Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell are a spell-binding combination, their ability to spin a world out of ink is just breathtaking. But I have to admit that I was disappointed that the story was so short and sparse. I respect how much work went into even this short piece, a lot of art, a lot of hours... But the story ends almost as soon as it starts. The nameless protagonist walks off into the unknown, the nameless antagonist disintegrates... I wanted more. It felt like a bedtime story. Or like a prologue to a much, much, MUCH longer novel. I want to live in the world of colliding fairytales /more/.
Also, I admit, in buying this book I flipped through the pages to see if it was for me, and saw the kiss. I thought this story was LGBTQ. But turns out the kiss was more... a matter of how magic behaves and what magic needs, than a retelling of a known fairytale with a queer element. Disappointed, again, I wanted more, I wanted lesbian princesses.
Beautiful. But left me wanting more.