Title: Wolfland Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Horror, Retellings Dates read: 8th December 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: Gradually, then, the voices of the other wolves began to dull, eventually falling quiet.
In “Wolfland”, Lisel takes a trip through the woods to visit her grandmother – who bears little resemblance to the loving old woman we expect.
This was a really cool Red Riding Hood retelling. Not the kind I was expecting, but certainly an enjoyable one. I kind of totally adored this and was really sad that it was over so soon. I could imagine an entire saga created about this version of Red Riding Hood. And I would most definitely read it.
A bit of a spoiler here… but I loved the fact that Grandma was actually the big bad wolf… of a sorts. And her reasons for becoming such a scary beast were absolutely on point!!! Even though it was a little bit scary…
Although I seriously loved this short story, I was still completely horrified by it. Particularly the ending. Which is probably why I keep wishing that this was a bigger series.
Title: The Princess and her Future Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Fairy tales Dates read: 1st December 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: But such an idea was foolish.
All she wants is to know what her future holds… but it’s not the shiney, happy ending that she’s hoping for.
One of the things about the more traditional fairy tales that I don’t love is the fact that the women always want a husband, and that husband always ends up being the one rescuing her. Not so in this story. She gets in trouble because she’s trying to find out who it is that she’s going to marry in the future. The answer is certainly not one that she wanted… and there’s a certain level of trickery which leads to quite a tragic ending.
This is a seriously creepy and dark little fairy tale. I’m not entirely sure if it’s based on an original that I haven’t read before. But mostly, it was just a really creepy fairy tale which makes me want to lock all the windows and doors… there was just something particularly dark about this story.
I did thoroughly enjoy the fact that a lot of this story is built of webs of trickery, lies and deceit. Yet, in the end, the villain doesn’t actually lie – he just spins the truth to suit a certain view of the world.
Title: The Golden Rope Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 9th November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: The moon rose late upon the walled garden.
Jaspre was bought before she was born. But her childhood has been idealistic and pure. Until the true purpose of her life is revealed and a more sinister tie is shown.
This short story is a creepy, dark and kind of devilish
version of Rapunzel. The prince doesn’t climb up the tower to reach her. In
fact, there isn’t really any prince. But there is still a seduction of a form
and a woman who keeps a foundling child trapped for some nefarious reason. The
nefarious reason in this story is just far more intense and dark than other
versions I’ve read of this tale.
As with many of the fairy tales that I’ve read, virginity
and purity are major themes. Normally it’s a lot more subtle than in this
story. After all, in this version, she is raised purposely sweet and pure so
that she will lovingly sacrifice herself to the prince of darkness. Which just
seems all the darker and more twisted than a normal virginal sacrifice… maybe
because she’s raised to go to it willingly. With no true concept of pain.
There is a bit of a happily ever after in this story. It
wasn’t even remotely what I expected. But, apparently it was kind of everything
that I wanted. Definitely enjoyable and almost impossible to forget. I look
forward to rereading this in the future when I want my fairy tales with just a
dash of darkness.
Gaslamp fantasy, or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. Many wonderful novels, such as Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Prestige by Christopher Priest, ower their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers, including Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, and Anthony Trollope. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature from and inspired by this period.
Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves neo-Victorian fiction and modern fantasists using vintage settings, characters, and themes. Their approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen- and Trollope- inspired works known as fantasy of manners. The result is eighteen stories by experts from the fantasy, horror, main-stream, and young-adult fields, including both bestselling writers and exciting new talents, who present a bewitching vision of a nineteenth century enhance (or cursed!) with magic.
This is an absolutely brilliant collection. One that I didn’t want to put down and introduced me to a whole new genre. It’s my first ever Gaslamp collection, and although I found some of the stories throughout a little weird and intense… I also loved the vast majority of them. Enough so that I plan to read this again and again in the future.
I was expecting a pretty simple and balanced collection. I
really wasn’t expecting such a convoluted and twisted set of stories. But, as
I’ve often found in life, it’s those unexpected surprises are the best and most
exciting aspects of life. They’re the moments that you don’t want to forget
because they were unplanned. And this anthology kind of felt like that.
I tend to read a lot of short stories late at night. Or when
I’m just needing a quick little break from the many complexities of my PhD. This
is not the collection that does that for me. It’s seriously intense, completely
unexpected and very full on. The kind of short stories that you want to read
when you have your concentrating brain working… not when it’s late at night and
you just want some easy entertainment…
Title: When the Clock Strikes Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 3rd November 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: It might be the night of their lives.
Then there is Ashella, the Cinderella-like girl who, “When the Clock Strikes”, intends to give her Prince Charming a deadly surprise.
This is a super, super dark retelling of Cinderella. One that
made me question my own beautifully well known Disney version (and other
happily-ever-after retellings). Not necessarily the version I would be telling
my children, but definitely one that I seriously enjoyed and look forward to
picking up again and again.
Not many witch stories I read lately feature Satan worship as
an aspect of the storyline. Which made it quite enjoyable to read such a tale. This
short story took many of the aspects of witchcraft and Satan worship that
aren’t often found in my shelves generally. It made a completely plausible and fun
retelling.
The symbolism of when the clock strikes was powerful. From
the beginning, we are told that 12 means death. So as you get closer and closer
to her journey to midnight… you wait for death to overtake the world. Or at
least the poor, naïve prince.
Title: Their Monstrous Minds Author: Tanith Lee In: Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Gaslamp Dates read: 2nd November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Tor Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: The use of the island, too, had demanded the sort of money only a traitor could earn.
The trippy and convoluted adventure down into the monstrous minds of some beings. Dark, twisted and filled with death.
This story is incredibly twisted and confusing. I’m still
not entirely sure what went on, and didn’t overly enjoy it. However, I did love
the darkness that seeped through the pages. There was a lot of death, darkness
and twisted, monstrous minds throughout this story. And for that alone I would
probably reread this multiple times. I like my stories dark and twisted.
I think that the reason I didn’t quite get into this was that
it was incredibly jumpy and convoluted. Plus, I was reading it late at night
after a day of fieldwork… it doesn’t make a great combination for the concentrating
on difficult stories… but I might try it again in the future, the second time
is often a charm.
Title: Thorns Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 29th October 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: He hesitated a moment.
And in “Thorns” you’ll find the haunting answer to the question, “What if awakening the Sleeping Beauty turns out to be the mistake of a lifetime – of several lifetimes, in fact?”
At the beginning of this short story retelling, I thought
that it was going to be super dark and twisted. Something that I wouldn’t quite
be able to get out of my head. And would certainly make me look at Sleeping
Beauty in a whole new light. And in some ways, it really was. It was dark, sad
and incredibly bittersweet. But it was nowhere near as twisty as I was
expecting it to be.
Actually, this story was mostly what I would call
melancholy. It wasn’t actually sad. It wasn’t something that made me question
my fairy tales from childhood in a new and really uncomfortable way (I’ve been
reading a lot of stories like that lately). But it was quite melancholy, and
made you sit there with that feeling in your chest when you’d turned the last
page. Not quite sad, not quite happy… just there.
This is the first ever retelling of Sleeping Beauty
that I’ve approached which addresses the 100-year gap. After all, a woman might
be woken by the prince… but what happens when the entire castle has now lost
everything that they had? Their entire world died out long ago and things do
change quite drastically in a 100-year time period… so what do you do then?
Lee shows us a perfectly good stepmother, whose Princess stepdaughter reeks of evil.
I love villain retellings of stories. This is one of those
perfect ones in which the “good guy” is actually a terrifying villain and the villain
is the “right” kind of woman. This short story was a fantastically unique take
on Snow White. I’ve read a few retellings of this story. But none have an evil
Snow White, they’re just misunderstood queens generally.
This is the first retelling of a fairy tale that features
Christianity. Unlike many stories which have the Christian faith and the transfer
into this faith, it wasn’t done in an overpowering way. Just a mention of a
cross or two and the devil’s allergy to the cross. Or at least, that’s how I
read it. I liked that it used something that frequently happened, but in a
positive light, instead of a good Christian women taking over, she saved her step-daughter
from a horrible fate, and stopped her from ruining their kingdom.
I loved the way that this story went full circle. It began
in the same place as the beginning, but with a more positive outcome, a better,
more congenial relationship. It’s always nice when stories go full circle, but
with a far more positive outcome. One that hints at a happily ever after.
Title: Paid Piper Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 23rd October 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: And Raur’s image would be taken out of its sanctuary, though veiled – the Lime Treeans were only permitted to look at him face to face on special occasions – and up and down the byways on the shoulders of his priests.
The Piper has come to help the small town celebrate their yearly festival. But, when they refuse to stop worshipping a false god, he quickly turns cruel.
The Piper has always kind of freaked me out from fairy
tales. No matter how much the tale has been Disney-fied, it’s still kind of
dark and twisted. After all, it’s a man that steals an entire town’s children
and skips off into the sunset with them. Plus, I find the sound of a flute a
little haunting and creepy.
Tanith Lee takes that creepy aspect of the original fairy tale and makes it a little more plausible. It’s still entirely creepy, still makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. But, now there is sympathy for the piper. And understanding for his actions, no matter how dark they are. It’s this ability to turn something that I thought I knew so well that drew me into this collection completely. And now I can’t wait to continue onwards with the Red as Blood collection.
Paid Piper is a little melanchology, quite a bit dark and a really nice read. The perfect fairy tale retelling to read just before bed time… if you want to be slightly unsettled, but not entirely freaked out. Although, I think that that’s mostly because of the true creepiness of the original fairy tale.
Snow White, Blood Red is a brand new collection of fairy tales. But be warned. It is not a collection for the faint-hearted. Or even one to lull the innocent towards the sleeping realms of dreams. For Snow White, Blood Red is a modern book of wonders: a boundless expanse of nightmares, lusts and fables for the grown-up child in us all.
Through richly imaginative retellings of existing fairy tales, twenty-one of the world’s top fantasy authors recreate the full mythical, magical, mind-bending power of humankind’s oldest fables. Prepare to be seduced by stories that bite – stories that are frightening, erotic, dark and compelling. Because as Terri Windling reminds us in the introduction: ‘Something still stirs inside us when we hear those old, evocative words: Once upon a time.’ Only this time, in this world, there is no happy ending…
I’ve had this book on my wish list for a very, very long
time. So, when I finally managed to find a second hand copy and get it
delivered to my door, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. After all, I
love fairy tales, I like stories with a dark twist, and I’m fascinated by
retellings and the ways in which people are able to twist and turn classic
themes to fit a more contemporary or recognisable setting. Which makes this
kind of the perfect short story collection to sit on my shelves.
Some of the stories in this collection are kind of dark and
twisted. Some are incredibly sexual. And some are just a great, contemporary
retelling that makes childish fairy tales far more relatable. I got goosebumps reading
some of these stories. While others left a smile on my face. You know it’s a
fantastic collection when it takes you through the rollercoaster of emotions
and leaves you feeling incredibly happy at the close of the last page.
Anybody who loves fantasy, horror or fairy tales, this is a
great collection to add to your shelves. It is one that I won’t be getting out
of my head anytime soon, that’s for sure…
Earth and Skye 