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A review by valhecka
Snow White, Blood Red by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling
4.0
Anthologies are hard to review. This series more than most.
First, content warnings: rape, attempted rape, pedophilia, incest, mutilation, gore, child abuse, animal abuse.
You know. Fairy tale stuff.
The first several stories left me cold. Enough dark-and-bitter to get by on, but not great. E.A. Lynn's "Princess in the Tower" was great; Melanie Tem's "The Changelings" was ... difficult but worth it. Stevermer and Edmonds had my favorite in the collection, "The Springfield Swans." Rysdyk's is weird and creepy-good. Friesner's "Puss" is a hard read but I think among the most interesting worlds built out for a retelling. McKillip's "The Snow Queen" is beautiful. The final story, "Breadcrumbs and Stones" by Lisa Goldstein, is a meta-story that plays on the same themes as Yolen's novel Briar Rose; it's very thought-provoking.
I got SOMETHING out of every story, but only a few were really what I'd consider fun reading - granted, the editors couldn't be more clear about their goal for this series of anthologies.
First, content warnings: rape, attempted rape, pedophilia, incest, mutilation, gore, child abuse, animal abuse.
You know. Fairy tale stuff.
The first several stories left me cold. Enough dark-and-bitter to get by on, but not great. E.A. Lynn's "Princess in the Tower" was great; Melanie Tem's "The Changelings" was ... difficult but worth it. Stevermer and Edmonds had my favorite in the collection, "The Springfield Swans." Rysdyk's is weird and creepy-good. Friesner's "Puss" is a hard read but I think among the most interesting worlds built out for a retelling. McKillip's "The Snow Queen" is beautiful. The final story, "Breadcrumbs and Stones" by Lisa Goldstein, is a meta-story that plays on the same themes as Yolen's novel Briar Rose; it's very thought-provoking.
I got SOMETHING out of every story, but only a few were really what I'd consider fun reading - granted, the editors couldn't be more clear about their goal for this series of anthologies.