Althea M. (althea) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Original anthology of 18 adult fairy tales, a follow-up volume to Snow White, Blood Red.
Id read this anthology before, but Im getting psyched for going to Faeriecon this coming weekend, so I wanted to read some of these This series is one of my all-time favorites, as a whole.
7 Words Like Pale Stones Nancy Kress
This is an powerfully different take on the tale of Rumplestiltskin portrayed with compassion, which makes the actions of the main character, the woman who is asked to spin straw into gold or else that much more disturbing. We feel that she perhaps could love the odd and magical man who grants her the boon and saves her life but instead, she forces him, against his will, to agree to teach her son by the prince, who is obviously a truly bad seed, the ways of power. Obviously, no good will come of this
30 Stronger Than Time Patricia C. Wrede
A beautiful, and bittersweet ghost story. Perhaps the ghost aspect is more obvious, at first, than it should be, but I love this take on Sleeping Beauty. The prince destined to save the enchanted princess screwed up and missed his chance. Now, he desperately leads an aging woodcarver on the quest that should have been his
58 Somnuss Fair Maid Ann Downer
Another retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but this one formulated as a Regency Romance, without any supernatural element. The beauty here is a young woman whose nasty guardian conspires to marry her to a repulsive older man but dashing young suitors, of course, wish to save her from this fate. Im usually not a big fan of romance, but this story is good (and quite liberated, in the end).
86 The Frog King, or Iron Henry Daniel Quinn
I actually dont like this one. Too gimmicky. Frog gets amnesia after being thrown into a wall? You can read the whole thing, for free, here: http://www.gwu.edu/~folktale/GERM232/frogp/Iron_Henry.html
98 Near-Beauty M. E. Beckett
A sci-fi take on the Frog Prince. Girl meets what her boring boyfriend thinks is an Australian Cane Toad in his shower. Turns out its an alien. Soon, shes running away with him to join an interstellar circus, and interspecies romance occurs
107 Ogre Michael Kandel
A humorous story which will be sure to be appreciated by anyone whos been involved with amateur theatre productions and the trials and tribulations thereof.
120 Cant Catch Me Michael Cadnum
Not the hugest fan of this one. From the point of view of the Gingerbread Man but I didnt see that much point to it.
129 Journeybread Recipe Lawrence Schimel
A short poem. I like it!
132 The Brown Bear of Norway Isabel Cole
I love this story. An American highschool girl falls in love with a Norwegian penpal, and goes out to seek him across Europe Beautifully written, meshing dream and reality wonderfully.
151 The Goose Girl Tim Wynne-Jones
Having recently read Shannon Hales Goose Girl, this retelling pales in comparison (sorry!). Its still good, however. The princess here is indeed wronged but shes also a cold bitch, and we cant help having sympathy for the wild, sensual serving maid even though she is indeed, self-serving.
173 Tattercoats Midori Snyder
A fairy-tale romance. Some readers might feel this story is too sappy. Its just about rekindling the love in a marriage, even though it does have fairy tale elements. But it is awfully sweet and happy
203 Granny Rumple Jane Yolen
Usually I love love love Jane Yolen. But this story, which features Rumplestiltskin as a Jewish moneylender killed in a pogrom started by the vicious woman he lent money to, is rendered much less effective by the pointed sermonizing at the end.
217 The Sawing Boys Howard Waldrop
Hmm. Not sure of how I feel about this one. A 1920s gang with a cobbled-together plan to pull a heist of a rural village fair is unwittingly stopped in their tracks by the beauty of a klezmer-country-saw band. Its intentionally cartoonish.
245 Godson Roger Zelazny
Its pretty useful to have Death as your godfather especially when he encourages you to become a doctor, and does you all kinds of favors. But when Death is a big sports fan, and wants to adjust things inconveniently for your relationship in order to benefit his favorite team well, things can get difficult. Fun story.
281 Ashputtle Peter Straub
Horror story about a kindergarten teacher whos a serial killer.
306 Silver and Gold Ellen Steiber
Short poem based on Red Riding Hood.
310 Sweet Bruising Skin Storm Constantine
A dark fantasy take on The Princess and the Pea. A manipulative queen seeks the help of an alchemist to obtain a docile bride for her son, in order to maintain her own power. But when the use of dark arts is uncovered, and the zombie-like girl starts
developing a will of her own, things turn against the queen
359 The Black Swan Susan Wade
Country-princess Ylianna is desperate to gain the heart of an already-engaged prince who has nothing but scorn for her rough ways. She turns to a servant and countryman to guide her in matters of deportment and etiquette, but soon goes far further than he recommends, trying to transform herself into the sort of woman who would catch his eye. Again no good can come of this. The story manages to get across its rather modern anti-diet-and-fashion-magazine-type message without being too in-your-face about it.
Id read this anthology before, but Im getting psyched for going to Faeriecon this coming weekend, so I wanted to read some of these This series is one of my all-time favorites, as a whole.
7 Words Like Pale Stones Nancy Kress
This is an powerfully different take on the tale of Rumplestiltskin portrayed with compassion, which makes the actions of the main character, the woman who is asked to spin straw into gold or else that much more disturbing. We feel that she perhaps could love the odd and magical man who grants her the boon and saves her life but instead, she forces him, against his will, to agree to teach her son by the prince, who is obviously a truly bad seed, the ways of power. Obviously, no good will come of this
30 Stronger Than Time Patricia C. Wrede
A beautiful, and bittersweet ghost story. Perhaps the ghost aspect is more obvious, at first, than it should be, but I love this take on Sleeping Beauty. The prince destined to save the enchanted princess screwed up and missed his chance. Now, he desperately leads an aging woodcarver on the quest that should have been his
58 Somnuss Fair Maid Ann Downer
Another retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but this one formulated as a Regency Romance, without any supernatural element. The beauty here is a young woman whose nasty guardian conspires to marry her to a repulsive older man but dashing young suitors, of course, wish to save her from this fate. Im usually not a big fan of romance, but this story is good (and quite liberated, in the end).
86 The Frog King, or Iron Henry Daniel Quinn
I actually dont like this one. Too gimmicky. Frog gets amnesia after being thrown into a wall? You can read the whole thing, for free, here: http://www.gwu.edu/~folktale/GERM232/frogp/Iron_Henry.html
98 Near-Beauty M. E. Beckett
A sci-fi take on the Frog Prince. Girl meets what her boring boyfriend thinks is an Australian Cane Toad in his shower. Turns out its an alien. Soon, shes running away with him to join an interstellar circus, and interspecies romance occurs
107 Ogre Michael Kandel
A humorous story which will be sure to be appreciated by anyone whos been involved with amateur theatre productions and the trials and tribulations thereof.
120 Cant Catch Me Michael Cadnum
Not the hugest fan of this one. From the point of view of the Gingerbread Man but I didnt see that much point to it.
129 Journeybread Recipe Lawrence Schimel
A short poem. I like it!
132 The Brown Bear of Norway Isabel Cole
I love this story. An American highschool girl falls in love with a Norwegian penpal, and goes out to seek him across Europe Beautifully written, meshing dream and reality wonderfully.
151 The Goose Girl Tim Wynne-Jones
Having recently read Shannon Hales Goose Girl, this retelling pales in comparison (sorry!). Its still good, however. The princess here is indeed wronged but shes also a cold bitch, and we cant help having sympathy for the wild, sensual serving maid even though she is indeed, self-serving.
173 Tattercoats Midori Snyder
A fairy-tale romance. Some readers might feel this story is too sappy. Its just about rekindling the love in a marriage, even though it does have fairy tale elements. But it is awfully sweet and happy
203 Granny Rumple Jane Yolen
Usually I love love love Jane Yolen. But this story, which features Rumplestiltskin as a Jewish moneylender killed in a pogrom started by the vicious woman he lent money to, is rendered much less effective by the pointed sermonizing at the end.
217 The Sawing Boys Howard Waldrop
Hmm. Not sure of how I feel about this one. A 1920s gang with a cobbled-together plan to pull a heist of a rural village fair is unwittingly stopped in their tracks by the beauty of a klezmer-country-saw band. Its intentionally cartoonish.
245 Godson Roger Zelazny
Its pretty useful to have Death as your godfather especially when he encourages you to become a doctor, and does you all kinds of favors. But when Death is a big sports fan, and wants to adjust things inconveniently for your relationship in order to benefit his favorite team well, things can get difficult. Fun story.
281 Ashputtle Peter Straub
Horror story about a kindergarten teacher whos a serial killer.
306 Silver and Gold Ellen Steiber
Short poem based on Red Riding Hood.
310 Sweet Bruising Skin Storm Constantine
A dark fantasy take on The Princess and the Pea. A manipulative queen seeks the help of an alchemist to obtain a docile bride for her son, in order to maintain her own power. But when the use of dark arts is uncovered, and the zombie-like girl starts
developing a will of her own, things turn against the queen
359 The Black Swan Susan Wade
Country-princess Ylianna is desperate to gain the heart of an already-engaged prince who has nothing but scorn for her rough ways. She turns to a servant and countryman to guide her in matters of deportment and etiquette, but soon goes far further than he recommends, trying to transform herself into the sort of woman who would catch his eye. Again no good can come of this. The story manages to get across its rather modern anti-diet-and-fashion-magazine-type message without being too in-your-face about it.
Lissette H. (yolen) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 92 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
A really good collection of stories that are new twists on old fairy tales.
daedelys -
Helpful Score: 3
This was another book that I've had TBR nearly 15 years and reading it was long over due. I did skip over the introduction in the book, as well as only skimmed the brief intros into each story because I just feel stories are more enjoyable without being told what I should think or how they arrived by the editors.
Normally, I don't care for short stories, but I wasn't disappointed at all with the tales in this book. It actually made me appreciate that over the years, the only 'short stories' I seem to really like are ones that remind me of fairy-tales.
Overall, this is a wonderful collection of stories that you don't want to miss!
Normally, I don't care for short stories, but I wasn't disappointed at all with the tales in this book. It actually made me appreciate that over the years, the only 'short stories' I seem to really like are ones that remind me of fairy-tales.
Overall, this is a wonderful collection of stories that you don't want to miss!
Kelly S. (Kazaiko) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Like most short story collections, this one is a mix of true gems among so much glass. Enjoy 'Words Like Pale Stones', 'Stronger than Time' and 'The Black Swan' but realize that stories like Tattercoats might be disappointing in comparison. Includes stories from Jane Yolen, Storm Constantine and Patricia C. Wrede.
Lynda S. (Rouge) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 79 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
a cute spin on the old fairytales.. !! at first i didnt think iwould like it.. then after reading most of the way thourgh the first one it got more and more interesting.. soo much the same but so very different from all those tales we heard of as a child!!
Sunnie R. (solcita) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Some good stories in this one, amazingly original takes on old fairy tales.
Michelle S. (SmartWoman) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book, good stories that take another side of familiar fairy tales.
Helpful Score: 1
I'm sorry to say that I found this collection of stories just plain dull. My disappointment may have to do with the fact that I read a lot of the traditional versions of these tales that lacked the happy endings that the modern retellings do when I was younger.
While the writing styles of all of the writers are satisfactory, not one of them had anything in particular to offer that stood out to me.
While the writing styles of all of the writers are satisfactory, not one of them had anything in particular to offer that stood out to me.
Sue K. (Bossmare) reviewed Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies, No 2) on + 306 more book reviews
A different twist on the old "fairy" tales.
