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Once Upon a Fact
"Once upon a time" is a magical phrase; an incantation that conjures stories into being and gives them life. What we now call "fairy tales" outlived their original creators, outlasted their descendants, and one day might very well survive the death of our species. When, and if, humanity leaves this planet, fairy tales will make the journey too -- into the far-flung reaches of the galaxy and into the distant dimension of the future.
How different will the fairy tales of the future be from the stories told around hearth fires a thousand years ago? I suspect they will be utterly different and yet completely familiar.
How different will the fairy tales of the future be from the stories told around hearth fires a thousand years ago? I suspect they will be utterly different and yet completely familiar.
200 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2018
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 12, 2019
(This review originally appeared at Mad Scientist Journal.)
Once Upon a Fact is a collection of 18 retellings of fairy tales and other traditional stories with a science fiction twist, edited by Katherine Tomlinson. In stories that are both familiar and unfamiliar, these authors envision what fairy tales of the future might look like.
As is the case with many retellings of fairy tales, there are always some original stories that I’m familiar with, while others are new to me. “The Seed Stitch Solution,” by Ginn Hale, is beautifully written, but I’m not familiar with the story it’s based on (The Match-Stick Girl), so I suspect that some of the parallels are lost on me, though that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. “The Girl with the Cybernetic Hands,” by John Donald Carlucci, is based on another fairy tale I don’t know (The Girl with the Silver Hands), but it has great worldbuilding and characterization that sucked me in.
Some of the other stories that I really loved were based on stories that I know and love. “How to Marry off Your Human,” by Shauna Roberts, is an absolutely adorable retelling of Puss in Boots, and “Alice through the Snapface Filter,” by Megan McCord, was an insightful modernization of Alice in Wonderland. I also loved the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, “The Artifact on Svijet Five,” by Kat Parrish, which has its own mythmaking, as the characters concoct a sort of fairy tale to clear up what they’ve done. And “Ella and the Ball,” by Kaye George, is the most wonderfully twisted retelling of Cinderella I’ve ever seen done!
The publisher provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
Once Upon a Fact is a collection of 18 retellings of fairy tales and other traditional stories with a science fiction twist, edited by Katherine Tomlinson. In stories that are both familiar and unfamiliar, these authors envision what fairy tales of the future might look like.
As is the case with many retellings of fairy tales, there are always some original stories that I’m familiar with, while others are new to me. “The Seed Stitch Solution,” by Ginn Hale, is beautifully written, but I’m not familiar with the story it’s based on (The Match-Stick Girl), so I suspect that some of the parallels are lost on me, though that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. “The Girl with the Cybernetic Hands,” by John Donald Carlucci, is based on another fairy tale I don’t know (The Girl with the Silver Hands), but it has great worldbuilding and characterization that sucked me in.
Some of the other stories that I really loved were based on stories that I know and love. “How to Marry off Your Human,” by Shauna Roberts, is an absolutely adorable retelling of Puss in Boots, and “Alice through the Snapface Filter,” by Megan McCord, was an insightful modernization of Alice in Wonderland. I also loved the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, “The Artifact on Svijet Five,” by Kat Parrish, which has its own mythmaking, as the characters concoct a sort of fairy tale to clear up what they’ve done. And “Ella and the Ball,” by Kaye George, is the most wonderfully twisted retelling of Cinderella I’ve ever seen done!
The publisher provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
September 4, 2019
18 Fairy Tales, set in the future. It was really a fun read, and a mixed bag in terms of tone - there was tragedy, there was romance, there was humor. My favorite was "How to Marry off Your Human,” by Shauna Roberts, a retelling of Puss in Boots set on a moon colony, that made me laugh out loud several times. I also loved the last story, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, where both characters are scientists, and fall in love while working on a project together.
It's a lovely collection and I am so glad I picked it up and FINALLY read it.
It's a lovely collection and I am so glad I picked it up and FINALLY read it.
September 3, 2018
Read Ginn's story, just for that 5 star
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews