I bought the Fenestra deck because the art intrigued me - it seemed like an unusual mix of "art deco meets manga meets Egyptian mythology." Definitely a few steps away from the standard RW.
The good:
1) manufactured by US Games Systems, Inc., home to the RRW. The cards are glossy and plastified, which makes them durable and easy to keep clean;
2) the symbolism follows the standard Waite tradition, making the Fenestra Tarot a good beginner's deck;
3) the Major Arcana cards are differentiated from the Minors both by their border patterns and Roman numerals.
4) the artist's rendition of the Ten of Swords is by far the most beautiful artwork in this deck, as is the double rose pattern on the back of the cards.
The not-so-good:
There are a few cards that I just can't take seriously. They make me want to crack up every time I look at them:
a) The Five of Cups; well, to ME, the character portrayed almost looks like he's trying to feel himself down his pants;
b) Justice; the skin-tight hosiery, white socks and pointy slippers bring to mind a medieval court jester;
c) The Hermit; the character looks like a nicely built, spandex-wearing twenty-year-old boy who glued a long whitish faux-beard onto his chin;
d) The Devil; I'm sorry, but if the Devil's face isn't supposed to be a likeness of Anton LaVey, I'll eat my shorts.
Unfortunately, these four cards just killed it for me as far as the Fenestra is concerned. I just can't work with a deck containing cards that make my mouth twitch at the corner everytime they pop up in a reading. And it's a real shame because otherwise, I like the look of this deck. Granted, these are entirely subjective impressions and there are bound to be many people who won't perceive the above-mentioned cards the same way I perceive them.
To sum up: more good than bad, but the bad is just too distracting for this deck to warrant a four or five-star rating.
