Saving Fable
Scott Reintgen
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Side characters can be heroes too in this charming and fast-paced adventure that is The Land of Stories meets The Phantom Tollbooth!
Indira has been a character-in-waiting her entire life. So she can’t believe her luck when she’s finally chosen to travel to Fable and study at the renowned Protagonist Preparatory, a school known for producing the best heroes.
But Indira’s dreams of achieving hero status don’t exactly go as planned. A failed audition lands her in the school’s side-character track, and her best efforts to prove advisors–famous characters like Alice from Wonderland and Professor Darcy–wrong are constantly sabotaged. Indira is starting to feel like an evil antagonist might be to blame.
As the danger spreads, Indira discovers all of Fable is under siege. With her friends Maxi and Phoenix by her side, she pieces together clues that will reveal who is behind the dark magic threatening them all. But the more Indira uncovers, the more doubt she feels about her place in this world of stories. After all, can a side character really save the day?
Indira Story is a great character in Saving Fable. From when we first meet her in Origin and throughout her journey we see her learn what it means to be a protagonist in your own story. There were some parts where she wanted to give up and go to Quiver or the Antagonist school, however she overcame her issues and tried to save Fable instead.
Maxi and Phoenix work great as secondary characters, whilst fitting the trope of two best friends. I particularly liked Maxi’s story arc as she recieves a hero’s gold jacket when first arriving at school, which completely alters her actions towards Indira, but then they talk it out like smart people.
The villains of the story were quite fun as your didn’t know who they were going to be. It takes a lot of time to get to the bottom of who the villain is, and it was a good twist. I especially loved the motivations behind their actions, and Reintgen took time to ensure this was clear for the reader.
Whilst most characters we meet at first are auditioning to be heroes and sidekicks, some characters in Fable audition for much smaller roles. Mrs. Pennington and her son Patch audition to be the protagonist’s family whilst at school. The Adoption Agency was a gorgeous scene, where we really learn more about each of the characters due to them matching up to their families. I also loved how good of a mother Mrs. Pennington was to both Patch and Indira – and how she really helps in the story. This was a subversion of the normaly dead or oblivious parents trope.
I loved the world building of this book. All the areas are named about books – so we start of in Origin but then move across to the town of Fable. This is where Protagonist Preparatory is, and I enjoyed how Fable was constantly changing up what it looked like. Similar to a collection of fairy tale stories, each chapter had a different setting with just as much magic.
Protagonist Preparatory was brilliantly thought out. From the classes of Love by Page 12, I Thought You Were Dead, and How to Get Captured and Narrowly Escape – which were intriguing. Alice in Wonderland’s Alice was a brilliant teacher. Plus the different hearths you can sit under for certain power ups was a lovely touch. I’d love to be able to sit down somewhere to build my courage!
The overall theme of the story is that everyone can be a hero of their *own* story – or at least that’s what I took from Saving Fable. You may have been placed in certain boxes, but you can always work your way upwards.
I loved the motivation Indira has at the start of the book, and the action near the end. I found the middle to get a little it muddled and messy plot-wise, and I didn’t really know what was happening. However, the world building and characters made up for this.
I loved that this book is a bit of a love letter to books and reading in it’s own way. Based on books means it broke the fourth wall a little bit, it narrated itself and pointed out tropes and aspects of writing that make you laugh.
Positives of Saving Fable
- Strong characters
- Clever plot
Negatives of Saving Fable
- Gets a bit muddled in the middle
I received Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review
