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Snow White, Blood Red
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
62 of 230
Snow White , Blood Red (Fairy tale anthology book 1)
Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exploring the darker side of popular fairy tales, this anthology features dark and erotic tales of trolls and ogres, bewitched princesses, and magical kingdoms.

There were a few I picked out that I liked and I found a few new authors to try.

The Frog Prince by Gahan Wilson - Really enjoyed this it was a strange little story very Alice in Wonderland feel.

Stalking Beans by Nancy Kress - This is definitely a different adult spin on Jack and the beanstalk!

Snow Drop by Tabitha Lee - This was my favourite by far. A dark twisty version of Snow White and her step mother very dark.

Little Red by Wendy Wheeler - This gave me creepy shivers. Very well written unfortunately I can’t find anything by this author!

The Root of the Matter by Gregory Frost - This is a very adult version of Repunzel kinda dark and to the point.

The Changelings by Melanie Tem - Strange little story with some very sad undertones.

Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman - I love Neil Gaiman he has such a unique storytelling ability and this did not disappoint!

Overall it was a good little anthology!
  
TH
The Horns of Elfland
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It took a while to track down this volume, as it has long been out of print. Interlibrary loan was, once again, my friend. But how odd to read an actual physical book again, when I've been reading ebooks almost exclusively lately!

Most of the stories were a bit darker than anticipated. 1997 was not such a depressing time to me, so I'm not sure why that would be the case.

I've had to send the book back to the library already, so I don't have it at hand despite finishing it last night.

The first standout story was "The Drummer and the Skins" by [a:John Brunner|23113|John Brunner|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234623516p2/23113.jpg]. Finding a reference to a Yoruban peoples' tradition in a white British author's story was somewhat surprising, but go figure. I'm a white southern American woman, too. I suppose some people might argue that neither of us have no right to be interested/know about such things/whatever. I think of Brunner as a very hard SF writer, so that was especially surprising from him. His inclusion in a fantasy anthology was a surprise altogether. These surprises are some of the things I enjoy about anthologies - they challenge my assumptions.

I was rather bitter when I first thought I understood what [a:Terri Windling|46137|Terri Windling|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235254340p2/46137.jpg]'s novelette "The Color of Angels was about. "Just what I need to read about," I told Sam. "A story about a woman gradually losing everything she loves to illness." MS, in the story (not one of my diagnoses, but it hit far too close to home, anyway). Suffice it to say that I was glad that I continued to read.

Even if I hadn't been happy with where the story went, I would not have been able to resist Windling's writing. She brings in so much of the world - colors, textures, music - so that I felt far more immersed in that one piece than I have in my own life at times. She is marvelously evocative. I haven't managed to put my hands on any of the Bordertown/Borderlands books, despite seeking them for a long time. Now I'm adding her solo works to to the "look for" list, and pushing them much higher on the priority scale.

"The Death of Raven" by [a:Ellen Kushner|11889|Ellen Kushner|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243007888p2/11889.jpg] was unexpectedly comforting. Very brief, quite simply, but one I would love to see reprinted to increase its availability. (It may have been reprinted, for all I know. I certainly hope that it has been.) I've got Kushner's novels on my "to-read" shelf, but I think I'll move them up a bit.