A combination of several parallel fairy tales, based on the book by Giambattista Basile. We have the story of the King and Queen of Longtrellis, the mission they must undertake in order to have a child, and then the adventures of the child in later life. There's the King of Highhills and his pet flea, plus his plan to find a husband for his daughter. We also have the King of Strongcliff and how his wandering eye leads to his involvement with a woman that he later regrets.
Started interestingly enough - the sea monster quest was intriguing and entertaining. That's as long as the entertainment and engagement lasted, however. Having several stories told in parallel, skipping between one and the next, doesn't help the engagement.
Moreover, the stories are pretty silly and pointless. As each one was drawing to a close I was expecting a profound upshot, but nothing ever came. Each was just one linear, rambling story with no point at the end. Even more disappointing in that I could see potential for a great profundity or emotional twist in each of them, but these never materialised.
Avoid.
Started interestingly enough - the sea monster quest was intriguing and entertaining. That's as long as the entertainment and engagement lasted, however. Having several stories told in parallel, skipping between one and the next, doesn't help the engagement.
Moreover, the stories are pretty silly and pointless. As each one was drawing to a close I was expecting a profound upshot, but nothing ever came. Each was just one linear, rambling story with no point at the end. Even more disappointing in that I could see potential for a great profundity or emotional twist in each of them, but these never materialised.
Avoid.