The four previous volumes in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's anthology series of fairly tales retold with a distinctively modern edge have been hailded by reviewers as "brilliant," "provocative," and "disturbing." In this triumphant new collection of original fiction, twenty-one of today's leading writers spin the cherished fables of childhood into glittering gold--offering magical tales for adults, as seductive as they are sophisticated.
A jealous prince plots the destruction of his hated brother's wedding by inventing a "magic" suit of clothing visible only to the pure at heart... A young girl's strange fairy tale obsession results in a brutal murder... An embittered mother cares for her dying son who is trapped in a thicket that guards a sleeping beauty... In a bleak and desolate industrial wasteland, a group of violent outcasts lays the tattered myths of one Millenium to rest, and gives terrifying birth to those of the next.
Erotic, compelling, witty, and altogether extraordinary, these stories lay bare our innermost demons and desires--imaginatively transforming our youthful fantasies into things darker, slyer, and more delightfully subversive.
Forget about Andrew Lang--Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling argue that fairy tales are not the pastel fantasies of Victorian children's books but rather are drawn with primary passions: love, hate, greed, sacrifice, joy, and sorrow. Silver Birch, Blood Moon is their fifth anthology of original stories with fairy tale sources, "reimagined" for adults.
Nancy Kress retells "The Emperor's New Clothes" with a delightful twist in "Clad in Gossamer"; Harvey Jacobs unleashes laughter with "The Vanishing Virgin," starring an untalented magician, his lovely but frozen assistant, and "a balding, sullen rabbit" called Pooper; Michael Cadnum and Nalo Hopkinson present equally pointed but distinctly different takes on the story of two sisters spelled to speak according to their natures in "Toad Rich" and "Precious"; Wendy Wheeler reworks "Beauty and the Beast" using Caribbean colors in "Skin So Green and Fine"; and Richard William Asplund blends the Arabian genie with the wonder-working rabbi of Hasidic legends to create "The Dybbuk in the Bottle."
The stories here are less gruesome than in the previous collections, and both sexes claim heroic as well as villainous characters. So enter imagination's marketplace, and watch the storytellers at work. It's amazing what they can do with a bit of old legend. --Nona Vero
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Good and bad:
Silver Birch, Blood Moon mixes good re-tellings with horrible ones. It has stories that are funny, evil, good, terrible, brand new, re-told, and many others. I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it but there are better out there. I guess it is the same with all mixed books. I enjoyed a lot of the stories, despised about as many. I loved the re-telling of The Little Mermaid in The Sea Hag, but didn't aprove of The Glass Cofin which was just depressing. It was a good book and was enjoyable. I recomend... more info
A sad, sad thing:
Somebody made a grave mistake! I was surprised by the lack of good stories in this one as compared to the other dark fairy-tale collections by these editors, all of which were endlessly satisfying to me. This book I bought on a whim before I had read it....what a waste of money! Terribly dissapointing, although there are decent parts in the book, hidden in a nook or cranny if you look enough. Save yourself the money and rent this from the library if you don't believe me...maybe you'll end up agreeing with... more info
Angela Carter would be pleased:
The FIFTH in the series of altered faery tales, it's a heckuva good time. Evidently a modern fantasy trend, Datlow and Windling can't put these out fast enough; I believe there's at least 2 following this. These tales are good reads in their own right, but add the satisfying pop-pyschology crunch of being able to dissect the original tale through its modern and fractured counterpart and you've got a great read. While again, these are being turned out like organic vegetarian pizzas in Hell-A, I never felt... more info
Loved it!:
The FIFTH in the series of altered faery tales, it's a heckuva good time. Evidently a modern fantasy trend, Datlow and Windling can't put these out fast enough; I believe there's at least 1 more following this. These tales are good reads in their own right, but add the satisfying pop-pyschology crunch of being able to dissect the original tale through its modern and fractured counterpart and you've got a great read. While again, these are being turned out like organic vegetarian pizzas in Hell-A, I never... more info
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