Characters: The first and main character in this fantastical tail is Hannah. She’s a young woman, living in a forest with nobody but the animals and a wizard for company. She has a good heart, curing villagers’ ailments for free, and her mind is open to change. She has five companions that are always with her.
Magpie is, as her name suggests, a magpie. She’s been with Hannah since the girl woke in the woods. Quick to scold, but caring over the others, she is essentially the mother of the group.
Badger is a badger. Like Magpie, he woke up with Hannah with no memories from before the Wood. Older than the others, he’s wise in his ways and not so quick to anger as Magpie.
The Fox Cubs are three rowdy, ramunctious fox cubs that love running, chasing, wrestling, and playing. Like the others, they woke with no memories, but they don’t let it bother them.
The Wizard is a man who’s been in the woods since before Hannah can remember. He is the master of the Wood. Every full moon, he has Hannah brew him a tea from the buds in her hair, so he can retain his power. There is something odd and troubling about him.
Prince Foxkith is a knight who wandered into the Wood one day, seeking to kill the beast said to live in the heart of it and take its treasure. His heart is pure and brave, and like others before him, he’ll lay his life down to kill the beast.
Character Diversity: 6/10
Plot: Hannah often gives cures to the villagers brave enough to enter the Wood and find her. Time and again, she’s seen knights ride into the Wood, never to come out again. She tries to stop them, but they never notice her, until one day when she’s gathering seaweed on a beach and a young knight asks for direction to the Wood. She tells him that only death lies there, but he says he must kill the beast in the heart. She pins a lily to his chest for protection, and he rides off. A few days later, she finds him, half-dead, near a creek in the woods. She takes him to her hut and heals him, brewing tea for the Wizard living in the woods once a month. One day, Foxkith follows her, and they stumble on a treasure trove in the heart of the Wood. There, they are confronted by the Beast, which takes the form of the Wizard. After a bit of talking, he reveals to Hannah that Foxkith and all the knights before him were nothing but animals, turning Foxkith into a true fox. he then turns into his beastly form, intending to kill them, but is warded off because he didn’t drink the tea that Hannah had brewed and so didn’t have any magic left. Hannah leaves with the others, to find Foxkith’s queen that he spoke of while human, to undo the spell that’s been done on him.
Plot: 8/10
Logic: It’s a fantasy setting, and all of the characters of importance are rather fantastic. But it’s stil pretty logical that Hannah, sheltered by the Wizard, wouldn’t know much about the ways of man. It also is logical as to why she can understand her animal companions speaking to her. Still, some plot elements seem to be there just for the sake of being there.
Logic Score: 6.5/10
Overall: 6.8/10
Great review, Alex! When you say some plot elements were there for the sake of being there, does that mean that the plot elements weren’t concluded? Did some things happen that left you hanging and you didn’t know how the conflict was resolved? Just wondering. I’m curious to see an example of this.
That’s exactly what I mean. For instance, Hannah meets and old needle woman who’s on her way to a festival, and they decide to go together. So, they get to the festival, where
(***SPOILER***)
Hannah is revealed to be the Summer Maiden, and she runs off.
(***END SPOILER****)
And while the Needle woman showed Hannah the way to the festival, we don’t hear from her after this event.