The Dragon Hoard

[marycatelli]

The Dragon Hoard by Tanith Lee

If you are familiar with  her work, I will say that this one is -- atypical.  Jason and Medea dropped into a Fairy Tale world and made comic.

Prince Jasleth and Princess Goodness's seventeenth birthday party is crashed by a relative, Maligna, who curses Goodness to be so good it's silly, and Jasleth to turn into a raven one hour a day.  Their parents kick Jasleth out to find his fortune while they deal with their impoverishment while Goodness keeps giving things away.

After some episodes where Jasleth can't find a fortune to be made and turns to looking very unprincelike, he hears of a quest to find the Dragon Hoard, which was stolen from a kingdom.  In his raven form, he tells them they can't possibly succeed without him, and in his human form, they take him on, and off they sail.

Evil sorcerers!  Evil sorceresses!  Sea monsters!  Mermaids!  A princess trying to do her best for her kingdom!  Bad luck in drawing lots!

It's very funny.

Comments

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

That's one of my favorite childhood books!

...I bought a bunch of her other stuff and was disappointed.

[marycatelli]

Oh, yeah. It's very different from her other works.

[shana.livejournal.com]

It was my introduction to her stuff. Also in this vein is Princess Hynchatti and Some Other Surprises. IIRC, they were her first books.

[marycatelli]

I believe it was her first, too.