Ansel (protagonist); Charles (troll); Demure; Archer; Librarians; Ansel's friends; Ansel's parents; beings of Ansel's village (first appearance of all characters)
Synopsis
Ansel, who lives in a fairy-tale village, has visions of the modern world, and believes that the people living there are the mysterious Folklords. When they come of age, Ansel and Archer plan a quest to find the Folklords, but the Guild of Librarians cancels all quests in the interests of safety, proclaiming that pursuing knowledge of the Folklords is punishable by death. Ansel and Archer slip away from the village by night, abetted by a mysterious Librarian.
Ansel; Archer; Greta; Archer's adoptive parents (in flashback); the Weeping Wood Killer
Synopsis
Ansel and Archer are accosted by the huge Weeping Wood Killer, but manage to escape. In the woods they find Greta, who is lost and alone, and take her under their care; she gives them information on the Killer. Ansel dreams of a message from the Folklords, then of a candy-covered house in the forest. When he wakes, he's a prisoner of the Weeping Wood Killer.
"Once upon a time?" Maybe this was a bedtime story.
Genre
fantasy-supernatural
Characters
Hanz; Greta; Ansel; Ugly; Tines (in flashback)
Synopsis
Greta explains to Ansel why she and Hanz are going to torture him to death, as they have done with so many others. Ugly attacks and kills both the warped children, after which Ansel and Ugly burn the gingerbread cottage. Ugly truculently agrees to join Ansel on his quest.
The mysterious librarian helps Ansel and Ugly enter the library, where they find captive gnomes living out the stories of each book. They discover Archer in a World War I story.
Ansel; Ugly; Archer; mysterious librarian [Sal Paradise]; John Ronald (writer) (Folklord); Demure; hostile librarians; freed gnomes; unknown narrator (unseen)
Synopsis
The Folklord John Roland tries to kill Ansel and Ugly, but is killed instead by Demure and Sal. Sal stays behind to control the other librarians, and Archer disappears, but Ansel, Ugly, and Demure continue on Ansel's quest, as the freed gnomes head for home. Meanwhile in this world the narrator, who dresses in the clothing styles of Ansel's world, races to the New York Public Library.