Reviews

The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen

jess_mango's review

4.0

The Midnight Circus is a collection of short stories that read like dark fairy tales. They have all have a lingering magic whether hidden or very much visible. While the stories are both modern and set ages ago, they all have a similar vibe. As with many story collections, I found some of the entries in this collection to be much stronger than others. This would be a great book to keep in your bag for when you have spare moments waiting for an appointment or riding the train.


3.5 stars


Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

marieintheraw's review

3.0

Short stories are can be a mixed bag especially when they are all done by the same person. While this collection did introduce me to Yolen's work and I may pick up something by her in the future, overall, this was a miss for me.

I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.

aklev13's review

3.0

This is a decent collection of stories from a fairytale writing legend. Some i liked more than others naturally, hence the down the middle 3 star rating.
Notable stories for me were:
Wilding
Little Red
Dog Boy Remembers
Become a Warrior
and Night Wolves.

Jane Yolen has a particularly nice way of creating imagery and using metaphors. There were a few times i wanted to write down lovely sentences but i neglected to so you’ll have to read it yourself sometime

mrzachyt's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

jennaslack's review

Not good 

kvltprincess's review

4.0

This was my first Jane Yolen book, and I really liked it! I will be checking out her other stuff too.

sausome's review

3.0

This collection was not at all what I expected. For example, the stories are certainly not circus themed or dark-carnival themed in any way. Rather, this is a collection of dark stories. Dark, in that humans are dark, brooding, violent, harmful, etc. This collection was "Human Nature Dark," which is fine, if that's a collection you're expecting to read. I think I would have rather known that going in than to have been faced with this particular collection. It reminded me a bit more of the "Monserland" episodes on Hulu right now - vaguely supernatural/paranormal/spooky/beasts, etc., but more "humans are monsters and it sucks."

Jane Yolen can brood and present brooding dark people, no doubt. My rating is more about the collection as a whole and my surprise at it being so so different from what I expected/wanted.

tasharobinson's review

3.0

Much like the last Jane Yolen short story collection I read, this one's full of stories so brief and quick that they feel unfinished, even as they come to natural conclusions full of fairy-tale logic. There are a few longer ones here, and they're real winners — one that taps into Jewish lore and sends a mysterious, metaphorical monster after a Jewish boy, and another that follows a band of future teenager on a tech-enhanced wilding spree in Central Park. I kept wishing for more stories like those, ones with a little more space for the world-building and character-building, instead of the quick rush to the punchline. But the book went quick, it was full of surprises, and I was never bored.

nica00's review

3.0

An interesting collection of dark, eerie stories that lean heavily on historical retelling, folklore, and fantasy. My enjoyment of the stories ranged from 2-4 stars out of 5. I grew up reading Jane Yolen’s fantasy stories of dragons & adventures, and I still notice the instructional tone to Yolen’s writing as in many stories in the fairy tale format. But these stories are definitely for an adult audience due some occasions of abuse, gore, and body horror in this collection.

I received an arc from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinions.

danielcantread's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5