertaining, and the historical details embellish beautifully. Corbin's mindset is delightfully young and appropriately self-centered. Often knowing what should be done, but doing what one wants instead because... now. Now is now and later is later. Until duty is thrust upon him.
The book is a three act play format wherein we meet Corbin and the trouble the de Beaumont's face. Corbin goes off to train under the tutelage of Sir Thomas and learn about life, allegiance, and duty. Finally, Corbin must face his fate.
Everything is medieval, and feels very much like the imagery was taken from a "Book of Hours" except for a few odd anachronistic mentions. Unfortunately, because the the rest of the story was so faithful in its world-building I found this very disruptive.
By the end, though the world and tone of the story was very good, I was a bit disappointed. The conflict evanesces more than resolves, at least not at Corbin's hand. The unexpected point of view change probably didn't help though it summarized the conclusion far more easily, nonetheless, I felt cheated. Additionally, the final culmination and scene with the Beast is underwhelming. Never got that passionate clash. So while the mechanics were very good it lacked a spark.
<i>A man trained to revenge has no room in his life for remorse.</i>
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