This is clever literature that makes for a good entry point into fantasy stories without really being a fantasy story. It's really a self-aware fairy tale (like The Princess Bride) using two literary quirks to make it so enjoyable. The first is that it is indeed self-aware, both from the storyteller's perspective and the characters' perspectives.The second is the author misuses relatively common words to describe things specific to the story's universe ('gazebo' for a game animal, 'pismire' for

Self-aware sword+sorcery fairy tale replete with witches, goblins, necromany, lost heirs, riddlemonsters, secret passages, potions, and the like.Infuriating & awesome repurposement of existing english words, e.g. "For supper she had prepared piecemeal panbread, a platter of protons, and an ample haunch of gazebo" which is hilarious but sometimes to the detriment of understanding. Likewise, there are a lot of similarly-named characters who are not sufficiently developed to distinguish themselves

This may be the perfect modern fairy-tale book. It has wonderful characters both noble and villainous, a quest, a prophecy, and a Doom. If any of that appeals to you, stop reading this review and read the book!

Based on the chorus of a song the Clancy Brothers simply called “Morning Glory,” One for the Morning Glory conveniently divides its story (slightly asymmetrically) by means of that chorus’ four lines. The song, at least in the Clancy version, tells the familiar seaman’s tale of seducing women ashore and coming back to find them all with babies which look amazingly like him. In the Clancy version, the last line, “And four for the love of you,” refers to four sisters waiting on the dock for him wi...

Went from whimsically charming (who doesn't love a good gazebo hunt?) to startlingly dark and serious in spots. Comparisons to The Princess Bride are apt, and I think Westley and Amatus might get along.

The jacket compares this to William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, and it is easy to see some resemblance. Both are fantasy stories in which the author speaks directly to the reader for humorous intent. The device of the book within a book in The Princess Bride allows Goldman to comment on the story itself; Barnes has his characters comment on it, as they realize that they are part of a tale. Post-modern fantasy. Whowouldathunkit.And it works for the most part. Barnes deconstructs the typical fai...

Four strange guardians come to young Prince Amatus after the prince loses half of himself -- the left half -- in a magical accident. Contending with monstrous disturbances and a looming war, Amatus and his Companions are conscious of being inside a story, but they all disagree on what kind of tale they comprise.One for the Morning Glory is a gleeful exercise in epic quests and meta-narratives. It begins cleverly, and then it develops into something deep and genuinely moving, and then it...loses

I would give this 6 stars if I could. I can't believe it took me so long to hear about this delightful book! However, I'm glad I didn't find it too soon -- a reader needs to be steeped in the fantasy genre to really appreciate this book. Also, it must be read with a dictionary close to hand! Make sure you look up some of the unfamiliar words, because while the meaning is absolutely clear in context, the juxtaposition of the real meaning is part of the joy of reading it.

For some reason when I started this I was skeptical, but it was damn good.It's a story that the characters almost know they're in, which changes perhaps how they think about things, but not what they can do. It's self-referential - it reads a bit like a historical account, since characters write their accounts of it afterwards, and the novel refers back to those accounts but also gives you the thought processes of those characters at the time.Possibly my favorite jokes: firing omnibuses and eati...

Don't you love that feeling when you're reading a book that you found on your own, that you'd never heard of anywhere, and as you read you realize that you've discovered something special that you'll carry with you all your life?I bought One for the Morning Glory from my local used books store because it had a Charles Vess cover and a cool title. That's all. It set on my shelf for a few months and I picked it to read at random. The opening scene was strange and funny and a bit violent, and I kne...

A fantasy novel set in a land where they know they are living in a fairy tale. Unlike those lands that are merely actual. . . . Where everything that is very old is bound to be true. Where every tale that is told is bound to have happened.Prince Amatus drinks the Wine of the Gods while only a little child, and "A child who tastes the Wine of the Gods too early is only half a person afterwards." The right half as it turns out. And King Boniface hands out prompt justice to the Prince's Personal Ma...

I enjoyed the first part of this but it confused me the further on it got. Interestingly written, but I'm still baffled.

A very unique work, self-aware and sparkling with wit.

"One for the Morning Glory" by John Barnes is an deeply enjoyable fantasy that holds a special place in my heart. After being given a copy to read in high school, I read it in one sitting cover to cover. Ever since then, I have worn out one copy reading it two to three times a year. It is my favorite book of all time and I wanted to re-read it in order to write a review explaining why everyone should read it.The plot is simple: in a mythical kingdom, Prince Amatus, the only heir to the Kingdom,

I read this a few weeks ago, while I was recovering for awful virus, but I'm only now getting around to writing about it!And, hmn, I'm not sure what to say. The novel is explicitly a fairy tale -- explicit in the sense that many of the characters recognise that they're inside a particular sort of story, and have expectations about what might happen in the future, or ways of understanding the past, based on their own understanding of fairy tales. But it's not a fairy tale of the reader's world, b...

One of my all time favorite books. A modern take on classic fairy tales.

One for the Morning Glory (1996) 319 pages by John Barnes. I have to call this story a fairy tale. Even the characters in the story refer to it as such. The style reminds me of the old Saturday morning cartoons like Rocky & Bullwinkle or Fractured Fairy Tales. Don't let that make you think less of this book. Barnes crafts an excellent story to go along with the tongue in cheek humor. It is said that a child who tastes the wine of the gods too early is only half the person afterward. In this tale...

This book is more creative than I thought it would be. Some parts were downright clever.It feels like it's written at the junior high level, but the author made an attempt to make it palatable to adults as well. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I were younger.

A winsome fairy tale for grown-ups. Not since T.H. White's 'The Once and Future King' have I read a book that melded humor and pathos so splendidly.

Too much thought was put into how to make this book self-aware fantasy and none was put into making the plot or the characters interesting.I skipped the last two chapters (including the climax) but I’m still counting this one.