quietdissident's review
I kept saving this one from the sell-back stack because I wanted to give it a fair shake. Finally started it and wasn't feeling it. While it is a short story collection, there are only 6 stories - I don't love my odds when I'm already checked out on story one, especially when SFF is full of such good contemporary short fiction.
sailorpinstripe's review against another edition
3.0
The Fair Folk (ed. Marvin Kaye) is a neat little collection of faery stories devoid of the saccharine nature of modern depictions.
Uous by Tanith Lee - A fairly unpleasant retelling of Cinderella with none of the charm or horror of the original. Very flat characters, and an unsatisfactory ending. 2 stars.
Grace Notes by Megan Lindholm - A cute story with great potential squandered on the human characters. We never even see the faery, only her effects, which could work if it did not feel like a romantic comedy in the guise of a faerytale. 2 stars.
The G****es in the Wood by Kim Newman -
(Title originally contained an offensive word/slur, which I have chosen to censor here). I quite liked this one. However, beware, at least one instance of period-typical racism. A tale of two missing children, a faery plot, and the Diogenes Club. Curious, creepy, mysterious, and with a rather sweet ending. 4 stars.
The Kelpie by Patricia A. McKillip - This was almost not a faery story until the end. Pre-Raphaelites, a sweet romance, and obsession! Beware, period-typical sexism occurs. I refrain from spoiling the ending as I say, the conclusion was satisfactory. 3 stars (4 stars had it not been part of this anthology).
An Embarrassment of Elves by Craig Shaw Gardner - It feels like a satire of Tolkien and every fantasy trope imaginable without outright maliciously mocking its source whilst doing its own thing. I was incredibly entertained throughout this story, which is set within the author’s larger body of work, and was reminded of many D&D sessions for which I was present. 4 stars.
Except the Queen by Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder - I read this far quicker than usual. A mixture of faery and witch yet not quite either, two sisters exchange letters. Banished, separated, and cursed to age as mortals, they find themselves tangled within a web of magic, meddling in mortal lives. This story had a feeling not as warm as an October coffee shop, nor was it plagued by cold urbanity, but fell somewhere in between, beautifully mixing the magic and the mundane, the cheerful with the bleak—a cold fire in a bright summer rainstorm. The ending was breathless, and brought together and tied up all the threads of the mystery. As the old magic leaves, the new magic takes its place. 4 stars.
Uous by Tanith Lee - A fairly unpleasant retelling of Cinderella with none of the charm or horror of the original. Very flat characters, and an unsatisfactory ending. 2 stars.
Grace Notes by Megan Lindholm - A cute story with great potential squandered on the human characters. We never even see the faery, only her effects, which could work if it did not feel like a romantic comedy in the guise of a faerytale. 2 stars.
The G****es in the Wood by Kim Newman -
(Title originally contained an offensive word/slur, which I have chosen to censor here). I quite liked this one. However, beware, at least one instance of period-typical racism. A tale of two missing children, a faery plot, and the Diogenes Club. Curious, creepy, mysterious, and with a rather sweet ending. 4 stars.
The Kelpie by Patricia A. McKillip - This was almost not a faery story until the end. Pre-Raphaelites, a sweet romance, and obsession! Beware, period-typical sexism occurs. I refrain from spoiling the ending as I say, the conclusion was satisfactory. 3 stars (4 stars had it not been part of this anthology).
An Embarrassment of Elves by Craig Shaw Gardner - It feels like a satire of Tolkien and every fantasy trope imaginable without outright maliciously mocking its source whilst doing its own thing. I was incredibly entertained throughout this story, which is set within the author’s larger body of work, and was reminded of many D&D sessions for which I was present. 4 stars.
Except the Queen by Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder - I read this far quicker than usual. A mixture of faery and witch yet not quite either, two sisters exchange letters. Banished, separated, and cursed to age as mortals, they find themselves tangled within a web of magic, meddling in mortal lives. This story had a feeling not as warm as an October coffee shop, nor was it plagued by cold urbanity, but fell somewhere in between, beautifully mixing the magic and the mundane, the cheerful with the bleak—a cold fire in a bright summer rainstorm. The ending was breathless, and brought together and tied up all the threads of the mystery. As the old magic leaves, the new magic takes its place. 4 stars.
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I said most of my comment in the status updates, so there's not much left to say.
'UOUS' by Tanith Lee
This is a sort of twist on a Cinderella story. It wasn't a bad story, but I found the writing a bit distracting. This is the first thing I've read by Tanith Lee, and it didn't make me want to run out and grab more by her. 2.5 - 3 stars
'Grace Notes' by Megan Lindholm (aka Robin Hobb)
This was a sort of cute story about a brownie with Martha Stewart taste. It was also kind of annoying in parts. The love story angle felt sort of extraneous. Again, first story by this author, not prompted to pursue more. 3 stars
'The Gypsies in the Wood' by Kim Newman
My favorite of the lot, written as a mystery set in a Victoriana England, which nice little references to Sherlock Holmes. This is a tie-in to his Diogenes Club stories, which I'd looked into before, but couldn't get my hands on. Definitely interested in tracking it down, now, though. 4 stars
'Kelpie' by Patricia A. McKillip
Another story set in a sort of Victoriana, this time following a group of bohemian artists instead of the detective formula. I almost felt like I was rereading Dorian Grey, minus the wit. It was interesting, though, and sweet - and I liked the ending. Interested in reading more by this author if anything else catches my eye. 3.5 - 4 stars
"The Embarrassment of Elves" by Craig Shaw Gardner
Apparently part of a larger set of stories, which I'm not particularly interested in continuing with. As I said, it was a cute story, but I felt like it was sort of a Discworld knock-off, but not as funny. 3 - 3.5 stars
'Except the Queen' by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder
Didn't really like the format of the story - as if we're reading letters written back and forth from two sisters exhiled from Faerie. The story itself was ok, but nothing spectacular, and a mite predictable. 2.5 - 3 stars
'UOUS' by Tanith Lee
This is a sort of twist on a Cinderella story. It wasn't a bad story, but I found the writing a bit distracting. This is the first thing I've read by Tanith Lee, and it didn't make me want to run out and grab more by her. 2.5 - 3 stars
'Grace Notes' by Megan Lindholm (aka Robin Hobb)
This was a sort of cute story about a brownie with Martha Stewart taste. It was also kind of annoying in parts. The love story angle felt sort of extraneous. Again, first story by this author, not prompted to pursue more. 3 stars
'The Gypsies in the Wood' by Kim Newman
My favorite of the lot, written as a mystery set in a Victoriana England, which nice little references to Sherlock Holmes. This is a tie-in to his Diogenes Club stories, which I'd looked into before, but couldn't get my hands on. Definitely interested in tracking it down, now, though. 4 stars
'Kelpie' by Patricia A. McKillip
Another story set in a sort of Victoriana, this time following a group of bohemian artists instead of the detective formula. I almost felt like I was rereading Dorian Grey, minus the wit. It was interesting, though, and sweet - and I liked the ending. Interested in reading more by this author if anything else catches my eye. 3.5 - 4 stars
"The Embarrassment of Elves" by Craig Shaw Gardner
Apparently part of a larger set of stories, which I'm not particularly interested in continuing with. As I said, it was a cute story, but I felt like it was sort of a Discworld knock-off, but not as funny. 3 - 3.5 stars
'Except the Queen' by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder
Didn't really like the format of the story - as if we're reading letters written back and forth from two sisters exhiled from Faerie. The story itself was ok, but nothing spectacular, and a mite predictable. 2.5 - 3 stars
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
This is a nice collection of tales that focus on fairies, and that would be your older and nastier fairies than Tinkerbell.
"UOUS" by Tanith Lee is, to my mind at least, the best in the collection. Lee sets up the tale nicely, making it almost sound like we are going to get a classic Cinderella tale. Then she gives it one of her Lee twists. The tale is a wonderful twist on the three wishes theme. It does make you wonder as it raises questions about fairy tales and life in general.
"The Kelpie" by Patricia A. McKillip is good, though not as good. McKillip creates a pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Strangely, while there is a fairy present, the tale reminded me of [b:The Yellow Wallpaper|99300|The Yellow Wallpaper|Charlotte Perkins Gilman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171436398s/99300.jpg|1467808] more than anything else. "The Kelpie" contains McKillip's lyrical charm and is a rather gentle love story.
"The Gypsies in the Wood" by Kim Newman was the most disappointing tale in the collection. I loved the character of Kate who I've met before in [b:Anno Dracula|33535|Anno Dracula|Kim Newman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1221011425s/33535.jpg|1731834] and [b:The Bloody Red Baron|771650|The Bloody Red Baron|Kim Newman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178216342s/771650.jpg|271584]. I also like Charles. "Gypsies" takes the two characters and puts them in an alternate reality of sorts. This made it somewhat discombobulating if you are familiar with Newman's Dracula world. I can understand why he did it, however. The tale isn't fully disappointing, but it feels off.
I couldn't get though "The Embarrassment of Elves" by Craig Shaw Gardner.
"Grace Notes" by Megan Lindholm (a.k.a. Robin Hobb) is a charming story about Martha Stewart and a Brownie. It's the funniest one in the collection and full of wonderful detail and deft touches.
The last story in the collection, "Except the Queen" by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder is good and bittersweet. If you liked [b:Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country|64207|Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country (Cecelia and Kate, Book 1)|Patricia C. Wrede|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EXWzFZ0LL._SL75_.jpg|505], you'll like this one.
All and all this collection is worth reading.
"UOUS" by Tanith Lee is, to my mind at least, the best in the collection. Lee sets up the tale nicely, making it almost sound like we are going to get a classic Cinderella tale. Then she gives it one of her Lee twists. The tale is a wonderful twist on the three wishes theme. It does make you wonder as it raises questions about fairy tales and life in general.
"The Kelpie" by Patricia A. McKillip is good, though not as good. McKillip creates a pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Strangely, while there is a fairy present, the tale reminded me of [b:The Yellow Wallpaper|99300|The Yellow Wallpaper|Charlotte Perkins Gilman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171436398s/99300.jpg|1467808] more than anything else. "The Kelpie" contains McKillip's lyrical charm and is a rather gentle love story.
"The Gypsies in the Wood" by Kim Newman was the most disappointing tale in the collection. I loved the character of Kate who I've met before in [b:Anno Dracula|33535|Anno Dracula|Kim Newman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1221011425s/33535.jpg|1731834] and [b:The Bloody Red Baron|771650|The Bloody Red Baron|Kim Newman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178216342s/771650.jpg|271584]. I also like Charles. "Gypsies" takes the two characters and puts them in an alternate reality of sorts. This made it somewhat discombobulating if you are familiar with Newman's Dracula world. I can understand why he did it, however. The tale isn't fully disappointing, but it feels off.
I couldn't get though "The Embarrassment of Elves" by Craig Shaw Gardner.
"Grace Notes" by Megan Lindholm (a.k.a. Robin Hobb) is a charming story about Martha Stewart and a Brownie. It's the funniest one in the collection and full of wonderful detail and deft touches.
The last story in the collection, "Except the Queen" by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder is good and bittersweet. If you liked [b:Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country|64207|Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country (Cecelia and Kate, Book 1)|Patricia C. Wrede|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EXWzFZ0LL._SL75_.jpg|505], you'll like this one.
All and all this collection is worth reading.
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