Available to read, here: http://uncannymagazine.com/article/se...The message overtakes the story a bit, in this allegorical piece. We're introduced to two fairytale tropes. One woman is cursed to have to wear out seven pairs of magical iron shoes. The other sits at the top of a glass mountain, while uncouth suitors attempt to scale the summit. Friendship and female empowerment will free them both from the unfair demands of men.Merged review:**** In the Desert Like a Bone • Seanan McGuire Little

Simply the most brilliant story I've read this year.I refuse to tell you anything about it, because I think everybody should approach it with no preconceptions beyond "most brilliant story I've read this year."

In the introduction, editors Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe express their desire to revisit the wonderful, strange, and alien of fairy tales. "In keeping with that original model of composite storytelling," they say, "we decided to run fairy tales through a prism, to challenge our authors to look at stories from an unusual angle, to bring them back into different genres and traditions, to--if you will--return them to their cross-genre roots." And they've certainly done this in this collection....

I was drawn to this by the absolutely enchanting collection of authors on the byline: Seanan McGuire, Garth Nix, Aliette de Bodard, Cathrynne M. Valente, and Naomi Novik, to name a few. However, while I really like a lot of these stories, my overall perception of the collection was tempered by those I wasn't so fond of. Below I have rank ordered them and given a mini review of each:18. Reflected by Kat Howard (1/5 Stars)Just....boring. A modern, science-oriented retelling of The Snow Queen which...

↠ 4 stars I love fairytale retellings/the retelling genre overall, so I was super excited to finally get around to The Starlit Wood. On the whole, I do generally enjoy short story collections (I know some people don't and I understand why; short stories can sometimes be underdeveloped and frustrating), and I freely admit I had high hopes for this one. It certainly helps that this book is gorgeously designed, fashioned with an imitation old-style spine that would be at home in an old library, an

Having now read the whole book - the original review was for one story whose record was merged with the book - I can safely say that this definitely lives up to the promise of that first story.There's some great writers here: Naomi Novik, Kat Howard, Seanan McGuire, Daryl Gregory...and so on. They've all brought an inventive eye to putting a new spin on some of our oldest stories; even the stories I wasn't enjoying were at least creative.Some of my favourites; The super ultra duchess of fedora f...

Winner of Nebula and Hugo Award for Best Short Story 2017Ironically, this was the last story I read in my Nebula short story marathon. The story introduces two women and their own unique issues and situations. The story is set in a medieval fantasy world filled with mysterious magic and elements. The underlying theme is about letting go and moving forward(?) even though it is a scary thing to do. It is also about finding love(?). I am really not very sure. This is one of those tales which tells

I've read a thousand fairy tale retellings, and I would have said that genre had been mined fairly extensively. This is a brilliant reinvigoration. Not every story was a hit with me, but even when I didn't love a story I loved the author's note afterward explaining their inspiration. My favorite was probably Amal El-Mohtar's Seasons of Glass and Iron, but all in all it's an excellent anthology. Bonus points for the stunning cover.

More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.It recently came across my radar that Naomi Novik, of the breaktaking Uprooted, would be putting out a book later this year called Spinning Silver, which would be an expanded take on the 30-page short story of the same title in this collection. That was enough for me to snap it up, and other stories by the likes of Garth Nix and Max Gladstone were extra treats.A few notes about the collection as a whole. First, these are not "new" fairy

A decent compilation of fairy tale retellings, and one of few in which I read (or attempted) all the stories. As usual with anthologies, some of the stories worked for me and others really did not. Some brief reading notes on the more memorable stories:Favorites: Seanan McGuire, "In the Desert Like a Bone": McGuire's strengths - atmosphere, creativity, and crystalline prose - are perhaps best displayed in her short fiction. In her novels, I find myself unconvinced by her characters and annoyed a...

It's hard to enjoy a retelling for what it is when you either only vaguely recognize the name of the fairytale or have never heard of one in your entire life. Which was the case with more than half of the fairytale retellings in this book. Killed it for me. I know only the most popular ones and I haven't read the complete works of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. My general expectation from this book was fun retellings like Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver of the famous fairytales lik...

This short story receives my vote for first place in the 2017 Hugo Awards.A twisted fairy-tale with a great message.Two heroines, each trapped in her own tale. One is a prisoner on a glass hill, the other – doomed to walk the world in iron shoes, until she had worn down seven pair. But no one cursed them to this fate – each chose it herself. It’s supposed to be an atonement, or a way to protect the world. The world tells them it is their fault, and they believe it. It is Amira’s fault men can’t

This book was a rather fun collection of fairy-tale retellings. Though I didn't enjoy every story equally, I find that I'm now thinking kindly about this anthology as a whole. Bracketed by good, very enjoyable, stories and with at least two great ones in the mix, I really enjoyed the time I spent with this book. :-)There was one line in this book that startled a laugh out of me: In "Giants in the Sky" by Max Gladstone, on page 195, the narrator says, "I'm not asking you to solve quantum gravity

A strong 3.5 stars.Beautifully written, both moody / dream-like and very palpable at times. The imagery was great (particularly the apple). I guess a part of me would have liked it to be a little more explicitly queer/a little less didactic, but then, aren't fairy-tales didactic by default? So in a way, it fits.

For all the Big Name authors whose stories are included, this anthology proved to be surprisingly mediocre. I could only find a couple retellings that were interesting: Howard's story and Novik's short story version of what'd later be the novel Spinning Silver. Quite unfortunate, as I suspect readers that might come to know the authors for the first time through this collection will be disappointed and get an incorrect impression of them, as these aren't by any means their best work.Although it

This 2016 anthology of 18 fairy tale retellings boasted plenty of recognizable names in fantasy and/or YA (Seanan McGuire, Charlie Jane Anders, Garth Nix, Margo Lanagan, Marjorie Liu, Catherynne M. Valente), but the reason I sought it out was because it featured the short story version of Naomi Novik's "Spinning Silver." I read her book Uprooted earlier this year, and it's become one of my favorite fantasies ever. A genre book that transcends genre. And if you have to read one fairy tale retelli...

Reading to prepare myself for the '17 Hugo Nominations, this nom is available online.It's a story of two females locked into rather interesting mythological stories, both of them trapped in both painful and degrading situations and eventually finding solace and freedom in each other.The mythos, itself is a curious blend of old tales, such as having to wear out seven pairs of metal shoes before being able to break her husband's bear-curse or in the other case, having being forced upon a mountaint...

Interesting fantasy short story about women working out the world's unfair expectations of them. It's free here:http://uncannymagazine.com/article/se...

“What’s strong is the shoes women are made to wear: shoes of glass, shoes of paper, shoes of iron. Heated red hot; shoes to dance to death in.”Good story. Well-developed. A finalist for 2017 Hugo Award for short stories.“Magic is magic is magic and there is always a stronger magic.”Contrary to the tag, not a “gay” story. It’s a story “about two women reaching out of their respective tales,” the author says in her notes. “The enormity of what friendship means.” I try to read stories cold--that is...

A nice collection about fairytale retellings, with an adult and often dark tone. I didn't enjoy all the stories, some were difficult to enter or too much strange or boring for my tastes. On another hand, some were delightful or very well thought, with original settings (space, wild west, drugs, etc) or insights about society problems, giving some fun to the read and adding twists to the stories. On average, my rating should be 3.5stars, but it's a satisfying collection with a not so easy choice