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Summary: Additional information on this book:
Review: As with any anthology, every writer has a different style, and some of the styles you won't be wild about. But being an anthology, you can also skip over stories that aren't meeting your expectations. I'll start with the worst stories. Tanith Lee, whose voice is usually sensual and mesmerizing falls a little flat with 'Kiss Kiss', a new take of the Frog Prince tale. 'Toad' another Frog Prince story is also a bore, but still, the worst are pretty much just stories that don't stand out in the whole of the book. My favorite short stories were probably these ones: 1)Glass Coffin by Caitlin R. Kiernan was a lyrical and haunting mixture of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. 2)Precious by Nalo Hopkinson is a story that goes past the story and wonders what happens to the girl who's been 'blessed' with jewels every time she talks. 3)The Sea Hag by Melissa Lee Shaw is a great story that goes behind the whole 'villian' persona and gives the 'villian' her own voice. 4)Ivory Bones by Susan Wade is a poetic and saddening story of Thumbelina with an ending not expected. 5)The Wild Heart by Anne Bishop was another haunting story by Anne Bishop, who has a natural talent for writing. There are other worthwhile entries, such as Clad in Gossamer and The Shell Box to check out. Overall it is a satisfying read of adult fairy tales.
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Summary: Some good, some bad, but worth a look
Review: As with any anthology, every writer has a different style, and some of the styles you won't be wild about. But being an anthology, you can also skip over stories that aren't meeting your expectations. I'll start with the worst stories. Tanith Lee, whose voice is usually sensual and mesmerizing falls a little flat with 'Kiss Kiss', a new take of the Frog Prince tale. 'Toad' another Frog Prince story is also a bore, but still, the worst are pretty much just stories that don't stand out in the whole of the book. My favorite short stories were probably these ones: 1)Glass Coffin by Caitlin R. Kiernan was a lyrical and haunting mixture of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. 2)Precious by Nalo Hopkinson is a story that goes past the story and wonders what happens to the girl who's been 'blessed' with jewels every time she talks. 3)The Sea Hag by Melissa Lee Shaw is a great story that goes behind the whole 'villian' persona and gives the 'villian' her own voice. 4)Ivory Bones by Susan Wade is a poetic and saddening story of Thumbelina with an ending not expected. 5)The Wild Heart by Anne Bishop was another haunting story by Anne Bishop, who has a natural talent for writing. There are other worthwhile entries, such as Clad in Gossamer and The Shell Box to check out. Overall it is a satisfying read of adult fairy tales.
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Summary: Additional information on this book:
Review: I have just learned that this book has been short-listed for the World Fantasy Award, 2000. Congratulations!
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Summary: Dark Fun
Review: Remember those Fairy Tales you read when you were a kid? There were evil stepmothers, good fairies, greedy kings, and beautiful princesses. Even though these stories had happy endings, you still felt there was something dark just under the surface that just didn't quite add up. This book (and others in the series) takes your favorite tales and shows you what might have been going on behind the scenes. An adult twist to children's tales.
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Summary: Dark Fun
Review: Remember those Fairy Tales you read when you were a kid? There were evil stepmothers, good fairies, greedy kings, and beautiful princesses. Even though these stories had happy endings, you still felt there was something dark just under the surface that just didn't quite add up. This book (and others in the series) takes your favorite tales and shows you what might have been going on behind the scenes. An adult twist to children's tales.
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Summary: Good and bad
Review: Silver Birch, Blood Moon mixes good re-tellings with horrible ones. It has stories that are funny, evil, good, terrible, brand new, re-told, and many others. I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it but there are better out there. I guess it is the same with all mixed books. I enjoyed a lot of the stories, despised about as many. I loved the re-telling of The Little Mermaid in The Sea Hag, but didn't aprove of The Glass Cofin which was just depressing. It was a good book and was enjoyable. I recomend it.
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Summary: A sad, sad thing
Review: Somebody made a grave mistake! I was surprised by the lack of good stories in this one as compared to the other dark fairy-tale collections by these editors, all of which were endlessly satisfying to me. This book I bought on a whim before I had read it....what a waste of money! Terribly dissapointing, although there are decent parts in the book, hidden in a nook or cranny if you look enough. Save yourself the money and rent this from the library if you don't believe me...maybe you'll end up agreeing with me.
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Summary: A sad, sad thing
Review: Somebody made a grave mistake! I was surprised by the lack of good stories in this one as compared to the other dark fairy-tale collections by these editors, all of which were endlessly satisfying to me. This book I bought on a whim before I had read it....what a waste of money! Terribly dissapointing, although there are decent parts in the book, hidden in a nook or cranny if you look enough. Save yourself the money and rent this from the library if you don't believe me...maybe you'll end up agreeing with me.
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: The FIFTH in the series of altered faery tales, it's a heckuva good time. Evidently a modern fantasy trend, Datlow and Windling can't put these out fast enough; I believe there's at least 1 more following this. These tales are good reads in their own right, but add the satisfying pop-pyschology crunch of being able to dissect the original tale through its modern and fractured counterpart and you've got a great read. While again, these are being turned out like organic vegetarian pizzas in Hell-A, I never felt cheated or subjected to a formula. These authors are varied in language and message, even if some themes are awfully similar. The worst that can be said about this particulair series is that it may have a feminist slant at times, being written mostly (16 out of 20) by women, and likely FOR, women, screw it. If you've got a problem with it, go grab something that Mike Whelan drew the cover art for. While some of the themes are a bit heavy, (domestic violence / female oppression in "Kiss Kiss") overall, it's pretty light-hearted, and dang it (can I say it again), it makes you think in an easy, cerebral but not all-encompassing way about the folktales that shaped our imaginations and interesting modifications of them. Pick it up, and the rest, too. I'll warn you if, as is inevitable in fiction trends, it becomes overdone and heavy-handed.
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Summary: Angela Carter would be pleased
Review: The FIFTH in the series of altered faery tales, it's a heckuva good time. Evidently a modern fantasy trend, Datlow and Windling can't put these out fast enough; I believe there's at least 2 following this. These tales are good reads in their own right, but add the satisfying pop-pyschology crunch of being able to dissect the original tale through its modern and fractured counterpart and you've got a great read. While again, these are being turned out like organic vegetarian pizzas in Hell-A, I never felt cheated or subjected to a formula. These authors are varied in language and message, even if some themes are awfully similar. The worst that can be said about this particulair series is that it may have a feminist slant at times, being written mostly (16 out of 20) by women, and likely FOR, women, screw it. If you've got a problem with it, go grab something that Mike Whelan drew the cover art for. While some of the themes are a bit heavy, (domestic violence / female oppression in "Kiss Kiss") overall, it's pretty light-hearted, and dang it (can I say it again), it makes you think in an easy, cerebral but not all-encompassing way about the folktales that shaped our imaginations and interesting modifications of them. Pick it up, and the rest, too. I'll warn you if, as is inevitable in fiction trends, it becomes overdone and heavy-handed.
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