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tinynavajo's review
3.0
Good
While I liked the majority of these stories, only a few truly stood out to me. I did like seeing “modern” twists, but not my favorite form of retellings.
While I liked the majority of these stories, only a few truly stood out to me. I did like seeing “modern” twists, but not my favorite form of retellings.
leesmyth's review
4.0
Some I particularly enjoyed:
Tanith Lee – “Red as Blood”
Shveta Thakrar – “Lavanya and Deepika”
Theodora Goss – “Princess Lucinda and the Hound of the Moon”
Gardner Dozois – “Fairy Tale”
Jeff VanderMeer – “Greensleeves”
Pretty good:
Yoon Ha Lee – “Coin of Hearts Desire”
Peter S. Beagle – “The Queen Who Could Not Walk”
Holly Black – “Coat of Stars”
Some interesting twists:
Gene Wolfe – “In the House of Gingerbread”
Nalo Hopkinson – “The Glass Bottle Trick”
Neil Gaiman – “Diamonds and Pearls: A Fairy Tale”
Steve Duffy – “Bears: A Fairy Tale of 1958”
Tanith Lee – “Beauty” (though I'll confess I thought this would go in another direction with the myth of Cupid and Psyche)
Tanith Lee – “Red as Blood”
Shveta Thakrar – “Lavanya and Deepika”
Theodora Goss – “Princess Lucinda and the Hound of the Moon”
Gardner Dozois – “Fairy Tale”
Jeff VanderMeer – “Greensleeves”
Pretty good:
Yoon Ha Lee – “Coin of Hearts Desire”
Peter S. Beagle – “The Queen Who Could Not Walk”
Holly Black – “Coat of Stars”
Some interesting twists:
Gene Wolfe – “In the House of Gingerbread”
Nalo Hopkinson – “The Glass Bottle Trick”
Neil Gaiman – “Diamonds and Pearls: A Fairy Tale”
Steve Duffy – “Bears: A Fairy Tale of 1958”
Tanith Lee – “Beauty” (though I'll confess I thought this would go in another direction with the myth of Cupid and Psyche)
ottersauce's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
4.0
Who didn't love fairy tales as children? And for many of us that fascination has never died. There's something about the possibilities and the lessons that these stories provide. And even when we've heard a story time and time again, it can still keep all its magic.
In this anthology, Paula Guran has collected some of the best re-tellings of our favorite fairy tales in recent memory. These twists on old standards and adaptations breathe new life into these classic stories. You'll find yourself lost in the pages of this book, and it will be well worth it when you come out on the other side.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.]
In this anthology, Paula Guran has collected some of the best re-tellings of our favorite fairy tales in recent memory. These twists on old standards and adaptations breathe new life into these classic stories. You'll find yourself lost in the pages of this book, and it will be well worth it when you come out on the other side.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.]
raemelle's review
3.0
A Long, Mixed Bag
Most of the stories in here were too weird for me. I enjoyed a few, such as the last one which was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a Sci-Fi bent. And I also enjoyed the Wizard of Oz one. The rest were very meh or just plain annoying.
Most of the stories in here were too weird for me. I enjoyed a few, such as the last one which was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a Sci-Fi bent. And I also enjoyed the Wizard of Oz one. The rest were very meh or just plain annoying.
jo_crescent's review
Enjoyed the stories I read but realized I would rather read something else. Not especially satisfying, maybe because I’ve read so many alt fairytales!
tashaw's review against another edition
3.0
Elizabeth Bear's "Follow Me Light" is the best of the stories I had not previously read in other collections.
nuevecuervos's review
4.0
As you may know by now, I'm a huge fan of fairy tales, a sucker for retellings, and a fan of urban fantasy, fantasy and sci fi, so I feel like I'm the target audience for this book many times over. It's also not news that I'm always on the fence about short story collections (unless it's my boy Gaiman, in which case I'm not a reliable source anyway because I'm sort of an obsessive fangirl), and it took me long enough to read this book that I started this review with a knee-jerk three-stars, "it's uneven but those highs" sort of review. Then I went back and revisted the story list to recap my favorites and found that at least 80% were stories that I really enjoyed (even if at least one
disturbed me more than I want to admit). I am SO glad to have read this collection because among these stories live some of the best work in this genre that I have ever seen.
My absolute favorite? Kelly Link's take on the Snow Queen. fucking brilliant, honestly. I loved it so much, I immediately reread it. Next in line are Cat Valente, Elizabeth Bear, and Peter Beagle; no surprise there, but Octavia Cade caught me by surprise because I'd never heard of her and now I have and I'm so pleased! And Ken Liu! Friends, I am not a huge fan of his work just because it tends to be very dude-heavy (see my thoughts on the grace of kings), but his story here! The transhumanism and the kitsune, omg. I was kind of floored.
My least favorite? The three bears. There's a warning in the introduction to this story that the bears face prejudice trying to integrate into 1958 white suburban culture, and our protagonists are, well. Actual bears. But the resolution of this story shouts resoundingly, "If you don't belong, then you should stop trying to fit in and go home where you'll be comfortable," to the point that if someone had told me that it had been written as anti-integration propaganda in the 50's or 60's, I would have totally believed it possible, and I'm deeply uncomfortable with that.
I also understand that The Juniper Tree is named after a fairy tale, but it's a long stretch to call it one as well when it's actually a prequel to many of Stroud's works, detailing his protagonist's molestation one summer. It's really well put together and (depressingly) believable, certainly, but I can't see my way clear to why it's in this collection outside of the title and a vague, vaaaague parallel.
Still this is a book I'm extremely happy to have, and I'm going to shove the snow queen at anyone who will sit still long enough for me to do so.
disturbed me more than I want to admit). I am SO glad to have read this collection because among these stories live some of the best work in this genre that I have ever seen.
My absolute favorite? Kelly Link's take on the Snow Queen. fucking brilliant, honestly. I loved it so much, I immediately reread it. Next in line are Cat Valente, Elizabeth Bear, and Peter Beagle; no surprise there, but Octavia Cade caught me by surprise because I'd never heard of her and now I have and I'm so pleased! And Ken Liu! Friends, I am not a huge fan of his work just because it tends to be very dude-heavy (see my thoughts on the grace of kings), but his story here! The transhumanism and the kitsune, omg. I was kind of floored.
My least favorite? The three bears. There's a warning in the introduction to this story that the bears face prejudice trying to integrate into 1958 white suburban culture, and our protagonists are, well. Actual bears. But the resolution of this story shouts resoundingly, "If you don't belong, then you should stop trying to fit in and go home where you'll be comfortable," to the point that if someone had told me that it had been written as anti-integration propaganda in the 50's or 60's, I would have totally believed it possible, and I'm deeply uncomfortable with that.
I also understand that The Juniper Tree is named after a fairy tale, but it's a long stretch to call it one as well when it's actually a prequel to many of Stroud's works, detailing his protagonist's molestation one summer. It's really well put together and (depressingly) believable, certainly, but I can't see my way clear to why it's in this collection outside of the title and a vague, vaaaague parallel.
Still this is a book I'm extremely happy to have, and I'm going to shove the snow queen at anyone who will sit still long enough for me to do so.
kristikerr's review against another edition
I generally don't love short story collections, but this one was stellar. The stories included were gritty, magical, and absolutely wonderful. This is a book I'm sure I'll re-read over and over. It is definitely adult, however. I considered letting my teenage daughter read it, but the further I got into it, the more I decided against it.