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willsinfinitelibrary's review
5.0
First, I have to say I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Begin honest review. Go.
This collection combines two of my favourite things—fairy tales and scifi. I’m fascinated by the intersection of fantasy and science fiction, and it’s really cool to see fairies translated into aliens, magic into technology, and ancient stories into futurescapes.
In a twitter chat with the authors recently, editor Jaylee James asked a question that strikes at the heart of the anthology:
"Do you think fairy tales will still be relevant in the distant future, or will we invent new fairy tales?"
Each story in Circuits & Slippers seeks to explore this question in some way.
Disclaimer: It’s really hard to review a collection of stories. Even in a collection by a single author, each story is a separate work with its own world, characters, and objectives. Since I can’t go into all of them here, I’ll just give you a little taste of what you can expect overall.
The anthology opens with “The Slumbering Hill,” a Sleeping Beauty retelling that sees Saira, a tech scavenger from a place called The Pits, journey across a desert to find a cozy town without tech where she discovers “fabric not yet made into clothing, seeds not yet grown, and ingredients not yet made into food.” The story is full of wonderfully imaginative details like these, and there is also a story within the story, a type of legend referred to as a “star story,” which is an answer to the earlier question as to the future of fairy tales. Anyway, the star story here is a scifi Sleeping Beauty tale that wraps up into the larger meta-narrative and comes to a satisfying conclusion that sets the perfect tone for the rest of the anthology.
The next tale is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk—but the beanstalk is a space elevator. This story has a similar atmosphere to the first, a wonderful blend of fable and future.
Then things take a dramatic turn with “Alone, and Palely Loitering," which is about Galahad, who is an “automated museum curator," an AI tasked with filling and protecting a grail with the history of Earth after its demise. While the lore it’s based on is still central, the story has a strong scifi atmosphere (in an awesome, creepy, "what happens when we’re gone?" kind of way.) Similarly, "The Last" tells the tale of the last woman from Earth, a warrior who was salvaged from the planet’s wreckage and preserved in a tower as a specimen of humanity. Her final mission...Project Rapunzel.
“CAT Beyond the Moon” mixes things up even more, with a very funny narrator who tells us about a girl named Cara who wants to attend the Newton-Nye institute, and doesn’t think she has a chance until CAT a “Creature for the Annihilation of Tragedy” comes along to help her—after getting a new pair of boots, of course. While the story is set far in the history of our own solar system, there are a lot of hilarious current references, such as the “tragic tale of the Downgrading of Pluto” which is taught to all the children in this world, and is yet another answer to the question of what fairy tales will become.
Another story that stands out is “Le Trotteur,” which takes us into a future version of the Quebecois legend of Alexis Lapointe, who in this reality is a Magskater hurling across gravity-defying tracks. The story has a fun, sporty feel because it's driven by races and speed, yet finds time to slow down to incorporate the strong flavour of French language and culture.
“Fit for Purpose” is narrated by an android, which gives it a unique perspective, and there's some interesting gender stuff going on here as the android is sexualized even though it doesn’t have a gender.
Another one of my favourites, “Compatible” is a hilarious and touching story about an alien studying human hair. It involves a trans human and a “more-male-than-female” alien who can’t quite be Earth-gendered. Here is an example of the humour: “I’m just now realizing how expressive eyebrows can be. Maybe humans use the hair on their head to communicate with other humans, and that’s why they’re obsessed [with it].” Maybe you have to read it in context, but trust me, when you do it’s hilarious.
These are just the stories that stood out to me, but the rest of the anthology doesn’t disappoint. There are cool scifi twists on some of the most conventional tales, like Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, and Beauty and the Beast. And as you find yourself slipping deeper into this timeless future, it becomes clear that the stories themselves are both the questions and the answers—blending the wisdom of the past, the progress of the present, and our hope for the future. Fairy tales are timeless because, in the telling and evolving, they inspire us to push ourselves to the stars.
Begin honest review. Go.
This collection combines two of my favourite things—fairy tales and scifi. I’m fascinated by the intersection of fantasy and science fiction, and it’s really cool to see fairies translated into aliens, magic into technology, and ancient stories into futurescapes.
In a twitter chat with the authors recently, editor Jaylee James asked a question that strikes at the heart of the anthology:
"Do you think fairy tales will still be relevant in the distant future, or will we invent new fairy tales?"
Each story in Circuits & Slippers seeks to explore this question in some way.
Disclaimer: It’s really hard to review a collection of stories. Even in a collection by a single author, each story is a separate work with its own world, characters, and objectives. Since I can’t go into all of them here, I’ll just give you a little taste of what you can expect overall.
The anthology opens with “The Slumbering Hill,” a Sleeping Beauty retelling that sees Saira, a tech scavenger from a place called The Pits, journey across a desert to find a cozy town without tech where she discovers “fabric not yet made into clothing, seeds not yet grown, and ingredients not yet made into food.” The story is full of wonderfully imaginative details like these, and there is also a story within the story, a type of legend referred to as a “star story,” which is an answer to the earlier question as to the future of fairy tales. Anyway, the star story here is a scifi Sleeping Beauty tale that wraps up into the larger meta-narrative and comes to a satisfying conclusion that sets the perfect tone for the rest of the anthology.
The next tale is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk—but the beanstalk is a space elevator. This story has a similar atmosphere to the first, a wonderful blend of fable and future.
Then things take a dramatic turn with “Alone, and Palely Loitering," which is about Galahad, who is an “automated museum curator," an AI tasked with filling and protecting a grail with the history of Earth after its demise. While the lore it’s based on is still central, the story has a strong scifi atmosphere (in an awesome, creepy, "what happens when we’re gone?" kind of way.) Similarly, "The Last" tells the tale of the last woman from Earth, a warrior who was salvaged from the planet’s wreckage and preserved in a tower as a specimen of humanity. Her final mission...Project Rapunzel.
“CAT Beyond the Moon” mixes things up even more, with a very funny narrator who tells us about a girl named Cara who wants to attend the Newton-Nye institute, and doesn’t think she has a chance until CAT a “Creature for the Annihilation of Tragedy” comes along to help her—after getting a new pair of boots, of course. While the story is set far in the history of our own solar system, there are a lot of hilarious current references, such as the “tragic tale of the Downgrading of Pluto” which is taught to all the children in this world, and is yet another answer to the question of what fairy tales will become.
Another story that stands out is “Le Trotteur,” which takes us into a future version of the Quebecois legend of Alexis Lapointe, who in this reality is a Magskater hurling across gravity-defying tracks. The story has a fun, sporty feel because it's driven by races and speed, yet finds time to slow down to incorporate the strong flavour of French language and culture.
“Fit for Purpose” is narrated by an android, which gives it a unique perspective, and there's some interesting gender stuff going on here as the android is sexualized even though it doesn’t have a gender.
Another one of my favourites, “Compatible” is a hilarious and touching story about an alien studying human hair. It involves a trans human and a “more-male-than-female” alien who can’t quite be Earth-gendered. Here is an example of the humour: “I’m just now realizing how expressive eyebrows can be. Maybe humans use the hair on their head to communicate with other humans, and that’s why they’re obsessed [with it].” Maybe you have to read it in context, but trust me, when you do it’s hilarious.
These are just the stories that stood out to me, but the rest of the anthology doesn’t disappoint. There are cool scifi twists on some of the most conventional tales, like Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, and Beauty and the Beast. And as you find yourself slipping deeper into this timeless future, it becomes clear that the stories themselves are both the questions and the answers—blending the wisdom of the past, the progress of the present, and our hope for the future. Fairy tales are timeless because, in the telling and evolving, they inspire us to push ourselves to the stars.
jldelozier's review
5.0
I love anthologies – small bits of exquisite writing I can fit into my day without the commitment of a novel. The submissions are often collated by date, carefully culled from all the short stories published within a year by an editor with her own biases (think “The Year’s Best…”) Disagree with her choices? Then surely you don’t understand art, dahling.
In Circuits & Slippers, the stories are united by a common theme – fairy tales reimagined through a sci-fi filter – leaving the reader free to love, like or hate them, guilt-free. When I learned of its imminent publication, I requested (ok, I begged) an advanced review copy in exchange for a fair review.
The writing varies from average to exquisite with good editing throughout. There were a few minor editorial issues – missed commas, typos etc. – but nothing egregious and certainly nothing which detracted from my enjoyment of the content. The layout was well-done, and – yes, I’m a geek – I loved the fonts and the symbols used for the section breaks. (You did notice the two different fonts in the cover title, right? RIGHT?)
Of the twenty stories, I adored five, two left me scratching my head, and one I simply didn’t like. The other twelve ranged from good-to-very good. The collection included a variety of fairy tales from various cultures, and the characters were refreshingly diverse in their ethnic and sexual orientations.
To me, the mark of a great story is one which sticks in my mind for days and haunts my nights. This book has two such tales. The Last is similar to a story I’ve had lolling around in my head for decades now and never wrote. I’m glad I didn’t. Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney did it so much better. You’ll never look at zoos the same way again.
As for the second, Alone and Palely Loitering is still in my head. It whispers to me in a quiet voice, “Galahad.” I never knew I could ache so badly for a computer, no matter how advanced. Exquisite.
In summary, I found this book to be well-worth my time, and, given its diversity, it will appeal to both men and women across a broad spectrum of genre preferences. While the book is aimed at an adult audience, a few of these updated fairy tales could still be read to children of our modern age, who have grown up tapping on computers. (Prina and the Pea is a prime example.) Some are too dark or too explicit, but not by much. After all, the Grimm brothers were, well, grim. And don’t get me started on Hans Christian Andersen. Read them yourselves, and let me know what you think.
In Circuits & Slippers, the stories are united by a common theme – fairy tales reimagined through a sci-fi filter – leaving the reader free to love, like or hate them, guilt-free. When I learned of its imminent publication, I requested (ok, I begged) an advanced review copy in exchange for a fair review.
The writing varies from average to exquisite with good editing throughout. There were a few minor editorial issues – missed commas, typos etc. – but nothing egregious and certainly nothing which detracted from my enjoyment of the content. The layout was well-done, and – yes, I’m a geek – I loved the fonts and the symbols used for the section breaks. (You did notice the two different fonts in the cover title, right? RIGHT?)
Of the twenty stories, I adored five, two left me scratching my head, and one I simply didn’t like. The other twelve ranged from good-to-very good. The collection included a variety of fairy tales from various cultures, and the characters were refreshingly diverse in their ethnic and sexual orientations.
To me, the mark of a great story is one which sticks in my mind for days and haunts my nights. This book has two such tales. The Last is similar to a story I’ve had lolling around in my head for decades now and never wrote. I’m glad I didn’t. Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney did it so much better. You’ll never look at zoos the same way again.
As for the second, Alone and Palely Loitering is still in my head. It whispers to me in a quiet voice, “Galahad.” I never knew I could ache so badly for a computer, no matter how advanced. Exquisite.
In summary, I found this book to be well-worth my time, and, given its diversity, it will appeal to both men and women across a broad spectrum of genre preferences. While the book is aimed at an adult audience, a few of these updated fairy tales could still be read to children of our modern age, who have grown up tapping on computers. (Prina and the Pea is a prime example.) Some are too dark or too explicit, but not by much. After all, the Grimm brothers were, well, grim. And don’t get me started on Hans Christian Andersen. Read them yourselves, and let me know what you think.
tracydurnell's review
5.0
This anthology was excellent, with a wide range of really great stories, and none that I can point to as weak points. I like my sci fi sans magic, and I appreciated that only one story toed close to the magic versus science side. I'm generally a blast-straight-through reader, and found myself setting this book aside to savor many of the stories before continuing. There were mostly well-known tales, but also some more obscure ones.
One very minor quibble is I wish that they hadn't told me which fairy tale each story was at the beginning - I would have preferred to figure it out as I went and get confirmation at the end.
One very minor quibble is I wish that they hadn't told me which fairy tale each story was at the beginning - I would have preferred to figure it out as I went and get confirmation at the end.
nyphren's review
4.0
I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Circuits & Slippers is an anthology of fairy tales rettelings with a sci-fi twist. I'm not the biggest fan of fairy tales, but I do love a fairy tale retelling when the new version is original, different, but still, well, the fairy tale. That's the main reason Circuits & Slippers caught my attention.
I didn't recognize all fairy tales in this book though, but I was able to enjoy the stories anyway. My favorite was Alone, and Palely Loitering by Nitai R. Poddar, which tells the story of Galahad, an AI tasked with gathering everything humanity has created after Earth was abandoned, but I really enjoyed Mi Sombra by Sara Daniele Rivera and The Last by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney too. Le Trotteur by Claudie Arsenault was also really good & had an awesome asexual character (which had me going :D) and Compatible by C.M. Lloyd was cute and sweet, the kind of story that you read with a big smile on your face.
These are my favorites, but there are many other good stories in Circuit & Slippers. I liked all of them but one or two that didn't caught my attention, and overall it is strong anthology full of talented authors and creative stories. 4.0 stars.
Circuits & Slippers is an anthology of fairy tales rettelings with a sci-fi twist. I'm not the biggest fan of fairy tales, but I do love a fairy tale retelling when the new version is original, different, but still, well, the fairy tale. That's the main reason Circuits & Slippers caught my attention.
I didn't recognize all fairy tales in this book though, but I was able to enjoy the stories anyway. My favorite was Alone, and Palely Loitering by Nitai R. Poddar, which tells the story of Galahad, an AI tasked with gathering everything humanity has created after Earth was abandoned, but I really enjoyed Mi Sombra by Sara Daniele Rivera and The Last by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney too. Le Trotteur by Claudie Arsenault was also really good & had an awesome asexual character (which had me going :D) and Compatible by C.M. Lloyd was cute and sweet, the kind of story that you read with a big smile on your face.
These are my favorites, but there are many other good stories in Circuit & Slippers. I liked all of them but one or two that didn't caught my attention, and overall it is strong anthology full of talented authors and creative stories. 4.0 stars.
misssleepless's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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