THE SNOW QUEEN and DANCE OF THE SNOW DRAGON

Fantasies in frozen lands.

By Denise Dumars     August 18, 2000

The Snow Queen is familiar to readers of fairy tales and folklore; Hans Christian Andersen did a version of the tale, and as a myth it endures in Scandinavia, the Baltic Republics, and Russia. In her version of THE SNOW QUEEN, Eileen Kernaghan takes us to another time and to a place few of us will ever visit: the far northern reaches of Scandinavia, where the glacial ice is blue and the northern lights color the sky in rainbow hues and where the cold is, for many of us, almost unimaginable.

In this wonderful retelling of the story, there are two heroines: both teenagers. Gerda is a sensible and intelligent girl living in Victorian-era Denmark. Ritva is a Saami girl, a Laplander whose mother is the tribe's shaman.

Kernaghan uses the Andersen tale as a starting point for her story and takes it farther. In her version of the story, Gerda has a crush on her friend Kai, and when a mysterious woman offers to take Kai under her wing and further his education, he jumps at the chance. Gerda is unhappy that he is leaving, and suspects the rich, beautiful woman of being something other than what she appears to be. So when Gerda does not hear from Kai for a very long time, she forms a plan to go and see him and help him if need be.

Gerda's audacious plan will take a lot of ingenuity and trickery to pull off; it's not easy getting away from home for a young Victorian girl. But with some help she manages to do so, only to be captured on the way by the Sammi tribe. The character only known as 'the robber girl' in Andersen's tale is here called Ritva, and Gerda and Ritva form an uneasy friendship. Ritva, whose relationship with her mother in the Andersen tale can only be described as dysfunctional, is here the unhappy heir to her mother's psychic powers. Meanwhile, Ritva's mother's psychic visions are starting to appear to Ritva, and it is clear that when her mother passes on she will take her place as the tribe's shaman, whether she wants to or not. So when Gerda asks her to help continue her journey and save Kai, she jumps at the chance to get away for a while and have an adventure.

Along the way we see the extraordinary strangeness of the far northern clime, and learn the ways of the Saami people's mysticism. It is this glimpse into a completely alien world contained right here within our own that makes this story so special.

Gerda and Ritva do indeed find Kai, and learn that he is a virtual prisoner--albeit willingly--of The Snow Queen. And the Snow Queen won't let go of him without a fight. How the two girls manage to rise to the Snow Queen's challenges and save Kai from wasting away under her spell form the climax of the book.

This is a very enjoyable tale, and though it is marketed as a YA novel, it held me thoroughly spellbound. Kernaghan has shown us another time and place very well, without prettying it up; the hard life of the Saami people and their flea-bitten reindeer is shown in stark contrast to the overstuffed lives of the Victorian Danes. But it is the setting that all but steals the show and makes this just the thing to read on a hot, smoggy day.

DANCE OF THE SNOW DRAGON takes its readers to another land of myth and mystery: the Himalayan country of Bhutan, where Buddhism meets native animism. Sangay is a young boy who is chosen to be his family's representative at the Buddhist monastery. His mother is sad to see him go, and he is also apprehensive about what his new life will entail.

Once a novice at the White Leopard Monastery, Sangay has a hard time finding his path. He desperately wants to take part in the sacred dances, but his physical awkwardness makes him unsuited to them. And try as he might as an archer, he doesn't make the grade there, either.

When his masters catch him in a lie, it is decided that Sangay must go away for a while to find his path in life. He meditates but does not receive a clear vision. Finally, he goes on a quest, meets a sorceress named Jatsang, and together they brave the frozen world of the high Himalayas in search of fabled Shambhala.

DANCE OF THE SNOW DRAGON is a beautiful, imagistic book full of magical creatures, Buddhist philosophy, danger, and excitement. Jatsang conjures a magical thoughtform called a Tulpa, which she then cannot control; the travelers are menaced by bandits and a Yeti, and when Sangay reaches his destination he learns the true meaning of his journey.

This is a complex book for a YA selection, and is suitable for older teens and adults. The fabled land is drawn in fantastic colors, and the reader learns about types of myth and magic that are all but unknown in our culture. Sangay is a sympathetic character in what is really a very unusual coming-of-age story, and Jatsang is a warrior witch who would make Xena proud. These colorful characters and their exotic milieu make this a fascinating, fun and exciting read.

Kernaghan's novels are exciting adventures that take the reader into strange lands and remote, fascinating cultures. These are both highly recommended for fantasy fans and lovers of magic and myth.

DANCE OF THE SNOW DRAGON, Eileen Kernaghan. Thisledown Press; 1995. 325 p. $7.95. ISBN 1-895449-41-3.

THE SNOW QUEEN, Eileen Kernaghan. Thistledown Press; 2000. 158 p. $14.95 ISBN 1-894345-14-2.