Hair bright as gold...Lips red as blood...Heart black as sin...Truth sharp as bone...As in their previous critically acclaimed volumes of reconsidered fairy tales, award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together remarkable stories that illuminate the more sinister, sensual, and sophisticated aspects of the tales we cherished in childhood; the fables of witches and princes and lost children that we once imagined we knew." Black Heart, Ivory Bones" showcases twenty beguiling tales for the child-that-was and the adult-that-is, penned by twenty of the most creative artists in contemporary American literature. Here dissected are the darker anatomies of the timeless, seemingly simple stories we have long loved. Here wonder and truth have serious bite. " A lovelorn prince seeking his father's blessing concocts a fantastic tale of a witch, a tower, and lustrous long hair...A pair of accursed red boots punishes a beautiful dancer for her pride...A troll-killing, princess-rescuing warrior is compelled to consider events from his adversaries' point of view...In a blistering tell-all memoir, Goldilocks reveals the sordid truth about her brutal foster parent, Papa Bear..." Rich, surprising, funny, erotic, and unsettling, these twenty new yarns and poems offer exceptional anew treasures--as they brilliantly reveal lusts and jealousies, foibles, hatreds and dangerous obsessions, the things that slyly lurk in the midnight interior of oft-told tales.As in their previous critically acclaimed volumes of reconsidered fairy tales, award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together remarkable stories that illuminate the more sinister, sensual,and sophisticated aspects of the tales we cherished in childhood; the fables of witches and princes and lost children that we once imagined we knew. BLACK HEART, IVORY BONES showcases twenty beguiling tales for the child-that-was and the adult-that-is, penned by twenty of the most creative artists in contemporary American literature. Here dissected are the darker anatomies of the timeless, seemingly simple stories we have long loved. Here wonder and truth have serious bite. "A lovelorn prince seeking his father's blessing concocts a fantastic tale of a witch, a tower, and lustrous long hair...A pair of accursed red boots punishes a beautiful dancer for her pride...A troll-killing, princess-rescuing warrior is compelled to consider events from his adversaries' point of view...In a blistering tell-all memoir, Goldilocks reveals the sordid truth about her brutal foster parent, Papa Bear... Rich, surprising, funny, erotic, and unsettling, these twenty new yarns and poems offer exceptional new treasures---as they brilliantly reveal lusts and jealousies, foibles, hatreds, and dangerous obsessions, the things that slyly lurk in the midnight interior of oft-told tales.As in their previous critically acclaimed volumes of reconsidered fairy tales, award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together remarkable stories that illuminate the more sinister, sensual, and sophisticated aspects of the tales we cherished in childhood; the fables of witches and princes and lost children that we once imagined we knew. BLACK HEART, IVORY BONES showcases twenty beguiling tales for the child-that-was and the adult-that-is, penned by twenty of the most creative artists incontemporary American literature. Here dissected are the darker anatomies of the timeless, seemingly simple stories we have long loved. Here wonder and truth have serious bite. "A lovelorn prince seeking his father's blessing concocts a fantastic tale of a witch, a tower, and lustrous long hair...A pair of accursed red boots punishes a beautiful dancer for her pride...A troll-killing, princess-rescuing warrior is compelled to consider events from his adversaries' point of view...In a blistering tell-all memoir, Goldilocks reveals the sordid truth about her brutal foster parent, Papa Bear... Rich, surprising, funny, erotic, and unsettling, these twenty new yarns and poems offer exceptional new treasures---as they brilliantly reveal lusts and jealousies, foibles, hatreds, and dangerous obsessions, the things that slyly lurk in the midnight interior of oft-told tales.
This sixth anthology in the adult fairy-tale series by acclaimed editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling presents another diverse collection of stories and poems loosely based on folklore traditions around the world. Readers familiar with previous books in the series will recognize the names of many regular contributors, including Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, Esther Friesner, and Joyce Carol Oates, as well as works from Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, and others. Tanith Lee's "Rapunzel" opens the collection with a charmingly simple reconstruction of that classic fairy tale. Esther Friesner's "Big Hair" takes the same theme into the present with less cheerful results. Greg Costikyan considers the fate of an ensorcelled sleeping beauty dug up by archaeologists centuries later in "And Still She Sleeps," while Jane Yolen's "Snow in Summer" turns the tables on Snow White's evil stepmother with a deep-dish apple pie and a fry pan. Scott Bradfield's "Goldilocks Tells All" is especially memorable for its Jerry Springer-like portrayal of the ultimate dysfunctional family. Leah Cutter considers the loneliness of living under a curse in her Texas two-step story "The Red Boots." Severna Park's feminist "The Golem" revives a Jewish folktale, while Bryn Kanar's haunting "Dreaming Among Men" draws on Native American legend. Howard Waldrop's "Our Mortal Span" is perhaps the most unique story here, a surprising blend of black comedy, killer-robot story, and fairy tale. While on the whole this collection isn't as strong as previous volumes, it still delivers a fine array of thoughtful writing on some of the best-known--and yet unknown--stories we love. --Charlene Brusso
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
FairyTales for Big Girls! (And Boys):
Not having the experience of reading the other books, I was delighted by these stories, particularly The Cats of San Martino, (although I felt the end was a little muddled) and Big Hair. What a great idea! I hope find the other books soon!
Not as good as the previous ones:
It still has its charm, however, my favorite tale was "The Cats of San Martino." That story made me open my eyes, and "The Golem" was a gem, too, but all in all, I wasn't as satisfied with it as I was with the previous anthologies. Still I recommend it, if just to add to your collection.
Fairy tales for slightly twisted adult 'children':
I've read, just about, the entire collection of these up-dated fairy tales and must say they are absolutely brilliant! It's quite fun to see what some of the best writers in the fantasy field do with classic stories, from when we were kids...some of them are just so fabulously twisted...like a "Beauty and the Beast" up-date, the beast is a SERIEL KILLER! All are done a bit 'tongue in cheek', so, no one should be offended. Hours of great fun, for those of us who have a bit of child still left inside.... more info
Not bad at all.:
It's wonderful, first of all, that there are people writing these kinds of stories and making anthologies of them. I give the concept a couple of stars just for the principle of the thing.
That said, there are several standouts. My personal favorites are:
"Rapunzel", in which Tanith Lee oddly goes bright-and-happy on us, presenting the delightful tale of a prince who spins a tall tale about his chosen bride, knowing "the Dad" (that's the King to you and me) is a sucker for fairy tales.
Privacy policy: we don't collect information
about visitors except for the standard technical server logs. We don't send unsolicited emails. We don't
sell the information that we don't collect about you to anyone. When you follow
links to other sites, their privacy policies apply. Thanks for visiting!
