A review by pine_wulf
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling
4.0
Favorites were Somewhere in My Mind There is a Painting Box, Among the Leaves So Green, Grounded, The Pagoda of Ciboure. Also really enjoyed Daphne, Remnants, and Joshua Tree. Another four were ok. Four more missed their mark. And three poems, which I don't feel fit to judge. Overall, a pretty good collection.
Introduction: There is some neat information presented. It's made me excited for the rest of the anthology.
Going Wodwo: A poem. And I'm not one for poems. I have no idea what this one is about.
Grand Central Park: I liked this story, but I'm conflicted about the telling of it. It's written like your friend is telling you a story.
Daphne: Pretty short, but I liked it.
Somewhere in My Mind There is Painting Box: Really liked this one. Not surprised, I usually like Charles De Lint's short stories. I should probably try his Newford novels too. (Amusingly, I read two sentences to my partner that described the plants and he instantly says Virginia, which according to the A/N is exactly right. And all I imagine are random leaves.)
Among the Leaves So Green: Really enjoyable. I thought I knew straight off where this was going but, turns out, I didn't.
Song of the Cailleach Bheur: Another short poem, but I liked it better than Gaiman's. I know what's going on.
Hunter's Moon: Not bad. Nothing stands out about it.
Charlie's Away: A nice story about moving on and growing up.
A World Painted by Birds: Didn't care for this one at all. It was too fantastical/weird for my taste.
Grounded: A lovely story with an underlying feeling of horror. I didn't know which way it would swing until the end.
Overlooking: Didn't care for it. Vague and not much plot.
Fee, Fie, Foe, et Cetera: Jack and the Beanstalk from another's perspective. Liked a bit of it, but other parts were weird and not to my taste.
Joshua Tree: Liked the writing and the character. Wish there was a little more plot.
Ali Anugne O Chash (The Boy Who Was): Told very much in the style of myth. Not for me.
Remnants: The imagery reminded me of Garbage Town in Norfolk, which was pretty cool. The story was a bit sad.
The Pagodas of Ciboure: Never heard of the French pagodas and the author note is right about info being hard to find. This was a really nice little tale that weaves myth with real life.
Green Men: Another short poem.
The Green Word: Good story, but didn't really grab me.
Introduction: There is some neat information presented. It's made me excited for the rest of the anthology.
Going Wodwo: A poem. And I'm not one for poems. I have no idea what this one is about.
Grand Central Park: I liked this story, but I'm conflicted about the telling of it. It's written like your friend is telling you a story.
Daphne: Pretty short, but I liked it.
Somewhere in My Mind There is Painting Box: Really liked this one. Not surprised, I usually like Charles De Lint's short stories. I should probably try his Newford novels too. (Amusingly, I read two sentences to my partner that described the plants and he instantly says Virginia, which according to the A/N is exactly right. And all I imagine are random leaves.)
Among the Leaves So Green: Really enjoyable. I thought I knew straight off where this was going but, turns out, I didn't.
Song of the Cailleach Bheur: Another short poem, but I liked it better than Gaiman's. I know what's going on.
Hunter's Moon: Not bad. Nothing stands out about it.
Charlie's Away: A nice story about moving on and growing up.
A World Painted by Birds: Didn't care for this one at all. It was too fantastical/weird for my taste.
Grounded: A lovely story with an underlying feeling of horror. I didn't know which way it would swing until the end.
Overlooking: Didn't care for it. Vague and not much plot.
Fee, Fie, Foe, et Cetera: Jack and the Beanstalk from another's perspective. Liked a bit of it, but other parts were weird and not to my taste.
Joshua Tree: Liked the writing and the character. Wish there was a little more plot.
Ali Anugne O Chash (The Boy Who Was): Told very much in the style of myth. Not for me.
Remnants: The imagery reminded me of Garbage Town in Norfolk, which was pretty cool. The story was a bit sad.
The Pagodas of Ciboure: Never heard of the French pagodas and the author note is right about info being hard to find. This was a really nice little tale that weaves myth with real life.
Green Men: Another short poem.
The Green Word: Good story, but didn't really grab me.