sawyerbell's review against another edition
3.0
Stories about the green man who lurks in the woods. A mixed collection with some stories being evocative and others dull.
ohloulou's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly struggled with whether to give this 2 or 3, so consider it a a 2,5
This was such a mixed bag of stories, and whilst some of them were incredible, others I really struggled to get through and couldn’t retain my focus on.
If you’re thinking you’re going to get old world magic, I would look elsewhere. A few of them do contain that take on it, and some of the modern world tellings bring the old magic in beautifully, but others seem, to me anyway, to have lost and forgotten the magic all together.
It took me way too long to work my way through this tbh, considering the length of it, but sure, pick it up if you have a weekend to yourself and nothing else immediately at the top of your to-read list. The few good ones does make it worth the read.
This was such a mixed bag of stories, and whilst some of them were incredible, others I really struggled to get through and couldn’t retain my focus on.
If you’re thinking you’re going to get old world magic, I would look elsewhere. A few of them do contain that take on it, and some of the modern world tellings bring the old magic in beautifully, but others seem, to me anyway, to have lost and forgotten the magic all together.
It took me way too long to work my way through this tbh, considering the length of it, but sure, pick it up if you have a weekend to yourself and nothing else immediately at the top of your to-read list. The few good ones does make it worth the read.
cakehatwombat's review against another edition
3.0
The stories are pretty hit and miss, but that's not uncommon in a collection of short stories and poetry. It's p hard to make a collection that hits precisely everyone's tastes in just the right way, so like, shrug. Check it out of the library and decide for yourself! Read it outside, also. Helps set the mood.
nairam1173's review against another edition
4.0
I was so pleasantly surprised by this anthology.
It was one of those books that I kept seeing at the library and wanting to check out but kept reminding myself "hey, you don't like short stories that much."
I was incorrect. (Well, the half of me saying "don't bother" was incorrect, and fortunately overruled by the other half that kept saying: "but forests.")
While I didn't like every single entry, I did like a lot of them and loved a few. For some reason /Grounded/ is probably my favorite, even though it was also very weird. I took note of several of the authors.
Worth noting that all of these are *original* stories, not retellings (although inspired by myths/folktales), and generally by fantasy/sci-fi authors. I thought originally there might be some more strict retellings and maybe some historical. I'd still like to read something more like that, but having the mostly-modern fantasy vibe did make it a very cohesive read.
It was one of those books that I kept seeing at the library and wanting to check out but kept reminding myself "hey, you don't like short stories that much."
I was incorrect. (Well, the half of me saying "don't bother" was incorrect, and fortunately overruled by the other half that kept saying: "but forests.")
While I didn't like every single entry, I did like a lot of them and loved a few. For some reason /Grounded/ is probably my favorite, even though it was also very weird. I took note of several of the authors.
Worth noting that all of these are *original* stories, not retellings (although inspired by myths/folktales), and generally by fantasy/sci-fi authors. I thought originally there might be some more strict retellings and maybe some historical. I'd still like to read something more like that, but having the mostly-modern fantasy vibe did make it a very cohesive read.
robyotter's review against another edition
2.0
Not nearly as good as most Datlow/Windling anthologies. It was geared for YA, but I often like YA.
cmbohn's review against another edition
3.0
I just found this collection of short stories at the library and it looked like fun. Like most collections, I really liked some of the stories, some were fun, but nothing special, and some were not my style at all. I did find some new authors to read - Tanith Lee and M. Shayne Bell both had stories I really enjoyed.
dancarey_404's review against another edition
4.0
I usually anticipate that 20-25% of a short-story collection will not be to my liking. So I was pleased to find only 1 story here that I just skipped over.
midgardener's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent collection of forest and nature spirit-themed tales, this kind of work is exactly what we need these days. Nature has never left us, but more and more we find ourselves leaving it; this anthology provides a refreshing return to the creative natural world, beautifully seen through both lighter and heavier lenses of fantasy. My only criticism is that there are one or two stories that for less smoothly into the theme, but it's not irksome enough to merit a snatched star. All of the writing is intriguing, and each tale provides a different twist on nature both in setting and in tone. Highly recommended for anyone wanting more environmental fantasy in their life, and for anyone who needs reminding of the very real magic in our green works.
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