A Tale of Two Cities - with Dragons by Charles Dickens and Steven DeWinter

A Tale of Two Cities - with Dragons by Charles Dickens and Steven DeWinter--I was directed to this book by a friend who knows my love of all things Charles Dickens. When I first picked up the kindle download, I admit I was worried that it would be a mockery of the classic, but that is not the case.

But First the Blurb:

The #1 Bestselling Novel of All Time is back with all new illustrations and a twist to the ending that brings the story together in a brand new way. If you've never read A Tale of Two Cities before, this is the version for you. If you have read the original, you will love this one even more.

With over 200 million copies sold, and opening and closing lines among the most familiar in all of literature, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is one of the best known and most widely-read books in all of literary fiction.

Revised and updated, A Tale of Two Cities with Dragons (2015), re-imagines that revolutionary tale where the power of the throne is maintained through the use of magic. But that magic is waning as the wizards’ (spelled wixard in this edition) powers are diluted through inbreeding and frivolous living. Humans have had enough at the hands of the supposed elite and rise up to defeat their oppressors through the creation of a horrifying machine powerful enough to rend the heads of wixards from their bodies.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES WITH DRAGONS is a fantasy novel about those who abuse power and those who rise up to overthrow them; with a love story tossed in for good measure! 

My Review:
DeWinter treats the original storyline with great respect. The prose is quite heavy and Victorian, and for that reason, some will find this a difficult read. However, if you love Dickens, and if you love magic, stick with it.

The original novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution. It portrays many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period.

This retelling follows the threads with all the proper characters in the right places: Mr. Lorry, Dr. Manette, and the Defarges, along with Mr. Cruncher, the Lucies, and Carton.

The replacing of the old aristocracy with the different kind of abusive aristocracy of “wixards” was an intriguing twist, and one that works well.

All in all, while it is sometimes hard to follow with regard to the Victorian prose, that is in keeping with the original as told by Dickens, and as a result this retelling parallels the original well, with just enough differences to keep it intriguing.