First in a duology that reimagines fairy tale tropes within a space opera—The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia.
Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.
Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.
When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.
Rory Throne is born as the first Princess, the first daughter born in the Thorne family in ten generations. Dredging up an old tradition invitations for the naming day ceremony are issued to the fairies no one really believes in any more. Rather like Sleeping Beauty, as the fairies bestow their gifts on the infant Princess the thirteenth fairy arrives unexpectedly. Her gift, or curse, is that Rory always know the truth no matter how well-hidden and the twelfth fairy gifts Rory with the ability to always see a path through difficulties and to have the courage to take it. And those two gifts set Rory on an interesting life path.
On Rory’s birthday her life takes a radical change, she briefly meets young Prince Ivar and they both lose their fathers through an assassination plot which leads to war between their kingdoms. Nine years later Rory learns the reality that her younger brother will be King and she is to be sent to marry Prince Ivar to end the war between their kingdoms. But things don’t go the way anyone planned.
This is a strange mix of fairy tales and science fiction with enough made-up terms to describe both the magic and the science that it was, for me, a bit hard to get into to begin with. The Princess Bride type asides, wandering off into, for me, unnecessary explanations got in the way of what is, at heart, a really wonderful story of a plucky Princess who is determined to be in control of her own destiny. About halfway through I became invested in the characters, all of them, and was eager to see how Rory managed to get out of the arranged marriage without starting another war between her home world and her Prince’s kingdom. Having become invested in the future of all the characters, and of course wondering how the villain will ultimately be dealt with after his escape, I am pleased to have the second book in this series, How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge, on my to read pile so I can find out how Rory, Jaed, Thorsdotter et al continue their adventures. So, a slow start but if the reader perseveres the read is well worth it. Recommended ~~ Stephanie L Bannon
