Scan barcode
thewallflower00's review against another edition
1.0
When they say fairy tales retold, they don’t mean “Rapunzel in middle school” or “Cinderella in cyberpunk“. This is more “crank up the maturity by adding sex, drugs, and woman abuse” type of retelling. The themes are skewed toward “men are the devil, women are helpless”. The writing is parched and lifeless and bleak. “The man put a seed in her belly. She lay there while he lay on top of her and did his thing.” And I mean literally using the terms “did his thing”.
Everything screams “I AM WOMAN” and “my character is defined by my womanhood. Whether I spread my legs and let a man on top of me or a take a lover (male or female because love should be free) or I’m a woman in a man’s role. I scream womanness and I have no point beyond that but to be a woman and exist in relationship to men.”
I get that lots of fairy tales are about women suffering due to the actions of men. But when you’re revamping those tales for current sensibilities, they don’t all have to turn it on the same head. Viewing everything from the same lens is dull. Plus it makes everyone unlikable. And I certainly don’t want to read about it over and over.
Especially the female authors. They treat their stories like they’re an artsy short film–all experimental and pretentious. Some of them call it “playing with form”. I call it choosing form over function. Construct over content. Should a collection of short stories really be your experimental ground?
Oh, and two of the stories are of the “set in a world from another story I wrote” variety, and I HATE that. Making your short story as if it’s an advertisement for your other book series. No wonder short stories fell out of favor.
Everything screams “I AM WOMAN” and “my character is defined by my womanhood. Whether I spread my legs and let a man on top of me or a take a lover (male or female because love should be free) or I’m a woman in a man’s role. I scream womanness and I have no point beyond that but to be a woman and exist in relationship to men.”
I get that lots of fairy tales are about women suffering due to the actions of men. But when you’re revamping those tales for current sensibilities, they don’t all have to turn it on the same head. Viewing everything from the same lens is dull. Plus it makes everyone unlikable. And I certainly don’t want to read about it over and over.
Especially the female authors. They treat their stories like they’re an artsy short film–all experimental and pretentious. Some of them call it “playing with form”. I call it choosing form over function. Construct over content. Should a collection of short stories really be your experimental ground?
Oh, and two of the stories are of the “set in a world from another story I wrote” variety, and I HATE that. Making your short story as if it’s an advertisement for your other book series. No wonder short stories fell out of favor.
kittehloaf's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was an interesting take on old fairy tales. Plus I was a sucker for the cover because of the vintage look. There were some stories I did not care for and others that I actually enjoyed!
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
4.0
This was really enjoyable! A lot of anthologies vary wildly in quality from story to story but this one was great all the way through. I've added a few names to my tbr because I loved their retellings so much. The best part of this collection was that the stories were not always based on common fairy tales so it never felt trite and "done."
mehitabels's review against another edition
5.0
Another to add to the Buy List - wonderful collection of fairy tales, yes, familiar, and no, new and wonderful retakes. Needed in any collection of tales.
My favorite? Hard to choose, but The Thousand Eyes by [a:Jeffrey Ford|19305|Jeffrey Ford|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1271689548p2/19305.jpg] stayed with me for a long time.
My favorite? Hard to choose, but The Thousand Eyes by [a:Jeffrey Ford|19305|Jeffrey Ford|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1271689548p2/19305.jpg] stayed with me for a long time.
alexware's review against another edition
4.0
Naomi Novik, Amal El-Mohtar, Marjorie Liu: five stars.
Kat Howard, Theodora Goss, Daryl Gregory: fun and enjoyable.
Catherynne Valente, Stephen Graham Jones: so disturbing I couldn't even look at the book for several days.
Kat Howard, Theodora Goss, Daryl Gregory: fun and enjoyable.
Catherynne Valente, Stephen Graham Jones: so disturbing I couldn't even look at the book for several days.
jelomath's review against another edition
3.0
Overall fine. Kinda wish could rank stories individually, cause some are great and some are not.
caitcoy's review against another edition
3.0
I have long been a fan of fairy tales. When I was young, I loved reading about princesses and dragons and rescues and dark dangers in the woods. All of these were my bread and butter. It's part of why Neil Gaiman has long been one of my favorite authors. So this story, nominated for the World Fantasy Award and winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2017 was right in my wheelhouse.
The story follows two women, each with their own particular magical burden to bear. Amira is stuck in an unreachable glass tower, forced to remain still and watch and listen as she is pursued by suitors who must climb the tower to reach her. Tabitha carries seven pairs of iron shoes, which she must wear down by walking around the world and which constantly tear up her feet. Both of the women have a reason that they bear these burdens and as they meet and get to know each other, they get new perspectives on their choices and their possible futures.
This story is a dark twist on several fairytales and makes reference to even more. It plays with certain expectations for fantasy literature and the language is beautiful and visceral, it creates an instant imagery in a way that I'd previously only seen with Stephen King.
"She looks down at her own feet, then up at the hill. She reckons the quality of her pain in numbers, but not by degree: if her pain is a six it is because it is cold, blue with an edge to it; if her pain is a seven it is red, inflamed, bleeding; if her pain is a three it has a rounded yellow feel, dull and perhaps draining infection.
Her pain at present is a five, green and brown, sturdy and stable, and ought to be enough to manage the ascent.
She waits until sunset, and sets out across the clearing."
El-Mohtar is very good with the imagery and the rules of fairy tales and uses both to great effect during the course of "Seasons of Glass and Iron." It is occasionally an uncomfortable read but very much a compelling one.
I'm not sure I love all of the implications of this story but it's incredibly well written and very much deserves the praise it's received. Well worth reading.
The story follows two women, each with their own particular magical burden to bear. Amira is stuck in an unreachable glass tower, forced to remain still and watch and listen as she is pursued by suitors who must climb the tower to reach her. Tabitha carries seven pairs of iron shoes, which she must wear down by walking around the world and which constantly tear up her feet. Both of the women have a reason that they bear these burdens and as they meet and get to know each other, they get new perspectives on their choices and their possible futures.
This story is a dark twist on several fairytales and makes reference to even more. It plays with certain expectations for fantasy literature and the language is beautiful and visceral, it creates an instant imagery in a way that I'd previously only seen with Stephen King.
"She looks down at her own feet, then up at the hill. She reckons the quality of her pain in numbers, but not by degree: if her pain is a six it is because it is cold, blue with an edge to it; if her pain is a seven it is red, inflamed, bleeding; if her pain is a three it has a rounded yellow feel, dull and perhaps draining infection.
Her pain at present is a five, green and brown, sturdy and stable, and ought to be enough to manage the ascent.
She waits until sunset, and sets out across the clearing."
El-Mohtar is very good with the imagery and the rules of fairy tales and uses both to great effect during the course of "Seasons of Glass and Iron." It is occasionally an uncomfortable read but very much a compelling one.
I'm not sure I love all of the implications of this story but it's incredibly well written and very much deserves the praise it's received. Well worth reading.
borrowedandbacklist's review against another edition
4.0
What a fantastic collection of fairy tale retellings! I loved the mix of fantasy, sci-fi and horror, the authors’ notes at the end of each selection, the range of settings and structures and the tiny art.
syltetoy's review
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75