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Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer
How would it be if Snow White were the real villain & the wicked queen just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening the Sleeping Beauty should be the mistake of a lifetime--of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities?
Only Tanith Lee could do justice to it. In RED AS BLOOD, she displays her soaring imagination at its most fantastically mischievous. Not for nothing was the title story named as a Nebula nominee. Not for nothing was the author of THE BIRTHGRAVE & THE STORM LORD called by New York's Village Voice, "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read."
Here are the world-famous tales of such as the Brothers Grimm as they might have been retold by the Sisters Grimmer! Fairy tales for children? Not on your life!
Contents:
Paid Piper (1981)
Red as Blood (1979)
Thorns (1972)
When the Clock Strikes (1980)
The Golden Rope (1983)
The Princess and Her Future (1983)
Wolfland (1980)
Black as Ink (1983)
Beauty (1983)
Only Tanith Lee could do justice to it. In RED AS BLOOD, she displays her soaring imagination at its most fantastically mischievous. Not for nothing was the title story named as a Nebula nominee. Not for nothing was the author of THE BIRTHGRAVE & THE STORM LORD called by New York's Village Voice, "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read."
Here are the world-famous tales of such as the Brothers Grimm as they might have been retold by the Sisters Grimmer! Fairy tales for children? Not on your life!
Contents:
Paid Piper (1981)
Red as Blood (1979)
Thorns (1972)
When the Clock Strikes (1980)
The Golden Rope (1983)
The Princess and Her Future (1983)
Wolfland (1980)
Black as Ink (1983)
Beauty (1983)
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
97 people are currently reading
5873 people want to read
About the author
Tanith Lee
615 books1,964 followersTanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
September 23, 2017
Fairy tales transformed: victims turned victimizers; mythologies mixed and matched; Christianity made pagan; the subtext of fables become the actual text. Silken prose and disturbing undercurrents.
I first read this at age 13 or 14, back when it was initially published in the early 80s. I still remember the hard look my mother gave me when I asked her to buy it for me; the glance down at the tawdry-cheesy cover; the almost-shrug and finally the "I'll read this after you've finished." It became one of my favorite things; over 30 years later after my second read, it remains so. And mom liked it too.
"Paid Piper" - The Pied Piper of Hamelin. A complacent town full of smallness; a girl who wants more from her life. The Son of God, appearing before the Christ was born, dispensing both New Testament kindness and Old Testament vengeance. A strange and beautiful tale.
"Red As Blood" - Snow White. A vampiric princess and the seven stunted horrors that follow her; her enemy, a kind and brave Witch Queen and her ally Lucifiel (also known as Satan, the brother of the Son of God). A mirror that can see all but one: the girl with the dead-white skin and lips of blood. This was my favorite story when I first read the collection.
"Thorns" - Sleeping Beauty. A city frozen, in stasis for hundreds of year; a wandering prince who will wake them all. The passage of so much time becomes a barrier all of its own between princess and prince, a barrier more insurmountable than a wall of thorns. This reads like a melancholy, mournful dream.
"When The Clock Strikes" - Cinderella. A vengeful daughter, servant of Satan: Ashella. A prince, broken. My least favorite story both then and now. It felt like a pale reflection of "Red As Blood".
"The Golden Rope" - Rapunzel. Another witch and another servant of Satan; another daughter, but this one an innocent. Golden hair and blood sacrifice may open the gateway to hell, but the Son of the Morning Star will pick his own paramour. The vision of the golden hair creating a path to the underworld was weird and entrancing.
"The Princess And Her Future" - The Frog Prince. Something patiently waits at the bottom of that lonely cistern; a princess' golden ball will betray her. Fabulously grim and perhaps the only true tale of horror in the collection. A cruel joke of a story. Poor princess!
"Wolfland" - Little Red Riding Hood. In frozen Scandinavia, an obstreperous young lady meets her formidable Grandmother; a legacy of lycanthropy is detailed. I loved this eerie story, the surprisingly unpleasant personality of our heroine, and was moved by the story of Grandmother's early life, married to a sadistic human monster. Being a werewolf sounds like a great alternative lifestyle. My favorite story of the collection, after the re-read.
"Black As Ink"- Swan Lake. Black as ink and creepy as fuck. A bored and very wealthy young man meets an odd young woman, more marionette than human, and falls in love; he meets her again, 15 years later, to his eventual distress. An un-man controls an un-woman; the ennui of the very rich makes their lives a living death. An unsettling and somewhat frustrating tale.
"Beauty" - Beauty and the Beast. The aliens have come and made the Earth a place of peace; all they ask in return is the occasional son or daughter to join them. The sole piece of science fiction. Gorgeously written. My second favorite story, after the re-read.
I first read this at age 13 or 14, back when it was initially published in the early 80s. I still remember the hard look my mother gave me when I asked her to buy it for me; the glance down at the tawdry-cheesy cover; the almost-shrug and finally the "I'll read this after you've finished." It became one of my favorite things; over 30 years later after my second read, it remains so. And mom liked it too.
"Paid Piper" - The Pied Piper of Hamelin. A complacent town full of smallness; a girl who wants more from her life. The Son of God, appearing before the Christ was born, dispensing both New Testament kindness and Old Testament vengeance. A strange and beautiful tale.
"Red As Blood" - Snow White. A vampiric princess and the seven stunted horrors that follow her; her enemy, a kind and brave Witch Queen and her ally Lucifiel (also known as Satan, the brother of the Son of God). A mirror that can see all but one: the girl with the dead-white skin and lips of blood. This was my favorite story when I first read the collection.
"Thorns" - Sleeping Beauty. A city frozen, in stasis for hundreds of year; a wandering prince who will wake them all. The passage of so much time becomes a barrier all of its own between princess and prince, a barrier more insurmountable than a wall of thorns. This reads like a melancholy, mournful dream.
"When The Clock Strikes" - Cinderella. A vengeful daughter, servant of Satan: Ashella. A prince, broken. My least favorite story both then and now. It felt like a pale reflection of "Red As Blood".
"The Golden Rope" - Rapunzel. Another witch and another servant of Satan; another daughter, but this one an innocent. Golden hair and blood sacrifice may open the gateway to hell, but the Son of the Morning Star will pick his own paramour. The vision of the golden hair creating a path to the underworld was weird and entrancing.
"The Princess And Her Future" - The Frog Prince. Something patiently waits at the bottom of that lonely cistern; a princess' golden ball will betray her. Fabulously grim and perhaps the only true tale of horror in the collection. A cruel joke of a story. Poor princess!
"Wolfland" - Little Red Riding Hood. In frozen Scandinavia, an obstreperous young lady meets her formidable Grandmother; a legacy of lycanthropy is detailed. I loved this eerie story, the surprisingly unpleasant personality of our heroine, and was moved by the story of Grandmother's early life, married to a sadistic human monster. Being a werewolf sounds like a great alternative lifestyle. My favorite story of the collection, after the re-read.
"Black As Ink"- Swan Lake. Black as ink and creepy as fuck. A bored and very wealthy young man meets an odd young woman, more marionette than human, and falls in love; he meets her again, 15 years later, to his eventual distress. An un-man controls an un-woman; the ennui of the very rich makes their lives a living death. An unsettling and somewhat frustrating tale.
"Beauty" - Beauty and the Beast. The aliens have come and made the Earth a place of peace; all they ask in return is the occasional son or daughter to join them. The sole piece of science fiction. Gorgeously written. My second favorite story, after the re-read.
September 22, 2024
Inspired by Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, Tanith Lee sought out to write her own fairy-tale re-imaginings, but in the veins of fantasy and sci-fi, decades before Sarah J. Maas and Marissa Meyer. All of the stories from the 70s and 80s, the highlight years of Lee's literary career. Overall, the collection is a very good group of stories. I will comment on two things before I get into each story's review: Sometimes the cultural and historical setting didn't matter. For one the first story "Paid Piper" is set in Asia in the last century B.C., but the setting is so vague I have no idea where in Asia. In "Wolfland" and "Black as Ink," the setting is an unspecified area of Scandinavia (at least the first for the latter story), but French language and customs are present. I wish Lee just left the settings vaguer, except for "Beauty," but my enjoyment wasn't stilted because of this. Secondly, as many other reviewers point out, a common theme of this collection is of a young woman working for/uniting with/being enchanted by a diabolical-like figure. Truthfully, that's only, like, two or three of the stories. Nonetheless, there is a pervasive theme of the darker desires and plots of women, but also their salvation. Lee has always done interesting things with both Christianity and Paganism, and that isn't neglected here. Anyway, one with the reviews!
"Paid Piper" (Asia: Last Century B.C., based off the Pied Piper of Hamelin) 4/5 stars.
In this story, a young maiden named Cleci meets a handsome and enchanting flautist who questions why her and her people worship their Rat God. When he plays his flute, everyone, humans and animals, falls into a revelry. At the end, the flautist asks for payment for help in their worship: he only asks that they love him instead of their god, because he can lead them to true freedom. They refuse, and except for Cleci, he takes away their ability to have children. It's a story about what it truly means to love and follow a god and what love and hate that god can dish out, that behind happiness can come cruelty. The flautist is more of a messianic figure than a demonic one. It's a bittersweet story with Lee's writing still in its earlier stages.
"Red as Blood" (Europe: 14th Century A.D., based off Snow White) 5/5 stars.
The titular story and the best one in the collection, it follows a sorceress queen who is also a devout Christian who marries a widower king. She struggles to get her pallid-skin, raven-haired step-daughter, Bianca, to accept Christianity, but the girl refuses, confused by its images. As Bianca grows, the queen realizes she is a vampire. She sends a hunter to her, but she drains him dry (and also reveals the hunter's deepest desires). Eventually, disguised as a witch, the queen gives Bianca an apple with the blessed Eucharist in it, sending her to her glass coffin. A prince with a stigmata appears, but he does not wake her--only by an accident of nature is the Eucharist host dislodged from Bianca's throat. However, the prince transforms Bianca into a dove and tells her to begin anew. She returns home, back as a seven-year-old girl, and the queen's mirror can finally see her. It's a unique twist on Snow White that seems to show how both Christ and vampirism can defy death. Certainly people will get mixed messages with the ending (I doubt Lee is pushing any sort of religious agenda), but it is a beautifully-written tale.
"Thorns" (Eurasia: 15th Century A.D., based off Sleeping Beauty) 3/5 stars.
A dreary, weird, and dreamlike story. A prince encounters a lady in black, warning him of the abandoned city ahead. He takes refuge in a village where all metal tools are banned and learns that the dark lady cursed the city and its princess to fall into eternal slumber. When everyone is reawakened, there's a forlorn feeling about everything. The people are back, but they're so impeded by the curse put on them and its lasting effects, they can't adapt. Interesting, but I must admit it was a bit difficult to decipher this one at first nor did it generate as much catharsis in me.
"When the Clock Strikes" (Europe: 16th Century A.D., based off Cinderella) 4/5 stars.
Cinderalla as a Satanic witch. That's the story, kind of. However, the devilish figure here is more Lucifer pre-fall from Heaven. Anyway, Ashella (not her real name) is the daughter of a witch whose family was slaughtered by the former duke. After the duke is killed and Ashella's mother is burnt at the stake, Ashella spends her life covering herself in rags and ash, practicing her witchcraft to get back at the prince. In this story, the heroine embraces her rags, and her fate. Edgy in some ways, but still beautifully written. A nice dark twist of a fairy-tale.
"The Golden Rope" (Europe: 17th Century A.D., based off Rapunzel) 5/5 stars. MY FAVORITE SO FAR!!
Holy shit I loved this one! Gorgeous and Gothic prose in a dark fantasy twist of Rapunzel, making this a sort of precursor to her later novel Vivia. In this story, Jaspre is given over to a witch as a child who raises her to worship a Mithraic Gnostic deity called Angemal, the Prince of Darkness. She has dreams of being stuck in a tower and lowering her hair to let a dark figure come to her. Awake, a prince whose face she cannot see tries to take her away. Meanwhile, the witch angers over Angemal's lack of reciprocation. It's like a fairy-tale romance of Paradise Lost. I love the imagery and themes of wanting to know where to go and belong. And the ending is perfect1
"The Princess and Her Future" (Asia: 18th Century A.D., based off The Frog Prince) 2.5/5 stars. After the best came the weakest. On retrospect, not quite as bad as I thought, but still...This one is more like a straight-up fairy-tale. A morality tale about curiosity and trusting strange men. It has one of the darkest endings, but it's so short and so kind of basic, it's the weakest. And it's a shame, because it's one of the stories where the Asian setting is somewhat more detailed.
"Wolfland" (Scandinavia: 19th Century A.D., based off Little Red Riding Hood) 4.5/5 stars.
Perhaps the most feminist tale, Lisel goes to her maternal grandmother who very quickly reveals that she is a werewolf and that Lisel shall inherit the gift. It's a story about the beast that women must become to fight against the beasts that men are. It's also a little tragic. I think the ending was a bit rushed.
"Black as Ink" (Scandinavia: 20th Century A.D., based off Swan Lake) 3.5/5 stars
A strange one, where the preternatural elements are on slightly implied at, if they truly exist, and the only one from a man's perspective. A tragic one about how much time one has and takes for granted, and quickly deathly can approach. I didn't quite get this one at first, but the revelation is morosely clarifying.
"Beauty" (The Future, based off Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche) 4/5 stars
The final story and the only sci-fi one. Estár receives a green rose, a sign that she must leave her family and live with an alien Beast. At first, it feels like the mystery of the story is the Beast's true appearance and nature, but perhaps it is someone else's nature that needs true revealing.
Disbelieving or forgetting that in any form of death, the soul...refinds a freedom and a beauty lost with birth.
Taking a page from Carter's own re-imaginings of The Beauty and The Beast, Lee uncovers the thing that truly dwells beneath, and how that should be embraced.
I loved this collection of fairy-tale retellings and I wish more contemporary ones were like it. Lee was a fucking genius.
"Paid Piper" (Asia: Last Century B.C., based off the Pied Piper of Hamelin) 4/5 stars.
In this story, a young maiden named Cleci meets a handsome and enchanting flautist who questions why her and her people worship their Rat God. When he plays his flute, everyone, humans and animals, falls into a revelry. At the end, the flautist asks for payment for help in their worship: he only asks that they love him instead of their god, because he can lead them to true freedom. They refuse, and except for Cleci, he takes away their ability to have children. It's a story about what it truly means to love and follow a god and what love and hate that god can dish out, that behind happiness can come cruelty. The flautist is more of a messianic figure than a demonic one. It's a bittersweet story with Lee's writing still in its earlier stages.
"Red as Blood" (Europe: 14th Century A.D., based off Snow White) 5/5 stars.
The titular story and the best one in the collection, it follows a sorceress queen who is also a devout Christian who marries a widower king. She struggles to get her pallid-skin, raven-haired step-daughter, Bianca, to accept Christianity, but the girl refuses, confused by its images. As Bianca grows, the queen realizes she is a vampire. She sends a hunter to her, but she drains him dry (and also reveals the hunter's deepest desires). Eventually, disguised as a witch, the queen gives Bianca an apple with the blessed Eucharist in it, sending her to her glass coffin. A prince with a stigmata appears, but he does not wake her--only by an accident of nature is the Eucharist host dislodged from Bianca's throat. However, the prince transforms Bianca into a dove and tells her to begin anew. She returns home, back as a seven-year-old girl, and the queen's mirror can finally see her. It's a unique twist on Snow White that seems to show how both Christ and vampirism can defy death. Certainly people will get mixed messages with the ending (I doubt Lee is pushing any sort of religious agenda), but it is a beautifully-written tale.
"Thorns" (Eurasia: 15th Century A.D., based off Sleeping Beauty) 3/5 stars.
A dreary, weird, and dreamlike story. A prince encounters a lady in black, warning him of the abandoned city ahead. He takes refuge in a village where all metal tools are banned and learns that the dark lady cursed the city and its princess to fall into eternal slumber. When everyone is reawakened, there's a forlorn feeling about everything. The people are back, but they're so impeded by the curse put on them and its lasting effects, they can't adapt. Interesting, but I must admit it was a bit difficult to decipher this one at first nor did it generate as much catharsis in me.
"When the Clock Strikes" (Europe: 16th Century A.D., based off Cinderella) 4/5 stars.
Cinderalla as a Satanic witch. That's the story, kind of. However, the devilish figure here is more Lucifer pre-fall from Heaven. Anyway, Ashella (not her real name) is the daughter of a witch whose family was slaughtered by the former duke. After the duke is killed and Ashella's mother is burnt at the stake, Ashella spends her life covering herself in rags and ash, practicing her witchcraft to get back at the prince. In this story, the heroine embraces her rags, and her fate. Edgy in some ways, but still beautifully written. A nice dark twist of a fairy-tale.
"The Golden Rope" (Europe: 17th Century A.D., based off Rapunzel) 5/5 stars. MY FAVORITE SO FAR!!
Holy shit I loved this one! Gorgeous and Gothic prose in a dark fantasy twist of Rapunzel, making this a sort of precursor to her later novel Vivia. In this story, Jaspre is given over to a witch as a child who raises her to worship a Mithraic Gnostic deity called Angemal, the Prince of Darkness. She has dreams of being stuck in a tower and lowering her hair to let a dark figure come to her. Awake, a prince whose face she cannot see tries to take her away. Meanwhile, the witch angers over Angemal's lack of reciprocation. It's like a fairy-tale romance of Paradise Lost. I love the imagery and themes of wanting to know where to go and belong. And the ending is perfect1
"The Princess and Her Future" (Asia: 18th Century A.D., based off The Frog Prince) 2.5/5 stars. After the best came the weakest. On retrospect, not quite as bad as I thought, but still...This one is more like a straight-up fairy-tale. A morality tale about curiosity and trusting strange men. It has one of the darkest endings, but it's so short and so kind of basic, it's the weakest. And it's a shame, because it's one of the stories where the Asian setting is somewhat more detailed.
"Wolfland" (Scandinavia: 19th Century A.D., based off Little Red Riding Hood) 4.5/5 stars.
Perhaps the most feminist tale, Lisel goes to her maternal grandmother who very quickly reveals that she is a werewolf and that Lisel shall inherit the gift. It's a story about the beast that women must become to fight against the beasts that men are. It's also a little tragic. I think the ending was a bit rushed.
"Black as Ink" (Scandinavia: 20th Century A.D., based off Swan Lake) 3.5/5 stars
A strange one, where the preternatural elements are on slightly implied at, if they truly exist, and the only one from a man's perspective. A tragic one about how much time one has and takes for granted, and quickly deathly can approach. I didn't quite get this one at first, but the revelation is morosely clarifying.
"Beauty" (The Future, based off Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche) 4/5 stars
The final story and the only sci-fi one. Estár receives a green rose, a sign that she must leave her family and live with an alien Beast. At first, it feels like the mystery of the story is the Beast's true appearance and nature, but perhaps it is someone else's nature that needs true revealing.
Disbelieving or forgetting that in any form of death, the soul...refinds a freedom and a beauty lost with birth.
Taking a page from Carter's own re-imaginings of The Beauty and The Beast, Lee uncovers the thing that truly dwells beneath, and how that should be embraced.
I loved this collection of fairy-tale retellings and I wish more contemporary ones were like it. Lee was a fucking genius.
April 21, 2009
The common thread binding the nine stories (five previously published in various magazines) of this collection is that they're all re-imagined fairy tales, and all of them are of high literary quality; but otherwise they exhibit a wide variety. Lee wasn't well-served by the jacket copy, or by the above description, both of which tend to sensationalize these stories, under-stress their emotional complexity, and paint an exaggerated image of grimness. Only two of the tales could justly be called "horrific," and Lee's fertile imagination isn't "fiendish," in any reductive sense --it embraces the upbeat and beautiful as often as the dark and tragic (and various outcomes in between), and her moral vision discriminates between good and evil, in favor of the former. She also writes (at least here) with very little violence, mild bad language only in a single story, and no sex; an element of erotic attraction is present in some stories, but not in any degrading or defiling sense. Her prose is sumptuous and evocative --a treat to read.
Each of the chronologically arranged stories is fitted with a loose setting in history and geography, ranging from "Asia: The Last Century B.C." to "Earth: The Future." The last selection, "Beauty," is straight science-fiction; the title story and "Wolfland" could be considered supernatural fiction. (Those three are my favorites here.) "Black as Ink" really has no speculative element; it employs ambiguous suggestions of the supernatural, as in Hawthorne's novels, just for color. In most of the stories, though, the supernatural element is clear, and the setting is vague and removed enough from real-world reference points to make in effect a fantasy world.
Several stories have religious elements, borrowed from various religions; these should be viewed as literary conceits Lee uses without literally endorsing any of the religions --including Christianity, though "Red as Blood" has very real Christian symbolism. (The reference to Satan as the brother of Christ there reflects a sub-Nicene Christology, not an exaltation of Satan, and the picture of Satan as used by God to serve His own ultimate purposes is actually biblical --though Lee's Satan serves these more willingly than the real one probably does.) "Paid Piper," on the other hand, is the most theologically flawed of these stories.
Each of the chronologically arranged stories is fitted with a loose setting in history and geography, ranging from "Asia: The Last Century B.C." to "Earth: The Future." The last selection, "Beauty," is straight science-fiction; the title story and "Wolfland" could be considered supernatural fiction. (Those three are my favorites here.) "Black as Ink" really has no speculative element; it employs ambiguous suggestions of the supernatural, as in Hawthorne's novels, just for color. In most of the stories, though, the supernatural element is clear, and the setting is vague and removed enough from real-world reference points to make in effect a fantasy world.
Several stories have religious elements, borrowed from various religions; these should be viewed as literary conceits Lee uses without literally endorsing any of the religions --including Christianity, though "Red as Blood" has very real Christian symbolism. (The reference to Satan as the brother of Christ there reflects a sub-Nicene Christology, not an exaltation of Satan, and the picture of Satan as used by God to serve His own ultimate purposes is actually biblical --though Lee's Satan serves these more willingly than the real one probably does.) "Paid Piper," on the other hand, is the most theologically flawed of these stories.
March 17, 2020
I don't even know how many times I read this as a teen, but I was probably way too young for most of the stories! I was blissfully unaware of a lot of a nuances, but I loved the lush writing and the weirdness of the way she twisted the fairy tales around (notable exception: Black as Ink, which I still find weird . . . is it Swan Lake? What is even HAPPENING?!), anyway, you can see a lot of influence in my fairy tale retellings, with it being a curse rather than a fun night out dancing for the Twelve Dancing Princesses!
June 11, 2015
LMAO, I really liked all of these.
It should probably be renamed "Princesses Behaving Badly by Dabbling in the Dark Arts and Worshiping Satan".
It should probably be renamed "Princesses Behaving Badly by Dabbling in the Dark Arts and Worshiping Satan".
December 6, 2010
Retellings of classic fairytales. Lots of inversions of good and evil, twisted religious/mythological allegories, poetic imagery, and deliciously ambiguous gorgeousness. A re-read for me.
March 8, 2023
3.7*
Tanith Lee's reworking of 10 well known (I recognized most of them) fairytales from the Brothers Grim and elsewhere. Lee's lyrical, free flowing style works well with the once-upon-a-time, not surprising given her great body of work in the fantasy genre. It's a natural fit. Her stories are imaginative, with many twists; heroes and villains get flipped a few times. Like the original folk tales, Lee's retellings have elements of horror, violence and erotica but always with her tasteful and restrained hand. I very much liked 'Wolfland' (Grandma's house was never like this). My favorite was her science fiction treatment of 'Beauty and the Beast', titled 'Beauty.' I have to read more of Lee's sci-fi, as soon as I can get my hands on it! I found a couple of the stories repetitive, but hey!, fairytales are nothing if not formulaic. Mostly they kept me fully engaged, with a couple of the strongest at the end. The edition I read had an unfortunate cover illustration of an underdressed witch, riding a broomstick (pure cheesecake!). It didn't do justice to the clever and well written stories. The cover illustration featured on the Goodreads edition is an improvement, somewhat. I wobbled between 3 and 4 stars but went higher because of the superior imagination and writing on display! -30-
Tanith Lee's reworking of 10 well known (I recognized most of them) fairytales from the Brothers Grim and elsewhere. Lee's lyrical, free flowing style works well with the once-upon-a-time, not surprising given her great body of work in the fantasy genre. It's a natural fit. Her stories are imaginative, with many twists; heroes and villains get flipped a few times. Like the original folk tales, Lee's retellings have elements of horror, violence and erotica but always with her tasteful and restrained hand. I very much liked 'Wolfland' (Grandma's house was never like this). My favorite was her science fiction treatment of 'Beauty and the Beast', titled 'Beauty.' I have to read more of Lee's sci-fi, as soon as I can get my hands on it! I found a couple of the stories repetitive, but hey!, fairytales are nothing if not formulaic. Mostly they kept me fully engaged, with a couple of the strongest at the end. The edition I read had an unfortunate cover illustration of an underdressed witch, riding a broomstick (pure cheesecake!). It didn't do justice to the clever and well written stories. The cover illustration featured on the Goodreads edition is an improvement, somewhat. I wobbled between 3 and 4 stars but went higher because of the superior imagination and writing on display! -30-
August 13, 2016
If I hadn't read Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber first I think I would have liked this even better. As it is, it feels more uneven than Carter's work and probably unfairly suffers from dealing with the same material, which is rewritten and re-imaged fairy tales. Carter also has a more powerful take on the old Beauty and the Beast theme, I think.
There are still a couple of really good stories in this collection, among them being the Snow White as a vampire and the evil stepmother as the good Christian, but the one that really stands out head and shoulders over the rest is Wolfland where Lee really gets her fangs out (even literally). The other stories rate from ok to good but Wolfland above all manages to be different.
Just like in Silver Metal Lover Lee writes a pretty annoying protagonist that you really just want to shake your head at, but that works well in how the story is structured. She is supposed to be immature, annoying and insipid at the start in order to grow and make informed choices. Instead of an antagonistic relationship with her mother, in Wolfland the protagonist, Lisel, ends up in the shade of her extremely formidable grandmother, whom she initially loathes and fears. Of course, the more we learn of grandmère Anna's story, the more the story changes. This is also why Wolfland is both the best of Lee's entries and the most disturbing. Grandmère Anna's tale is filled with poison and caution:
"I tell you, Lisel, because very soon your father will suggest to you that it is time you were wed. And however handsome or gracious the young man may seem to you that you choose, or that is chosen for you, however noble or marvelous or even docile he may seem, you have no way of being certain he will not turn out to be like your beloved grandpère. Do you know, he brought me peaches on our wedding night, all the way from the hothouses in the city. Then he showed me the whip he had been hiding under the fruit. You see what it is to be a woman, Lisel. Is that what you want? The irrevocable marriage vow that binds you forever to a monster?"
Again the comparison with Carter is impossible not to make, but when Carter focuses on the wild, beastly and how that conquers and provides some hope, Lee focuses on the human side in the beast/monster study, and it's far more disturbing for it. Grandmère Anna telling Lisel of how she finally worked up the strength to save Lisel's mother and then finally, herself, is gruesome and extremely disturbing.
"Beat me," she said. "Please beat me. I want you to. Put down the child and beat me. It would be so easy to hurt her, and so soon over, she's so small. But I'm stronger. You can hurt me much more. See how vulnerable and afraid I am. Beat me."
Then, with a snarl he tossed the child onto the bed where it lay wailing. He took the whip and caught Anna by her pale hair-
As always, Lee's prose is flowing and beautiful, and especially in Wolfland almost hauntingly provocative in places. Yet at times it slows things down just a little bit too much, especially in the slower moving pieces.
The take away from this book is: Don't get married, especially not to a demon, unless he is the Prince of Darkness and/or you are a werewolf(!), and don't go looking for swan maidens in lakes, that way lies 25 years of ennui and death in unexpected pneumonia. If you receive strange flowers in glass cases, you are most likely an alien.
Overall, an engaging read, but should probably not be read too close together with Silver Metal Lover or Carter's The Bloody Chamber.
There are still a couple of really good stories in this collection, among them being the Snow White as a vampire and the evil stepmother as the good Christian, but the one that really stands out head and shoulders over the rest is Wolfland where Lee really gets her fangs out (even literally). The other stories rate from ok to good but Wolfland above all manages to be different.
Just like in Silver Metal Lover Lee writes a pretty annoying protagonist that you really just want to shake your head at, but that works well in how the story is structured. She is supposed to be immature, annoying and insipid at the start in order to grow and make informed choices. Instead of an antagonistic relationship with her mother, in Wolfland the protagonist, Lisel, ends up in the shade of her extremely formidable grandmother, whom she initially loathes and fears. Of course, the more we learn of grandmère Anna's story, the more the story changes. This is also why Wolfland is both the best of Lee's entries and the most disturbing. Grandmère Anna's tale is filled with poison and caution:
"I tell you, Lisel, because very soon your father will suggest to you that it is time you were wed. And however handsome or gracious the young man may seem to you that you choose, or that is chosen for you, however noble or marvelous or even docile he may seem, you have no way of being certain he will not turn out to be like your beloved grandpère. Do you know, he brought me peaches on our wedding night, all the way from the hothouses in the city. Then he showed me the whip he had been hiding under the fruit. You see what it is to be a woman, Lisel. Is that what you want? The irrevocable marriage vow that binds you forever to a monster?"
Again the comparison with Carter is impossible not to make, but when Carter focuses on the wild, beastly and how that conquers and provides some hope, Lee focuses on the human side in the beast/monster study, and it's far more disturbing for it. Grandmère Anna telling Lisel of how she finally worked up the strength to save Lisel's mother and then finally, herself, is gruesome and extremely disturbing.
"Beat me," she said. "Please beat me. I want you to. Put down the child and beat me. It would be so easy to hurt her, and so soon over, she's so small. But I'm stronger. You can hurt me much more. See how vulnerable and afraid I am. Beat me."
Then, with a snarl he tossed the child onto the bed where it lay wailing. He took the whip and caught Anna by her pale hair-
As always, Lee's prose is flowing and beautiful, and especially in Wolfland almost hauntingly provocative in places. Yet at times it slows things down just a little bit too much, especially in the slower moving pieces.
The take away from this book is: Don't get married, especially not to a demon, unless he is the Prince of Darkness and/or you are a werewolf(!), and don't go looking for swan maidens in lakes, that way lies 25 years of ennui and death in unexpected pneumonia. If you receive strange flowers in glass cases, you are most likely an alien.
Overall, an engaging read, but should probably not be read too close together with Silver Metal Lover or Carter's The Bloody Chamber.
February 16, 2020
Intriguing re-imagined tales. Some of the more occultish stories stirred my discomfort, but the stories overall ranged from quite good to brilliant. Definitely a worthwhile kickstart to the imagination.
April 11, 2018
This collection of fairy tale retellings contains 10 stories ranging in length from traditional short-stories to near novella-length pieces, all varying in quality as well as in styles, from standard fantasy to Sci-Fi to steampunk and horror/gothic. Tanith Lee is a really inventive author with one of the most daring imaginations out there.
Each story appealed to me in different ways, and so despite giving the book an overall rating that shows in the tag, it doesn't apply to each story, because some got five stars whereas others got only one from me. In listing the individual ratings, they would go like this:
PAID PIPER
3 stars.
A retelling of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" set in a distinctly Medieval-looking village that could be located anywhere in Europe, or even in Colonial America. It's one of the stories that felt the most realistic, because besides the magic of the mysterious Piper's music, it could pass off as a real-world story. I didn't like the ending much, though I do admit it fit the story.
RED AS BLOOD
5 stars.
This story, which retells "Snow White," was by far the most shocking (and the most imaginative) of them all. Oh, sure, to cast the Evil Queen as the misunderstood party isn't new, I've seen other authors do the same, and Lee's take on Snow White is also not quite unknown to me (I've read Neil Gaiman doing a variation of the same), but . . . the symbology! The metaphors! The creepiness of it all! The mirror! The ending! Fit to knock one's socks off, I'd say.
THORNS
3 stars.
This looked like it'd be a rather straightforward rehashing of "Sleeping Beauty," but once the fool of a Prince awakened the dormant maiden . . . Heh, you'll have to read it. A very creative twisted ending, but the body of the story is a bit flat and linear.
WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES
1 star.
"Cinderella" was the basic foundation for this story, but I think Tanith Lee torpedoed the premise into nothingness with the demonic and Satan-worship kinks she introduced. By this point, I began to notice she seemed to be rather obessed with Satanic and religious elements that, to me, had a distinct Catholic flavour. The twist by the end wasn't good either, both Ashella (the main character) and her mother came out as cartoon Goth melodrama queens. Frankly, an annoying tale.
THE GOLDEN ROPE
3 stars.
A "Rapunzel" retelling that had the same issues as the one above, but that was better written and whose ending didn't look forcedly bitter for the sake of it. I found the witch here a bit more sympathetic than the golden-haired girl, which is also looking like a Tanith Lee characteristic, because this isn't the first nor the last story where the "bad" character ends up being either more interesting, smarter or more sympathetic than the "good" one.
THE PRINCESS AND HER FUTURE
2 stars.
It looked like it could be a retelling of "The Frog Prince," judging from the elements in common with the original folktale. Too forgettable for my tastes, and it read not well-planned and its conclusion had the taste of something unfinished.
WOLFLAND
4.5 stars.
This was Lee's take on "Little Red Riding Hood" and my second favourite story in the anthology. Extremely creative concept, good deliver, good characterisation and a fitting ending. What else can I ask for? Maybe a sexy Big Bad Wolf, but that wouldn't have worked that well for the plot.
BLACK AS INK
3 stars.
Not sure if this was supposed to be a retelling of "The Swan Maiden," or "The Six Swans," or Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," or all of them mashed up. Not that it matters much, anyway. This story had the most tragic ending and overall read like a tragedy, too. Quite in line with the Russian peasant folktale/Tolstoyan novella aura that surrounded the style Lee used for this story.
BEAUTY
3.5 stars.
I know I'm cursed by the gods to forever nitpick and trash any "Beauty and the Beast" that I put my hands on, but for a change I didn't dislike this one (. . . much, she whispered as she crossed fingers behind her back). The Science Fiction setting and the fact that Beast wasn't some pretty boy prince that'll soon return to his pretty boy prince ways after a few kisses helped a lot, and despite the heroine being rather unlikable to me, I ended up liking the story in a positives-outweigh-negatives sort of way.
THE WATERS OF SORROW
3 stars.
I didn't recognise what fairy tale this story was based on, maybe the legends of the maidens and ghosts of the Rhine that supposedly haunt and lure sailors to death? Maybe. The feel is supposed to be tragic, but it didn't work for me. I took it for an average ghost story instead, and not as imaginative or as ambitious as Lee had got me used to expect from her.
I'm giving the anthology 4 stars overall in spite of the variance seen above, because I liked the book and liked Tanith Lee, who reminds me somewhat of Angela Carter, one of the best tale retellers and a personal favourite. Highly recommended!
Each story appealed to me in different ways, and so despite giving the book an overall rating that shows in the tag, it doesn't apply to each story, because some got five stars whereas others got only one from me. In listing the individual ratings, they would go like this:
PAID PIPER
3 stars.
A retelling of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" set in a distinctly Medieval-looking village that could be located anywhere in Europe, or even in Colonial America. It's one of the stories that felt the most realistic, because besides the magic of the mysterious Piper's music, it could pass off as a real-world story. I didn't like the ending much, though I do admit it fit the story.
RED AS BLOOD
5 stars.
This story, which retells "Snow White," was by far the most shocking (and the most imaginative) of them all. Oh, sure, to cast the Evil Queen as the misunderstood party isn't new, I've seen other authors do the same, and Lee's take on Snow White is also not quite unknown to me (I've read Neil Gaiman doing a variation of the same), but . . . the symbology! The metaphors! The creepiness of it all! The mirror! The ending! Fit to knock one's socks off, I'd say.
THORNS
3 stars.
This looked like it'd be a rather straightforward rehashing of "Sleeping Beauty," but once the fool of a Prince awakened the dormant maiden . . . Heh, you'll have to read it. A very creative twisted ending, but the body of the story is a bit flat and linear.
WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES
1 star.
"Cinderella" was the basic foundation for this story, but I think Tanith Lee torpedoed the premise into nothingness with the demonic and Satan-worship kinks she introduced. By this point, I began to notice she seemed to be rather obessed with Satanic and religious elements that, to me, had a distinct Catholic flavour. The twist by the end wasn't good either, both Ashella (the main character) and her mother came out as cartoon Goth melodrama queens. Frankly, an annoying tale.
THE GOLDEN ROPE
3 stars.
A "Rapunzel" retelling that had the same issues as the one above, but that was better written and whose ending didn't look forcedly bitter for the sake of it. I found the witch here a bit more sympathetic than the golden-haired girl, which is also looking like a Tanith Lee characteristic, because this isn't the first nor the last story where the "bad" character ends up being either more interesting, smarter or more sympathetic than the "good" one.
THE PRINCESS AND HER FUTURE
2 stars.
It looked like it could be a retelling of "The Frog Prince," judging from the elements in common with the original folktale. Too forgettable for my tastes, and it read not well-planned and its conclusion had the taste of something unfinished.
WOLFLAND
4.5 stars.
This was Lee's take on "Little Red Riding Hood" and my second favourite story in the anthology. Extremely creative concept, good deliver, good characterisation and a fitting ending. What else can I ask for? Maybe a sexy Big Bad Wolf, but that wouldn't have worked that well for the plot.
BLACK AS INK
3 stars.
Not sure if this was supposed to be a retelling of "The Swan Maiden," or "The Six Swans," or Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," or all of them mashed up. Not that it matters much, anyway. This story had the most tragic ending and overall read like a tragedy, too. Quite in line with the Russian peasant folktale/Tolstoyan novella aura that surrounded the style Lee used for this story.
BEAUTY
3.5 stars.
I know I'm cursed by the gods to forever nitpick and trash any "Beauty and the Beast" that I put my hands on, but for a change I didn't dislike this one (. . . much, she whispered as she crossed fingers behind her back). The Science Fiction setting and the fact that Beast wasn't some pretty boy prince that'll soon return to his pretty boy prince ways after a few kisses helped a lot, and despite the heroine being rather unlikable to me, I ended up liking the story in a positives-outweigh-negatives sort of way.
THE WATERS OF SORROW
3 stars.
I didn't recognise what fairy tale this story was based on, maybe the legends of the maidens and ghosts of the Rhine that supposedly haunt and lure sailors to death? Maybe. The feel is supposed to be tragic, but it didn't work for me. I took it for an average ghost story instead, and not as imaginative or as ambitious as Lee had got me used to expect from her.
I'm giving the anthology 4 stars overall in spite of the variance seen above, because I liked the book and liked Tanith Lee, who reminds me somewhat of Angela Carter, one of the best tale retellers and a personal favourite. Highly recommended!
April 8, 2014
EDIT, just bought my own copy to reread:
Tanith Lee retells nine fairy tales in this darkly delicious collection. Part of her magic is, what she does, stripping out details and ignoring rules of grammar when it suits her, work perfectly in her hands, but in the hands of a lesser writer would be as clunky and amateurish as a6th grader’s essay on How I Spent My Summer Vacation. But Lee’s so good I’m tempted to eat her books in hopes of absorbing some of her writing ability.
Excuse me now while I gush…
Paid Piper -retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin
In which the Pied Piper is played by Jesus Christ, who has moved far away from the whole ‘lamb and love’ theme. His price of the “your children” here is much, much cruel than the original version.
Oddly, I didn’t agree with his point that the villagers needed to be less concerned with money and more appreciative of the beauty of life since he frames it badly – he seems to be saying EVERY day should be a care-free, eat, drink, dance, do-no-work party day. In which case – when would you ever make the food, clothes, shelter, etc, ?
So, end of the day, everyone comes out looking bad.
Red as Blood- retelling of Snow White
The photo negative of Snow White. Here everything is opposite of the original and it works perfectly.
Also, as a weird extra to ensure a happy ending, Jesus Christ plays Prince Charming and does the Superman turn-the-clock back trick.
Thorns- retelling of Sleeping Beauty
It tells the Sleeping Beauty tale in a somewhat straightforward manner from the prince’s POV – and then keeps going to point out just how horrific the curse really was, and even if it was broken, it still has lasting effects on those who were under it.
When The Clock Strikes- retelling of Cinderella
Again, Lee takes the characters and has them switch places so antagonist becomes protagonist, and vice versa. Prince Charming remains as tofu neutral as ever, poor boy.
The story is stuffed full of details that make the story glow as bright as the descriptions of Cinderella’s hair. Tiny details sing out, comprising a whole that is exquisitely wrought.
This story has been reprinted multiple times in several different collections, and it is understandable, since it pretty much embodies the definition of “retelling.”
The Golden Rope- retelling of Rapunzel
Here, for a change of pace, Prince Charming is played by the devil, and oh my, how he enjoys toying with both witch and Rapunzel!
The Princess And Her Future- retelling of The Frog Prince
An interesting explanation to one of the weakest points of the original tale – why was the princess playing with a “golden ball” and why was she so upset by its loss?
Despite enough foreshadowing to know this story isn’t going to have a happy ending, the end still comes as a shock. I think the story could have used a few more down to earth details about time and place, but that’s just me.
Wolfland- retelling of Little Red Riding Hood
Most versions of Red Riding Hood, even ones set as far away from the original tale as modern day Los Angeles, stick to the idea that Red and family are on the lower end of the economic scale.
So, it was a surprise here to see Red Riding Hood’s family elevated to rich nobles. But, despite wealth, rank and privilege, there are still some very scary monsters to deal with, both those with, without and with both, pelts and fangs.
The setting was absolute perfect for this retelling – autocratic rulers pitted against both a cruel season and animal that doesn’t care about someone else’s’ absolute power.
Black As Ink- retelling of Swan Lake
A story in the “magical realism” genre that doesn’t take advantage of the between-the-wars setting nearly enough. It also strays so far away from the original fairy tale as to be just about unrecognizable, and therefore there is nothing to connect to.
A good story on its own, but I didn’t think much of it as a fairy tale retelling.
Beauty- retelling of Beauty and the Beast
The jewel of the collection and the only Sci-Fi offering. We follow the tale of Beauty and the Beast in a future that is dazzling to behold where Beauty has to pay a price, not just for her father, but her whole species, which make her family shudder with fear and revulsion.
The story would be disdained by a fan of “hard” sci-fi, but I thought it was absolutely wonderful – and a great example of the old chestnut about magic and technology being indistinguishable, which, of course, made it so perfect for this collection, despite the far future setting. I wanted to live in this world, and oh wow was I jealous of Beauty!
Tanith Lee retells nine fairy tales in this darkly delicious collection. Part of her magic is, what she does, stripping out details and ignoring rules of grammar when it suits her, work perfectly in her hands, but in the hands of a lesser writer would be as clunky and amateurish as a6th grader’s essay on How I Spent My Summer Vacation. But Lee’s so good I’m tempted to eat her books in hopes of absorbing some of her writing ability.
Excuse me now while I gush…
Paid Piper -retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin
In which the Pied Piper is played by Jesus Christ, who has moved far away from the whole ‘lamb and love’ theme. His price of the “your children” here is much, much cruel than the original version.
Oddly, I didn’t agree with his point that the villagers needed to be less concerned with money and more appreciative of the beauty of life since he frames it badly – he seems to be saying EVERY day should be a care-free, eat, drink, dance, do-no-work party day. In which case – when would you ever make the food, clothes, shelter, etc, ?
So, end of the day, everyone comes out looking bad.
Red as Blood- retelling of Snow White
The photo negative of Snow White. Here everything is opposite of the original and it works perfectly.
Also, as a weird extra to ensure a happy ending, Jesus Christ plays Prince Charming and does the Superman turn-the-clock back trick.
Thorns- retelling of Sleeping Beauty
It tells the Sleeping Beauty tale in a somewhat straightforward manner from the prince’s POV – and then keeps going to point out just how horrific the curse really was, and even if it was broken, it still has lasting effects on those who were under it.
When The Clock Strikes- retelling of Cinderella
Again, Lee takes the characters and has them switch places so antagonist becomes protagonist, and vice versa. Prince Charming remains as tofu neutral as ever, poor boy.
The story is stuffed full of details that make the story glow as bright as the descriptions of Cinderella’s hair. Tiny details sing out, comprising a whole that is exquisitely wrought.
This story has been reprinted multiple times in several different collections, and it is understandable, since it pretty much embodies the definition of “retelling.”
The Golden Rope- retelling of Rapunzel
Here, for a change of pace, Prince Charming is played by the devil, and oh my, how he enjoys toying with both witch and Rapunzel!
The Princess And Her Future- retelling of The Frog Prince
An interesting explanation to one of the weakest points of the original tale – why was the princess playing with a “golden ball” and why was she so upset by its loss?
Despite enough foreshadowing to know this story isn’t going to have a happy ending, the end still comes as a shock. I think the story could have used a few more down to earth details about time and place, but that’s just me.
Wolfland- retelling of Little Red Riding Hood
Most versions of Red Riding Hood, even ones set as far away from the original tale as modern day Los Angeles, stick to the idea that Red and family are on the lower end of the economic scale.
So, it was a surprise here to see Red Riding Hood’s family elevated to rich nobles. But, despite wealth, rank and privilege, there are still some very scary monsters to deal with, both those with, without and with both, pelts and fangs.
The setting was absolute perfect for this retelling – autocratic rulers pitted against both a cruel season and animal that doesn’t care about someone else’s’ absolute power.
Black As Ink- retelling of Swan Lake
A story in the “magical realism” genre that doesn’t take advantage of the between-the-wars setting nearly enough. It also strays so far away from the original fairy tale as to be just about unrecognizable, and therefore there is nothing to connect to.
A good story on its own, but I didn’t think much of it as a fairy tale retelling.
Beauty- retelling of Beauty and the Beast
The jewel of the collection and the only Sci-Fi offering. We follow the tale of Beauty and the Beast in a future that is dazzling to behold where Beauty has to pay a price, not just for her father, but her whole species, which make her family shudder with fear and revulsion.
The story would be disdained by a fan of “hard” sci-fi, but I thought it was absolutely wonderful – and a great example of the old chestnut about magic and technology being indistinguishable, which, of course, made it so perfect for this collection, despite the far future setting. I wanted to live in this world, and oh wow was I jealous of Beauty!
May 2, 2017
At the head of the stem there blossomed a rose slender as a tulip, its petals a pale and singing green. There were no thorns, or rather only one and that metaphysical, if quite unbearably penetrating.
I adored Tanith Lee's Biting the Sun, and I'm always a fan of fairytale retellings, so I randomly picked this one up from the library. It's mingled fantasy/science fiction, with versions of the familiar stories that are ever so slightly askew, or play around with perspective so that the heroes are the villains & the villains are the heroes. Part of the delight was wading partway through a story and trying to guess/figure out which fairytale it is.
My favourites were:
• "Red As Blood": Snow White turned on its head, and very reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's marvelously disturbing "Snow, Glass, Apples".
• "Wolfland": My absolute fave, because combine Red Riding Hood with werewolves & empowered women & an aloof, powerful beldame of a grandmother & a Gothic manor, and I am so here for this.
• "Beauty": In which the Beast is an alien. I am really intensely averse to xenophilia in my sci fi, but this one is well-told, and the twist in this one made it work for me, somehow.
As a whole, I did get tired of the "the witch is a satanist and Lucifer is real!!" turn that so many of these stories took, but they were still v. enjoyable as retellings and it was a quick, engaging read. I read much worse in My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me.
Sidebar: I read the Kindle edition, but I absolutely hate the cover (there's even a typo on it!?) so I'm setting my read to the paperback.
February 23, 2009
Tanith Lee writes wonderfully lyrical horror stories that sound like fairy tales, so it's only appropriate that she should rewrite some of the old standard. This book contains When the Clock Strikes, a retelling of Cinderella which is worth the price of admission alone, and The Princess and her Future , a heartwarming tale about a princess who marries a handsome prince who promises that "...I will love you for the rest of your life." He keeps his word.
While Tanith Lee's novels can be a little bit of a let down, her short stories are beautiful, horrific, and not to be missed. Definitely a must read.
While Tanith Lee's novels can be a little bit of a let down, her short stories are beautiful, horrific, and not to be missed. Definitely a must read.
April 3, 2017
original post: Books Are My Lovers
Red As Blood is a dark retelling of the famous fairytale Snow White. In this story, Tanith Lee created a very vivid and eerie depiction of the tale with the Evil Queen as the center of it all. In her version, the Queen is not evil. In fact she is a good witch. Snow White here is named Bianca, a princess with a very mysterious and dark disposition who hates to go out of the castle before dusk, with skin as white as snow and lips as red as blood. And for an eerie reason, the magic mirror of the Queen can see all the creatures in their land aside from Bianca. The story unfolds with the same plot and elements as the original fairytale but with darker twists and turns that made me want to read it again and again.
This is actually the first time I ever encountered Tanith Lee and I was amazed by her writing style. There is something magical about her voice that captured me. I also like the way she combined Fantasy and Religion in Red As Blood. From the silver cross the queen tries to give to Bianca, to the spell the queen requested to the fallen anger Lucifer and most especially, the “Prince Charming” who saved Bianca in the end.
I only gave this four stars instead of five though, because I think there is something missing at the end of the story. I just can’t quite point my finger on what it is.
Red As Blood also reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s own version of Snow White entitled Snow, Glass, Apples, in which the Queen is not really the evil one and that Snow White is also not what she seemed to be. I’m still trying to find out if these stories are related to each other (like maybe these stories were in the same anthology or something?). Anyway, I like both of the stories. They are even written differently. I just can’t ease away this curiosity. I hope I can find out the relationship between these stories soon.
Red As Blood is a dark retelling of the famous fairytale Snow White. In this story, Tanith Lee created a very vivid and eerie depiction of the tale with the Evil Queen as the center of it all. In her version, the Queen is not evil. In fact she is a good witch. Snow White here is named Bianca, a princess with a very mysterious and dark disposition who hates to go out of the castle before dusk, with skin as white as snow and lips as red as blood. And for an eerie reason, the magic mirror of the Queen can see all the creatures in their land aside from Bianca. The story unfolds with the same plot and elements as the original fairytale but with darker twists and turns that made me want to read it again and again.
This is actually the first time I ever encountered Tanith Lee and I was amazed by her writing style. There is something magical about her voice that captured me. I also like the way she combined Fantasy and Religion in Red As Blood. From the silver cross the queen tries to give to Bianca, to the spell the queen requested to the fallen anger Lucifer and most especially, the “Prince Charming” who saved Bianca in the end.
I only gave this four stars instead of five though, because I think there is something missing at the end of the story. I just can’t quite point my finger on what it is.
Red As Blood also reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s own version of Snow White entitled Snow, Glass, Apples, in which the Queen is not really the evil one and that Snow White is also not what she seemed to be. I’m still trying to find out if these stories are related to each other (like maybe these stories were in the same anthology or something?). Anyway, I like both of the stories. They are even written differently. I just can’t ease away this curiosity. I hope I can find out the relationship between these stories soon.
July 24, 2008
For the last couple of years I have been focusing on including more short fiction in my reading routine. Likewise, I have been trying to go back to reading more fantasy and science fiction, two genres I devoured in my teens and early twenties but have gotten away from in recent years. Red as Blood by Tanith Lee fits both categories as it's a collection of retold fairy tales, each one with a dark twist.
The stories are based on the Grimm brothers' tales but given a feminist focus. The Grimm stories do tend to boil down to fantastic and supernatural things happening to young women who then often (though not always) need rescuing by a male hero. They can do with a good turning inside out but the ways in which that's done in this collection feels too gimmicky.
The other major problem with these stories is the emphasis on evil. So many of the female characters are doing evil deeds that the positives of giving the old stories a feminist spin are undone. I didn't come away with a favorite story. I found the whole process of reading this book tedious, although the discomfort was quick as the book is short.
The stories are based on the Grimm brothers' tales but given a feminist focus. The Grimm stories do tend to boil down to fantastic and supernatural things happening to young women who then often (though not always) need rescuing by a male hero. They can do with a good turning inside out but the ways in which that's done in this collection feels too gimmicky.
The other major problem with these stories is the emphasis on evil. So many of the female characters are doing evil deeds that the positives of giving the old stories a feminist spin are undone. I didn't come away with a favorite story. I found the whole process of reading this book tedious, although the discomfort was quick as the book is short.
June 9, 2018
Many of these are pretty grim and are a fun twist on the old fairy tales. A good read but maybe not her best. I think I've read some of them in the distant past and possibly even this collection. The impetus to read this came from a list posted by author Kate Elliott, consensus seems to be it was a mixed bag. I think for a first Lee read, I would recommend The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales.
There's one thing I hate about GoodReads: finding out that an author I like has passed on, which is the case with Tanith Lee. I'm happier thinking they are working on their next book or restoring an old mansion or otherwise enjoying life.
There's one thing I hate about GoodReads: finding out that an author I like has passed on, which is the case with Tanith Lee. I'm happier thinking they are working on their next book or restoring an old mansion or otherwise enjoying life.
June 12, 2020
Y’know, I just don’t care what Tanith Lee writes about. She could write a book about an elven maiden watching paint dry and I’d still read it. It reminds me why I went through a phase in my teens where I read every Tanith Lee book in the public library (some twice) before considering a switch to another author. Her writing is just so damned good.
Anyway, it was a treat to stumble across this collection of short stories, which riff some well trodden fairy tales. Each reads like an artful blend of folklore, religion and mythology. The result is totally coherent and totally Tanith Lee. Some books are pure joy. Add this one to the list.
Anyway, it was a treat to stumble across this collection of short stories, which riff some well trodden fairy tales. Each reads like an artful blend of folklore, religion and mythology. The result is totally coherent and totally Tanith Lee. Some books are pure joy. Add this one to the list.
April 11, 2018
A wonderful classic of dark fantasy; every short story in this collection is a small jewel. Comparable in quality and prose to Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber of which I'm confident Lee was heavily indebted to.
January 24, 2008
In sort of the reverse of how fairy tales have gradually gone from Grimm to sanitized, Tanith Lee has taken 9 classic fairy tales and turned them dark.
Overall, it's an intriguing idea. However, the repeated Satan-worship theme got really old. There was only one story I really enjoyed -- the last one, "Beauty." Perhaps not coincidentally, it is the only one that is SF rather than fantasy.
Overall, it's an intriguing idea. However, the repeated Satan-worship theme got really old. There was only one story I really enjoyed -- the last one, "Beauty." Perhaps not coincidentally, it is the only one that is SF rather than fantasy.
February 24, 2021
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
Well, I read this mainly because I needed to read something this month for a reading game in a group and this was short enough so I figured, 'why not?' It's a collection of fairy-tale retellings so I knew I couldn't go wrong with it, and.....I was kinda right, and also kinda wrong. It gave me major vibes of The Bloody Chamber, which any woman nowadays writing feminist retellings of fairy-tales owes at least a small bit of credit to. I haven't read it myself, I want to, but from what I know about it this book definitely took a lot of inspiration from it, evenmoreso because of when it was originally written.
Since this is a collection of short stories, I'll talk about them all individually.
Paid Piper: Three stars. This was one of my faves in this collection partially just because of the fact you very rarely see retellings of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, why I don't know, but I digress. The setting of a pagan Asian nation was unique as well as the Pied Piper himself. The atmosphere and descriptions worked really well in this story, when he was playing his music and you could just feel the merriment and your various cares lifting off your shoulders. As well as the twist of who he actually was, and the interpterion on the whole 'since you didn't pay me I'll take away your children' Instead of literally taking them away, he makes it so the entire village is barren and infertile to the point everyone has to move on or risk starvation. Overall, it was a strong start to the collection.
Red as Blood: Three stars. The short story the collection gets its name from, and it was an interesting premise I have to admit, with Snow White being born of a Satanist or similar belief and the stepmother is just a good, pious Christian who is trying to constantly rid herself of the she-devil. It had a dark yet tongue-in-cheek tone about the whole thing like how Snow White is poisoned by a Communion wafer. I suppose I wanted to see more? It was the second-shortest story in the collection and I know Snow White itself is not a very long story, but the same could be said of any fairy-tale that gets stretched out into a full-length novel or even a feature length film. I wanted to see more of the twisted sense of irony this story had I guess.
Thorns: Two stars. The biggest issue was the extremely vague time period and setting. For the first few stories in this collection that was a huge issue but nowhere was it more confusing than here. According to Wikipedia this is meant to be 1400's Eurasia but what does that mean? Is this Russia? Nothing about it seemed extremely Russian to me. Turkey? Not really. But I digress because that wasn't the point of the story, the point was to tell a twisted version of Sleeping Beauty where the curse is broken after a hundred years but everything is too decayed and awkward for anyone to find any joy in the aftermath. Even Sleeping Beauty says 'you should've just left me to sleep for eternity'. However this was one of my least favourites purely because the idea is interesting but I've seen it done numerous times, what would happen if the curse was broken a hundred years later and overall it was quite vague and distant, there was no connection in the story to anyone or anything. Thus, an original idea that I've seen done a lot better in other works than here.
When the Clock Strikes: Two stars as I feel that this one was one of the worst ones in the collection. It's when I started to realize that up to this point almost all of the stories had been about girls worshipping some form of dark magic and performing dark arts and while I have no issue with that, while I don't mind dark retellings obviously, but there needs to be some kind of balance. This one was about Ashella as she's named going to the ball using the black magic her mother left for her with a tree on her grave. Overall it was just boring and I've seen stuff like this done before; the stepmother and stepsisters are the good people while Cinderella is the bad one to blame. While this also did have some interesting twists like Ashella purposefully making herself ugly so her spell to bewitch the prince will be stronger and enchanting the glass slipper to fit only herself, as well as the fact this is being told to you in second person, the only one in this collection, it didn't click with me and felt repetitive and was filled with ideas I've seen before that I don't like.
The Golden Rope: Two stars. This was another of my least-favourites. Rapunzel retellings are notoriously hit-or-miss for me, sometimes I'll find one I really like and other times I...don't. So I should've expected that going into this. Again, it's a girl worshipping a dark god of darkness and evil except this time it felt like it really had no purpose. The other ones had a point but this one felt like it had no point and little reason to exist. It dragged on and the ending overall felt very rushed and I had no clue what it was trying to go for.
The Princess and Her Future: Three stars. This was where it finally started to get really good again. I think this one was the shortest one in the entire collection and took place in 1700's Persia. There are only a few retellings of The Frog Prince but they're all fantastic hence my excitement when I realized what this was and it didn't fail me. Short but to the point with a very chilling ending I didn't see coming.
Wolfland: Four stars. One of the best and one of my favourites from this collection, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that is as sensual and bloody as the best of them. Set in 1800's Germany, the protagonist is of an interesting personality rarely seen and one gets to follow her along trying to figure out what secret her Grandma is hiding. At first I thought I knew what it was and I was correct, but the way it actually played out was surprising and I loved it. This felt like something that could've comfortably fit into something like The Bloody Chamber, about two women discovering their independence in a male-dominated world. I was hooked from start to finish despite this being one of the longer ones in the collection. I especially liked the ending, with Liesel becoming part of the creatures herself.
Black as Ink: Three stars. This one started out quite promising but ended really strangely and ultimately I had no clue what had happened or what it was trying to do. It's supposed to be a retelling of Swan Lake in 1910's Russia but it's not, really. It has nothing to do with Swan Lake and one could argue none of these stories do, but they hit the important plot points of each story they're retelling and this one doesn't hit any of them. It's mainly about a guy who's convinced he's having a mental breakdown. The stuff related to Swan Lake felt really shoved in, especially the ending where Odette has black short hair, it felt like a reference to Odile that was just put into the ending because 'oh it's Swan Lake and we need the Black Swan!' It's a shame it fell so flat because Swan Lake is a popular one for feminist writers to tackle as an allegory for independence among the patriarchal society and a story as famously dark and tragic as the Swan Lake ballet and the Russian/German folklores that inspired it would've been a perfect fit for a collection like this, but it was not meant to be.
Beauty: Five stars. The best in this entire collection, they truly did save the best for last(originally at least). I've always said we could use more science-fiction retellings of fairy-tales and this did not disappoint, it delivered on exactly what I was promised. Easily my most favourite. The world-building was superb, the sci-fi atmosphere was amazing, and how the love story was handled was really well-done. I saw the twist coming of what the aliens actually were and how it fit into the Beauty and the Beast archetype, but I didn't see the other twist coming about who Estar really was. It was beautiful in its own way. One of the best retellings of Beauty and the Beast that I've ever read.
The Waters of Sorrow: Three stars. My version came with a bonus short story and thus I knew nothing about it going in and assumed it was a Little Mermaid retelling by the name, but then I started to actually read it and when I realized what it was I was like ':0!!!!! is this what I think it is?!' It is! It's a retelling of Giselle set in 1880's Germany! To be fair Giselle is a ballet, not a typical fairy-tale but so's Swan Lake so I digress. However even though I like the story of Giselle this one was average to me because despite the setting it was...literally exactly the same story as the ballet. The point of the idea behind a retelling is to mix up a famous story in some way, not just change one aspect of it and leave the rest as is. Well maybe changing one thing would in turn change the whole story, but that didn't happen here. It was literally just the ballet of Giselle, scene-for-scene.
Another thing I'd like to mention because it fell into all stories obviously was the writing. Extremely beautiful, atmospheric, descriptive writing that truly makes you feel like you're in the moment, isolated in an ethereal kingdom. One of the best writing styles in my opinion. I didn't mention it until now because it encompasses all of the stories and is the reason no story is lower than two stars because even in the worst stories, the writing style was still impeccable and decadent. I also liked the theme of the time periods; 1st century, 1300's, 1400's, 1500's, 1600's, 1700's, 1800's, 1900's, the future...see the pattern? It was cool but also felt a bit unneeded since it's not like the stories really had anything to do with each other or led one into another or anything like that. So even though I liked it it kinda felt pointless in the grand scheme of things.
I also really dislike the new cover and I know I'm not alone in that, the old one fit the tone and premise far better, this looks like some paranormal romcom cover. Which is fine for an actual paranormal romcom but not for dark fantasy fairy-tale retellings.
Ultimately, it started out dull and went out with a literal bang. Still, despite it getting a whole lot better near the end, I can only comfortably give it three stars at the end of the day because it had a lot of ups and downs that mellowed out into an average read. It was good, but not good enough.
Well, I read this mainly because I needed to read something this month for a reading game in a group and this was short enough so I figured, 'why not?' It's a collection of fairy-tale retellings so I knew I couldn't go wrong with it, and.....I was kinda right, and also kinda wrong. It gave me major vibes of The Bloody Chamber, which any woman nowadays writing feminist retellings of fairy-tales owes at least a small bit of credit to. I haven't read it myself, I want to, but from what I know about it this book definitely took a lot of inspiration from it, evenmoreso because of when it was originally written.
Since this is a collection of short stories, I'll talk about them all individually.
Paid Piper: Three stars. This was one of my faves in this collection partially just because of the fact you very rarely see retellings of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, why I don't know, but I digress. The setting of a pagan Asian nation was unique as well as the Pied Piper himself. The atmosphere and descriptions worked really well in this story, when he was playing his music and you could just feel the merriment and your various cares lifting off your shoulders. As well as the twist of who he actually was, and the interpterion on the whole 'since you didn't pay me I'll take away your children' Instead of literally taking them away, he makes it so the entire village is barren and infertile to the point everyone has to move on or risk starvation. Overall, it was a strong start to the collection.
Red as Blood: Three stars. The short story the collection gets its name from, and it was an interesting premise I have to admit, with Snow White being born of a Satanist or similar belief and the stepmother is just a good, pious Christian who is trying to constantly rid herself of the she-devil. It had a dark yet tongue-in-cheek tone about the whole thing like how Snow White is poisoned by a Communion wafer. I suppose I wanted to see more? It was the second-shortest story in the collection and I know Snow White itself is not a very long story, but the same could be said of any fairy-tale that gets stretched out into a full-length novel or even a feature length film. I wanted to see more of the twisted sense of irony this story had I guess.
Thorns: Two stars. The biggest issue was the extremely vague time period and setting. For the first few stories in this collection that was a huge issue but nowhere was it more confusing than here. According to Wikipedia this is meant to be 1400's Eurasia but what does that mean? Is this Russia? Nothing about it seemed extremely Russian to me. Turkey? Not really. But I digress because that wasn't the point of the story, the point was to tell a twisted version of Sleeping Beauty where the curse is broken after a hundred years but everything is too decayed and awkward for anyone to find any joy in the aftermath. Even Sleeping Beauty says 'you should've just left me to sleep for eternity'. However this was one of my least favourites purely because the idea is interesting but I've seen it done numerous times, what would happen if the curse was broken a hundred years later and overall it was quite vague and distant, there was no connection in the story to anyone or anything. Thus, an original idea that I've seen done a lot better in other works than here.
When the Clock Strikes: Two stars as I feel that this one was one of the worst ones in the collection. It's when I started to realize that up to this point almost all of the stories had been about girls worshipping some form of dark magic and performing dark arts and while I have no issue with that, while I don't mind dark retellings obviously, but there needs to be some kind of balance. This one was about Ashella as she's named going to the ball using the black magic her mother left for her with a tree on her grave. Overall it was just boring and I've seen stuff like this done before; the stepmother and stepsisters are the good people while Cinderella is the bad one to blame. While this also did have some interesting twists like Ashella purposefully making herself ugly so her spell to bewitch the prince will be stronger and enchanting the glass slipper to fit only herself, as well as the fact this is being told to you in second person, the only one in this collection, it didn't click with me and felt repetitive and was filled with ideas I've seen before that I don't like.
The Golden Rope: Two stars. This was another of my least-favourites. Rapunzel retellings are notoriously hit-or-miss for me, sometimes I'll find one I really like and other times I...don't. So I should've expected that going into this. Again, it's a girl worshipping a dark god of darkness and evil except this time it felt like it really had no purpose. The other ones had a point but this one felt like it had no point and little reason to exist. It dragged on and the ending overall felt very rushed and I had no clue what it was trying to go for.
The Princess and Her Future: Three stars. This was where it finally started to get really good again. I think this one was the shortest one in the entire collection and took place in 1700's Persia. There are only a few retellings of The Frog Prince but they're all fantastic hence my excitement when I realized what this was and it didn't fail me. Short but to the point with a very chilling ending I didn't see coming.
Wolfland: Four stars. One of the best and one of my favourites from this collection, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that is as sensual and bloody as the best of them. Set in 1800's Germany, the protagonist is of an interesting personality rarely seen and one gets to follow her along trying to figure out what secret her Grandma is hiding. At first I thought I knew what it was and I was correct, but the way it actually played out was surprising and I loved it. This felt like something that could've comfortably fit into something like The Bloody Chamber, about two women discovering their independence in a male-dominated world. I was hooked from start to finish despite this being one of the longer ones in the collection. I especially liked the ending, with Liesel becoming part of the creatures herself.
Black as Ink: Three stars. This one started out quite promising but ended really strangely and ultimately I had no clue what had happened or what it was trying to do. It's supposed to be a retelling of Swan Lake in 1910's Russia but it's not, really. It has nothing to do with Swan Lake and one could argue none of these stories do, but they hit the important plot points of each story they're retelling and this one doesn't hit any of them. It's mainly about a guy who's convinced he's having a mental breakdown. The stuff related to Swan Lake felt really shoved in, especially the ending where Odette has black short hair, it felt like a reference to Odile that was just put into the ending because 'oh it's Swan Lake and we need the Black Swan!' It's a shame it fell so flat because Swan Lake is a popular one for feminist writers to tackle as an allegory for independence among the patriarchal society and a story as famously dark and tragic as the Swan Lake ballet and the Russian/German folklores that inspired it would've been a perfect fit for a collection like this, but it was not meant to be.
Beauty: Five stars. The best in this entire collection, they truly did save the best for last(originally at least). I've always said we could use more science-fiction retellings of fairy-tales and this did not disappoint, it delivered on exactly what I was promised. Easily my most favourite. The world-building was superb, the sci-fi atmosphere was amazing, and how the love story was handled was really well-done. I saw the twist coming of what the aliens actually were and how it fit into the Beauty and the Beast archetype, but I didn't see the other twist coming about who Estar really was. It was beautiful in its own way. One of the best retellings of Beauty and the Beast that I've ever read.
The Waters of Sorrow: Three stars. My version came with a bonus short story and thus I knew nothing about it going in and assumed it was a Little Mermaid retelling by the name, but then I started to actually read it and when I realized what it was I was like ':0!!!!! is this what I think it is?!' It is! It's a retelling of Giselle set in 1880's Germany! To be fair Giselle is a ballet, not a typical fairy-tale but so's Swan Lake so I digress. However even though I like the story of Giselle this one was average to me because despite the setting it was...literally exactly the same story as the ballet. The point of the idea behind a retelling is to mix up a famous story in some way, not just change one aspect of it and leave the rest as is. Well maybe changing one thing would in turn change the whole story, but that didn't happen here. It was literally just the ballet of Giselle, scene-for-scene.
Another thing I'd like to mention because it fell into all stories obviously was the writing. Extremely beautiful, atmospheric, descriptive writing that truly makes you feel like you're in the moment, isolated in an ethereal kingdom. One of the best writing styles in my opinion. I didn't mention it until now because it encompasses all of the stories and is the reason no story is lower than two stars because even in the worst stories, the writing style was still impeccable and decadent. I also liked the theme of the time periods; 1st century, 1300's, 1400's, 1500's, 1600's, 1700's, 1800's, 1900's, the future...see the pattern? It was cool but also felt a bit unneeded since it's not like the stories really had anything to do with each other or led one into another or anything like that. So even though I liked it it kinda felt pointless in the grand scheme of things.
I also really dislike the new cover and I know I'm not alone in that, the old one fit the tone and premise far better, this looks like some paranormal romcom cover. Which is fine for an actual paranormal romcom but not for dark fantasy fairy-tale retellings.
Ultimately, it started out dull and went out with a literal bang. Still, despite it getting a whole lot better near the end, I can only comfortably give it three stars at the end of the day because it had a lot of ups and downs that mellowed out into an average read. It was good, but not good enough.
November 30, 2019
If you like dark fairy tales retold for adults you might really enjoy this collection. Although they are creatively written they are too dark for me. They give me the creeps!
February 22, 2021
This collection is not so much a retelling of old fairy tales as a way of using them as inspiration since the connection is often pretty tenuous and in one case very unclear ('Black as Ink', a story of ennui among the better off classes which has the presence of a swan at one point so might be a swan princess story, but really doesn't come across as a fairy tale at all).
One theme becomes rather repetitive: the "woman as Satan worshipper" trope. I also found the notes on the contents page, which attempt to pin the stories to particular geographical locations and centuries, rather redundant since as most of them come across as being able to be set anywhere and very vaguely as to time.
However, I did like a couple of them more than others: 'Wolfland' was elevated above the rest of the collection in having actual characters as opposed to cardboard archetypes, and 'Beauty', a science fiction story taking Beauty and the Beast as a jumping off point. So on the whole I would rate this at 3 stars.
One theme becomes rather repetitive: the "woman as Satan worshipper" trope. I also found the notes on the contents page, which attempt to pin the stories to particular geographical locations and centuries, rather redundant since as most of them come across as being able to be set anywhere and very vaguely as to time.
However, I did like a couple of them more than others: 'Wolfland' was elevated above the rest of the collection in having actual characters as opposed to cardboard archetypes, and 'Beauty', a science fiction story taking Beauty and the Beast as a jumping off point. So on the whole I would rate this at 3 stars.
November 10, 2018
This was a wonderful book. I am generally *not* a fan of short stories. I like stories that with lots of character development and there isn't time for that in short stories. Maybe this collection was improved by already "knowing" the stories, but I don't think that's the only reason. They were definitely not for kids and one or two were rather disturbing, but riveting all the same. I would only say that one had any real innuendo, but the themes were adult (or, at least, young adult).
I read a collection of retellings by Robin McKinley, The Door in the Hedge that was okay, but I didn't particularly love. This was a completely different bird. I really enjoyed it.
I read a collection of retellings by Robin McKinley, The Door in the Hedge that was okay, but I didn't particularly love. This was a completely different bird. I really enjoyed it.
March 28, 2007
Godliness is next to more Godliness, apparently. This collection of fairy tale re-imaginings could have been good--a lot of her ideas are excellent and I'd love to see them in the hands of a better writer--but I only got through about half the stories in this collection. And of those six or so, five were varying degrees of allegory, usually of the "wicked person worships SATAN and GOD won't save you then." A little too much in the Christian tradition for me, particularly when the stories were set in distinctly non-Christian eras/places. Any more ham-handed and it would need mittens of bread and mustard.
December 30, 2009
Oh my. That was *fantastic*. My favourite genre, riffs off of well-known fairy tales. Dark and twisted new takes on old stories. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. I do wonder what Black as Ink is supposed to be, though. Wikipedia says The White Duck, which is ridiculous. It has not even a nodding acquaintance with The White Duck. With the swans I'd think it was The Swan Princess, but bits of it made me think of Giselle... though Giselle isn't well-known enough for that kind of thing, generally. For that matter, neither is The White Duck. The Swan Princess makes the most sense, in the context of how well-known the stories in the book are. It really is a wonderful book. Love.
February 4, 2015
Didn't really enjoy this as a whole, but then, I am usually apathetic about short stories. Most of these were too long without being satisfactory, and most never seemed to reach any sort of point. The last one was good though and I actually kind of wish it had been longer.
Oh, and I don't know why Lee even bothered noting the setting of each story, since any of them could have been set anywhere. Like, why did the characters use French in the Scandinavian stories? Am I missing something?
Oh, and I don't know why Lee even bothered noting the setting of each story, since any of them could have been set anywhere. Like, why did the characters use French in the Scandinavian stories? Am I missing something?
March 28, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed some tales and others not so much. My favorite tale in this collection is "Wolfland", and some others I enjoyed were "When the clock strikes", "The Princess and Her Future", and "Beauty".
Tanith Lee writes in a most evocative way but some stories were a bit too heavy handed with metaphor and lacked in subtlety.
Tanith Lee writes in a most evocative way but some stories were a bit too heavy handed with metaphor and lacked in subtlety.
December 10, 2008
The most excellent collection of fairy tales.
December 19, 2015
This certainly lives up to its reputation!
(But the cover is horrid - especially compared to the older covers.)
(But the cover is horrid - especially compared to the older covers.)
June 25, 2017
3.5 stars - good
I read this book on June 24, 2017, and reviewed each story after I finished them. But now that I'm done, I have a few thoughts I can share about the book as a whole. . .
I am giving this book a three-and-a-half star -
good - rating mostly thanks to three stories. Paid Piper, Beauty, and The Waters of Sorrow were by far the best for me in this collection. Paid Piper was the first story; the other two were, in the order listed, the last two stories in the book. All seven of the in-between stories were far less enjoyable, mostly because most - if not all - of them were incomprehensible to me. So the three gems saved it from a two-star-okay rating.
Also, if we add all of the individual ratings, we get 33. Divided by 10, for the 10 stories. . .Well, I'm okay with rounding up thanks to the strong beginning and wonderful ending. :-)
So I am very glad that I pushed through to read that wonderful ending. I had wondered if I'd be able to finish this book, because most of the incomprehensible stories were a slog to get through. I had to take a nap at one point (in the middle of When the Clock Strikes!). And I was fighting sleep at a later point (*ahem* Wolfland *cough, cough*). But thankfully, Beauty woke me up again.
And now, here are my thoughts on each of the 10 stories in this anthology. . .
Paid Piper, 4 stars - very good; really liked
This was the story of Cleci, a 14-year-old girl, and the Piper, and Cleci's village. If I understood it correctly, it shares how humanity can stagnate if it does not open its heart to new ideas. When the village denied the Piper, it failed. Though the Piper wasn't really a hero.
Red as Blood, 3.5 stars - good
I think this was a retelling of Snow White, but it didn't entirely make sense. "Snow White" was Bianca, I think, and an evil Snow White she was. Where it lost me was in the end.
I'm not entirely sure how And if there was some message to be gleaned from this story, it was lost on me. :-/
Thorns, 3.5 stars - good
This retelling of Sleeping Beauty lost me in the end. The ???
I didn't understand that ending at all. :-(
When the Clock Strikes, 2 stars - okay
This Cinderella story was very chilling, until (!!!) So that kind of put paid to the story.
And I did not understand the point to it. The words that followed the aforementioned scene made sense, but just as words. They didn't clarify anything for me and, instead, deepened my confusion. *grumble, grumble*
Also, as mentioned up above, while I was reading this story, I grew so tired during the descriptive passages that I paused partway through to take a nap. (Granted, I only got maybe five hours of sleep last night, but still. . .) :-(
The Golden Rope, 3.5 stars - good
This story, a Rapunzel retelling (I think), was interesting, but once again it lost me in the end. Jaspre ("Rapunzel") was What?! I just did not understand it. :-(
The Princess and Her Future, 2 stars - okay
I don't have the foggiest idea as to what fairy tale this story retold, and perhaps it is for that reason that I didn't understand this story. Or rather, I think I understood it, right up until the end. When (?!?!) :-(
Wolfland, 2 stars - okay
Was this a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood? I don't know, but and I was lost.
Also, this story was so full of descriptive passages that it almost put me to sleep. :-(
Black as Ink, 3.5 stars - good
Was this story a retelling of Swan Lake? Or some fairy tale that involved swans? It was interesting, but then it lost me in the end, as have so many of the stories in this book.
In the end, I think That didn't make much sense to me.
Beauty, 4 stars - very good; really liked
This was a rather fun story. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it featured an alien as "the beast." And I really enjoyed that twist in the end. :-)
And I'm pleased to report that I understood this story. :-)
The Waters of Sorrow, 5 stars - outstanding
This story. . .I have no idea what fairy tale it retold, but. . .It was devastating. As I mentioned in my status update, I didn't cry while reading it, not even in the end, but after finishing it. . . Well. A few minutes later it sunk in and then I cried.
Essentially, this is a
And then that ending! So poignant and sad. But in an understated way that didn't hit me right away. It was really just fantastic. :-)
I read this book on June 24, 2017, and reviewed each story after I finished them. But now that I'm done, I have a few thoughts I can share about the book as a whole. . .
I am giving this book a three-and-a-half star -
good - rating mostly thanks to three stories. Paid Piper, Beauty, and The Waters of Sorrow were by far the best for me in this collection. Paid Piper was the first story; the other two were, in the order listed, the last two stories in the book. All seven of the in-between stories were far less enjoyable, mostly because most - if not all - of them were incomprehensible to me. So the three gems saved it from a two-star-okay rating.
Also, if we add all of the individual ratings, we get 33. Divided by 10, for the 10 stories. . .Well, I'm okay with rounding up thanks to the strong beginning and wonderful ending. :-)
So I am very glad that I pushed through to read that wonderful ending. I had wondered if I'd be able to finish this book, because most of the incomprehensible stories were a slog to get through. I had to take a nap at one point (in the middle of When the Clock Strikes!). And I was fighting sleep at a later point (*ahem* Wolfland *cough, cough*). But thankfully, Beauty woke me up again.
And now, here are my thoughts on each of the 10 stories in this anthology. . .
Paid Piper, 4 stars - very good; really liked
This was the story of Cleci, a 14-year-old girl, and the Piper, and Cleci's village. If I understood it correctly, it shares how humanity can stagnate if it does not open its heart to new ideas. When the village denied the Piper, it failed. Though the Piper wasn't really a hero.
Red as Blood, 3.5 stars - good
I think this was a retelling of Snow White, but it didn't entirely make sense. "Snow White" was Bianca, I think, and an evil Snow White she was. Where it lost me was in the end.
I'm not entirely sure how And if there was some message to be gleaned from this story, it was lost on me. :-/
Thorns, 3.5 stars - good
This retelling of Sleeping Beauty lost me in the end. The ???
I didn't understand that ending at all. :-(
When the Clock Strikes, 2 stars - okay
This Cinderella story was very chilling, until (!!!) So that kind of put paid to the story.
And I did not understand the point to it. The words that followed the aforementioned scene made sense, but just as words. They didn't clarify anything for me and, instead, deepened my confusion. *grumble, grumble*
Also, as mentioned up above, while I was reading this story, I grew so tired during the descriptive passages that I paused partway through to take a nap. (Granted, I only got maybe five hours of sleep last night, but still. . .) :-(
The Golden Rope, 3.5 stars - good
This story, a Rapunzel retelling (I think), was interesting, but once again it lost me in the end. Jaspre ("Rapunzel") was What?! I just did not understand it. :-(
The Princess and Her Future, 2 stars - okay
I don't have the foggiest idea as to what fairy tale this story retold, and perhaps it is for that reason that I didn't understand this story. Or rather, I think I understood it, right up until the end. When (?!?!) :-(
Wolfland, 2 stars - okay
Was this a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood? I don't know, but and I was lost.
Also, this story was so full of descriptive passages that it almost put me to sleep. :-(
Black as Ink, 3.5 stars - good
Was this story a retelling of Swan Lake? Or some fairy tale that involved swans? It was interesting, but then it lost me in the end, as have so many of the stories in this book.
In the end, I think That didn't make much sense to me.
Beauty, 4 stars - very good; really liked
This was a rather fun story. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it featured an alien as "the beast." And I really enjoyed that twist in the end. :-)
And I'm pleased to report that I understood this story. :-)
The Waters of Sorrow, 5 stars - outstanding
This story. . .I have no idea what fairy tale it retold, but. . .It was devastating. As I mentioned in my status update, I didn't cry while reading it, not even in the end, but after finishing it. . . Well. A few minutes later it sunk in and then I cried.
Essentially, this is a
And then that ending! So poignant and sad. But in an understated way that didn't hit me right away. It was really just fantastic. :-)
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