A review by marvelruinedmyspirit
That Way Madness Lies: Fifteen of Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined by Dahlia Adler

2.5

I think I've come to terms with the fact that I love fanfiction but hate retellings...

  • Severe Weather Warning (Inspired by The Tempest) by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka - 1.5/5 - This was nothing
     
  • Shipwrecked (Inspired by Twelfth Night) by Mark Oshiro - 2/5 - The story was ok, but the writing was not very good
     
  • Taming of the Soul mate (Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew) by K. Ancrum - 5/5 - I was so ready to hate this story because I despise the original play but this was so fucking good. K. Ancrum has never let me down.
     
  • King of the Fairies (Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream) by Anna-Marie McLemore - 3/5 - Meh. It was fine, but I didn't love the writing style.
     
  • We Have Seen Better Days (Inspired by As You Like It) by Lily Anderson - 2/5 - This felt so unfinished, I'm honestly confused. Also I had to deduct a whole star for fucking Lando. "I’d prefer someone who didn’t think reality TV counts as cinema verité." I despise you.
     
  • Some Other Metal (Inspired by Much Ado About Nothing) by A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy - 2/5 - I hated the writing of this story.
     
  • I Bleed (Inspired by The Merchant of Venice) by Dahlia Adler - 4/5 - I did not need to be in the head of a white supremacist... Also. Let Shylock have his pound of flesh!
     
  • His Invention (Inspired by Sonnet 147) by Brittany Cavallaro - 1.5/5 - ???? Again, this is nothing.
     
  • Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow (Inspired by Romeo and Juliet) by Kiersten White - 1/5 - Romeo and Juliet but what if it was absolute dogshit?
     
  • Dreaming of the Dark (Inspired by Julius Caesar) by Lindsay Smith - 1.5 /5 - This is a bad retelling and a poorly written, confusing story.
     
  • The Tragedy of Cory Lanez: An Oral History (Inspired by Coriolanus) by Tochi Onyebuchi - 3/5 - This was interesting but sadly the format didn't make it easy for me to understand what was happening.
     
  • Out of the Storm (Inspired by King Lear) by Joy McCullough - 2/5 - I'm tired of the formatting of these stories being weird, and I don't get what this is a retelling of, because King Lear isn't it.
     
  • Elsinore (Inspired by Hamlet) by Patrice Caldwell - 4/5 - The ending was a bit abrupt, and I'm a bit puzzled by the name changes in this story... But overall I did like it.
     
  • We Fail (Inspired by Macbeth) by Samantha Mabry - 2/5 - I... don't see how that's relevant to the original story tbh
     
  • Lost Girl (Inspired by The Winter’s Tale) by Melissa Bashardoust - 4.5/5 - I really really liked this one, the writing was good and the plot made sense for the original play, I just wish we'd gotten more of an ending.