srivalli's review
4.0
3.7 Stars
As with every anthology, this one also has a few hits and misses. The misses seem to be more, but the hits are very good. The book has 21 pieces (19 stories and 2 poems).
My favorites:
No Bigger than my Thumb by Esther M. Friesner- creepish but good
In the Insomniac Night by Joyce Carol Oates- crazy, insane, twisted
The Trial of Hansel and Gretel by Garry Kilworth- too good
Rapunzel by Anne Bishop- lovely
Sparks by Gregory Frost- interesting
The Reverend’s Wife- fun
True Thomas by Bruce Glassco- interesting, engaging
The True Story by Pat Murphy- wonderful
*******
Read the full review
As with every anthology, this one also has a few hits and misses. The misses seem to be more, but the hits are very good. The book has 21 pieces (19 stories and 2 poems).
My favorites:
No Bigger than my Thumb by Esther M. Friesner- creepish but good
In the Insomniac Night by Joyce Carol Oates- crazy, insane, twisted
The Trial of Hansel and Gretel by Garry Kilworth- too good
Rapunzel by Anne Bishop- lovely
Sparks by Gregory Frost- interesting
The Reverend’s Wife- fun
True Thomas by Bruce Glassco- interesting, engaging
The True Story by Pat Murphy- wonderful
*******
Read the full review
valhecka's review against another edition
4.0
Solid collection with good source material variety. Enjoyed.
eupomene's review
4.0
Especially enjoyed the one about the true story of Snow White's stepmother - how kind she really was but how time made her into a witch. Time and jealous men. I love it when we "take back" the older female roles like that.
Fairy tales can really mirror the sad parts of our world - and our mastery of those parts. And in these modern tales, the women don't always need a handsome prince. It is such fun to see the different storytelling angles writers take with the old stories.
Fairy tales can really mirror the sad parts of our world - and our mastery of those parts. And in these modern tales, the women don't always need a handsome prince. It is such fun to see the different storytelling angles writers take with the old stories.
abetterjulie's review
2.0
I didn't care for most of these adaptations, but I did love True Thomas by Bruce Glassco. The other three I liked were The Reverend's Wife by Midori Snyder, On Lickerish Hill by Susanna Clarke, and Godmother Death by Jane Yolen.
taisie22's review
4.0
I got this anthology because I love all things Anne Bishop and she has a story in here. I found it a mixed bag, but on the whole I enjoyed most of the stories. This anthology is a retelling of classic and old fairy tales, some by well-known authors like Jane Yolen and Joyce Carol Oates and others I didn't know.
Anne Bishop's Rapunzel retelling is a favorite, told in multiple POVs. I also liked Michael Cadman's The Flounder's Kiss, On Lickerish Hill by Susanna Clarke, True Thomas by Bruce Glassco, and Godmother Death by Jane Yolen.
Many of these stories are dark though, in truth, most fairy tales are also dark and full of monsters, murder, and mayhem. I'm sure other readers would like ones that I didn't care for; there's really something for everyone here to enjoy.
Anne Bishop's Rapunzel retelling is a favorite, told in multiple POVs. I also liked Michael Cadman's The Flounder's Kiss, On Lickerish Hill by Susanna Clarke, True Thomas by Bruce Glassco, and Godmother Death by Jane Yolen.
Many of these stories are dark though, in truth, most fairy tales are also dark and full of monsters, murder, and mayhem. I'm sure other readers would like ones that I didn't care for; there's really something for everyone here to enjoy.
pepperandpages's review
3.0
This was a DNF for me. I read over half the stories and poems in this book and I just found most of them had weird and confusing narration. I didn't mind Anne Bishop's Rapunzel which had a really good start but then got a little bit weird at the end. Some of the stories and poems were also so short that you couldn't really get a feeling for what the author was trying to do. I usually love these two when they come together for anthologies, but this one was not my favorite, and I was really disappointed by it.
overhillunderhill's review
3.0
Like all short story collections, there are good and not so good. I think most that I thought not so good were just not my taste. I will say there are some weird ass interpretations in this collection.
reader44ever's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Though not all the stories were "amazing," I did enjoy them all. I really love this series of re-imagined fairy tales for adults. They're so imaginative and entertaining!
Though not all the stories were "amazing," I did enjoy them all. I really love this series of re-imagined fairy tales for adults. They're so imaginative and entertaining!
errantdreams's review against another edition
4.0
The concept behind Black Swan, White Raven is simple and beautiful: creative retellings of fairy tales by modern authors. These are not meant to be children’s stories. Many of them depict sex, violence, and other subjects you wouldn’t want to read to your children.
Fairy tales have a sort of fundamental appeal. They’re stories of love and loss, revenge and justice, royalty and peasantry, mundanity and magic. Some have a moral; others are told to explain natural events. Many started out as popular folk tales. Most address what happens when ordinary people meet up with the world of the extraordinary.
The fairy tales found in “Black Swan, White Raven” run the creative gamut of modern fairy-tale-telling. Some are old tales re-written in a modern light. Others are traditional fairy tales told from a new and interesting point of view. Still others take the core kernel of story from a fairy tale and make it something new and uniquely different. Many of the stories play with popular fairy tales such as Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel, while others play with less-well-known stories. A couple I didn’t recognize. As always, with so many wildly different stories by very different authors, you’re almost guaranteed to find at least one or two stories that don’t amaze you. But then, that’s a problem inherent in any anthology.
There are 21 new and different pieces in here, including a couple of poems. Anne Bishop, author of “The Black Jewels Trilogy,” has a story in here, and she didn’t disappoint in the least. I’m not quite as enamored of the poems, somehow – they just didn’t have the emotional or intellectual impact that some of the stories did.
I definitely enjoyed it, and there are certain stories in here (most notably “Sparks” and “Rapunzel”) which I expect to read over again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy tales – particularly the old ones, not written for children.
NOTE: review book provided by publisher
View a longer review with information on some of the individual stories at my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/review-black-swan-white-raven-ed-datlow-and-windling/
Fairy tales have a sort of fundamental appeal. They’re stories of love and loss, revenge and justice, royalty and peasantry, mundanity and magic. Some have a moral; others are told to explain natural events. Many started out as popular folk tales. Most address what happens when ordinary people meet up with the world of the extraordinary.
The fairy tales found in “Black Swan, White Raven” run the creative gamut of modern fairy-tale-telling. Some are old tales re-written in a modern light. Others are traditional fairy tales told from a new and interesting point of view. Still others take the core kernel of story from a fairy tale and make it something new and uniquely different. Many of the stories play with popular fairy tales such as Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel, while others play with less-well-known stories. A couple I didn’t recognize. As always, with so many wildly different stories by very different authors, you’re almost guaranteed to find at least one or two stories that don’t amaze you. But then, that’s a problem inherent in any anthology.
There are 21 new and different pieces in here, including a couple of poems. Anne Bishop, author of “The Black Jewels Trilogy,” has a story in here, and she didn’t disappoint in the least. I’m not quite as enamored of the poems, somehow – they just didn’t have the emotional or intellectual impact that some of the stories did.
I definitely enjoyed it, and there are certain stories in here (most notably “Sparks” and “Rapunzel”) which I expect to read over again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy tales – particularly the old ones, not written for children.
NOTE: review book provided by publisher
View a longer review with information on some of the individual stories at my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/review-black-swan-white-raven-ed-datlow-and-windling/