Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy (Villains Series #4)

by Serena Valentino, Disney Storybook Art Team (Illustrator)

Overview

The tale is told as if it’s happening once upon a dream: the lovely maiden meets her handsome prince in the woods.

The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the maiden finds out that she is a princess—a princess who has been cursed by a dark fairy to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an eternal sleep. Though her three good fairies try to protect her, the princess succumbs to the curse. But the power of good endures, as her true love defeats the fire-breathing dragon and awakens the princess with true love’s first kiss. The two live happily ever after.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the dark fairy, Maleficent? Why does she curse the innocent princess? What led to her becoming so filled with malice, anger, and hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account, pulled down from the many passed down through the ages. It is a tale of love and betrayal, of magic and reveries. It is a tale of the Mistress of All Evil.

Evil is made, not born. Enjoy Serena Valentino's entire Villain's series!

• Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen (Book 1)
• The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince (Book 2)
• Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Book 3)
• Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy (Book 4)
• Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch (Book 5)
• The Odd Sisters: A Villains Novel (Book 6)
• Evil Thing (Book 7)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368009010
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Series:	Serena Valentino's Villains Series , #4
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	13,365
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her best-selling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil.

Editorial Reviews

2017-08-02
Disney's Villains series' fourth installment highlights Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent.Maleficent turns to the villainous witch trio the Odd Sisters for aid finding Aurora. Although they were lost in the land of dreams after Poor Unfortunate Soul (2016), they give enough advice that Maleficent succeeds in the spindle plot. But Maleficent needs Aurora gone for good, so she abducts Prince Phillip and seeks the assistance of two other powerful witches, Circe and Nanny, to ensure Aurora never wakes. The connections with the previous books of the series (including periodic recaps and reminders as well as appearances by Princess Tulip, Snow White, Queen Grimhilde, and more) as well as the back story shared among Maleficent and the other characters are told in lengthy, sometimes-clunky expository passages and flashbacks. The nonlinear plotting allows for forward plot progression on the storyline with Circe and her sisters, as well as a metafictive one about a storybook. In flashbacks, Maleficent goes from an isolated outcast adopted by Nanny to a victim of extreme bullying to the villain. Feminist Maleficent sneers at the princesses-needing-rescue trope, thereby insidiously reinforcing it, and the book primarily concerns itself with all manner of relationships between females. The story builds to a revelation that answers the question of why Maleficent seeks to destroy Aurora. Aside from colorful Maleficent (she modulates between green and lavender), if other characters' skin tones are described, they're pale. Despite frequently inelegant prose, the story will probably please series fans. (Fantasy. 10-18)

Kirkus Reviews