Fairy Tales and Space Dreams

by Jasmine Shea Townsend

"Fairy Tales and Space Dreams" is a fantasy and science fiction anthology containing three fantasy and three sci-fi stories. The synopses of each story are as follows:

"Princess Snow White" is a retelling of Snow White whereas she has hair as white as snow and skin as black as ebony, rather than the other way around. Although the original fairy tale lends this story its bones, this version of Snow White deals with the idea of Afrocentric beauty as an acceptable standard, as opposed to Eurocentric beauty being the only standard.

"The Sea and the Stars" is a queer love story between a mermaid wallflowering at a party and a star that's fallen from the sky.

"Rapunzel the Night Maiden" is a retelling in which Rapunzel finds out a secret about her identity and goes on an adventure to find her people.

"Omega Star Genesis" takes place far in the future, when humans are making a mass exodus from a dying Earth to flee a deadly virus. They are on a 10-year trip to Alpha Centauri when the Captain finds out their head engineer is building illegal A.I.s

"The Cosmic Adventures of Sophie Zetyld" follows River, an ordinary grad student living an ordinary life in the suburbs when a comet is spotted soaring over his town. He later finds out that that wasn't a comet at all. It was an omni-dimensional space being named Sophie, who's come to let him know that he's been chosen to help save the world.

"Evangelina's Dream" is mainly an epilogue to "Sophie Zetyld." Not much can be said without giving anything away, but the reader will be in for a trippy ride.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy

114 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Jasmine was born in Toledo, Ohio on 5 July, 1992. She was almost born on the 4th of July, but life isn't always fair.
She received her BA in 2013 from The University of Toledo with a major in creative writing and a minor in Japanese. In 2015, she earned her MA in English literature from The University of Toledo as well.
"The Comet in the Sky," an early excerpt from The Cosmic Adventures of Sophie Zetyld, won second place in The Toledo Writers Workshop's 2015 "Find Your Inner Superhero" short story contest.
She currently lives in Ohio with her boyfriend and two mischievous cats, Tantan and Lulu (short for Lucrezia Borgia).
She enjoys ballroom dancing, ballet, video games (especially Soul Calibur, Super Smash Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Splatoon), j-fashion (especially Fairy Kei and Lolita), working out, reading, and, of course, writing.

Reviews

[tappkalina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept was interesting, but the writing style made it unreadable at parts and I had to skip tens of pages. Plus my favorite tale was the shortest and the boring ones were the longest.

[Jenna Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Jasmine Shea Townsend for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.



This collection of short stories is such a gem. It's dreamy, diverse, and super eclectic, with varying topics and styles to guarantee pretty much everyone will find something to love in it. The synopsis above will give you a good idea of what to expect with some of these stories, so I want to focus on my favorite story in the collection, The Sea and the Stars. 

Moonray, an introverted wallflower of a mermaid, ditches the chaos of the Spring Equinox celebration and finds herself in the company of a fallen star. This section is short, sweet, and overwhelmingly cute. It feels like the first chapter of a sweeping love story, and the end left me wanting a full novel about these two. (Seriously, please can I get a novel? These two are so adorable!) 

One of this collection's biggest strengths was the attention to representation, both in regards to race and sexual orientation. As the synopsis says, the author tackles Eurocentric beauty standards. The adaptation of Snow White definitely stands out in this regard; by changing the race of Snow White and inserting her into the household of a white queen/step mother, the dynamic between the two characters changes. Suddenly the queen's antagonism feels more rooted in reality; the story now turns towards the queen's sense of racial superiority. This made for a more compelling villain than a woman who hates a child simply because she is overcome with jealousy over her beauty. 

Omega Star Genesis was another strong point. As you might guess from the name, this one fell on the science fiction side of things rather than fantasy. I always love stories which explores the nature of artificial intelligence, and this was a great example. The story also grapples with some of the complicated questions surrounding leadership, and the constant struggle to balance privacy with security and safety. 

Overall, this collection was all over the place in the best possible way, with variation in topic, writing styles, and even genre. Every science fiction or fantasy fan will find something to love! 

You can read all of my reviews on my blog, Jenna Bookish!
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[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading these short stories. It was a breath of fresh air on classics and new. Full of imagination. Definitely a good read!!

[Read 4 Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely collection of city fantasy storeys I had the tremendous pleasure of reading! One of my preferred storeys consists of a special relationship from outside the country, which evolves to become a romance. It's got a mystical bond.

Rapunzel has an exceedingly long, twisted and dark skin in this novel. When she meets a boy, for the first time after he has been locked in her tower, he tells her that she resembles one of the enigmatic "night maids." It was a nice reading, because I didn't know if I was going to trust the boy or her mother who felt it was risky.

Like you might imagine by name, this one fell instead of fantasy on the hand of science fiction. I've always enjoyed storeys which explore the essence of artificial intelligence. The storey is also about certain dynamic leadership problems and the on-going battle to reconcile privacy and security.

[Sienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

True rating 3.5!

Fairy Tales and Space Dreams is a lighthearted, whimsical adventure that nevertheless explores and incorporates darker themes and issues. In general, I enjoyed the sci-fi half of the book more than the fantasy, but on the other hand, my favourite story of the bunch was "Rapunzel the Night Maiden", which essentially takes the core concept of Rapunzel--girl hidden in a tower by her mother because reasons--and uses that as a jumping-off point for an engaging story about heritage, ancestry, culture, and reclamation. Lovely stuff.

The diversity in this collection is also nothing to sneeze at. Townsend goes a long way to write a diverse cast in terms of race and sexual orientation (as an asexual humanoid myself, I was pleasantly surprised to see some ace rep!) without interrupting the flow of her prose. She also uses her prose to expose and explore real life issues of racism and discrimination. Sometimes it's overt, as in her rendition of "Snow White", and sometimes it's subtle. Townsend does a good job with both.

I found a few grammatical errors in the text, and sometimes the pacing felt rushed or confused, like certain scenes weren't being given enough room to breathe--but this may just be an indication that I would have liked to read more before it was over. For sure I'm excited to see what Townsend works on next. There are some really vibrant, stand-out details in her settings, more than a few laugh-out-loud moments in her dialogue, and the occasional musing passage about love or time or beauty that bears some quiet reflection. All in all, a tasty treat of a read!

[Thistle & Verse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I got an ARC. My favorites from this collection were Rapunzel, the Night Maiden; the Sea and the Stars; and Omega Star: Genesis. I generally liked the fairy tales better than the scifi. Townsend had some creative takes that I hadn't seen in other re-imaginings. The fairytales worked better for me because the story telling is usually sparse, and Townsend is able to match that style. That style is disorienting when the stories are set in new, completely unfamiliar worlds. This led me to feel disconnected from the action and not invested in what should have been big moments in the plot.

[LaLa Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the immense pleasure of reading this wonderful urban fantasy short story collection! One of my favorite stories involves a unique otherworldly friendship that develops with the potential to turn into romance. It has such a magical connection. Classic fairytale retellings, what’s not to love about that?! I suggest everyone check out this collection, especially YA girls searching for an interesting read that’s familiar yet unfamiliar in wondrous ways!

[Tira · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of diverse short stories.
I really enjoyed all the Fairy Tales and the first Space stories.
I loved Rapunzel the Night Maiden the most!
The Last two stories world building was interesting but I didn't enjoy the sorties as much.

Because the print was so small it make reading uncomfortable. (Yes, I could have gotten the Kindle Edition, but I wanted the writer to get more support financially.)
All in all It was a good read.

[Kerri Beckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and wish there had been more of it. A few stories felt a bit rushed but they were short stories (and I probably just wanted more).
Other than a few grammatical errors, it was perfect! There were two stories within that I hope will be expanded into a longer stories.
I’ll definitely be keeping up with this author. The writing style was exactly what I like. Fingers crossed for another book!

[Books & Quills Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A lonely mermaid who daydreams of a fairytale ending. A spaceship captain attempting to save people from a deadly disease. An interstellar and interdimensional alien with a tortured past. These are a few of the characters that populate Jasmine Shea Townsend’s short story collection Fairy Tales and Space Dreams. Comprised of six short stories (three “Fairy Tales” and three “Space Dreams”), this collection is an intriguing journey through perception, flipped narratives, and the self.

I was first drawn to this collection because of Townsend’s reimagined Snow White fairy tale. In this version, Snow White has “lips as red as blood, hair as white as snow, and skin as black as ebony”. Not only does this bring diversity to a typically-white cast of characters, but it also adds an extra layer of meaning to the Queen’s disgust at Snow White being the “fairest of them all”; she can’t believe that a person who doesn’t fit her own (racist) standard of beauty could be considered fairer than herself.

One of the best aspects of Townsend’s writing in all of her stories is her physical descriptions of characters. These descriptions are utilized to convey personality and emotionality on top of the literal physical features. There is the star in “The Sea and the Stars” with her “silver skin and sleek hair” that “shone like platinum”, with a “tangible aura, the faint glow of which warmed the water around them”. There is Rapunzel, who must tie up her “huge, raven braid” and wear a “scarf to cover her nose and mouth” in order to hide her “ebony skin” and her identity as a “Night Maiden”; still, she “savored the sun on her skin, the grass under her feet, and the vastness of the bright sky”, because in hiding her appearance, she is able to venture out into the world. There is Soffialexinus Zetyld, a being with a “glitzy, lavender woman’s body” and a “bodaciously huge halo-like afro of prismatic hues and an aquamarine alicorn”; her “glittery lavender hand” is “warm and tingly, like the static of an old television screen”. These and other lovely character descriptions are key in drawing the reader into each story and keeping them interested in the journey of each character.

Though Townsend’s fairy tale retellings in this collection are delightful, they lack the polish and completeness of the other stories. In a short story collection, there are bound to be parts that are inferior, and Fairy Tales and Space Dreams is no exception. All six stories have wonderful premises, but not all seem to have been worked to their full potential. However, I did enjoy all six stories, and especially commendable is Townsend’s ability to shift her narration style to fit the needs of the story. Her fairy tale retellings are very Grimm-esque in tone and cadence, while her first-person “Space Dreams” are more anecdotal and modern.

While I was prepared for the general tone and themes of the “Fairy Tales”, I did not expect the darker and contemplative aspect of the “Space Dreams”. These exceeded my expectations, though they do not have the “Happily Ever After” that makes the first half of this collection so pleasant to read.

My favorite of the stories are the last two -- “The Cosmic Adventures of Sophie Zetyld” and “Evangelina’s Dream”. These encapsulate both ideas that this entire collection plays with: the fantastical and magical feeling of living in a world where amazing things and amazing diverse people exist, and the complex and often tragic consequences of conflict and difficult choices. Where “Rapunzel, the Night Maiden” reaches partway and ends on an unsatisfactory note, these last two stories confidently grab hold of the point they’re trying to make, and this makes them much more emotionally gripping and thought-provoking.

Though there are some weaker and unsatisfactory elements to this collection, all six stories are enjoyable, and they explore strange and difficult questions in creative ways. I highly recommend this collection to fans of speculative fiction, and I look forward to seeing what Townsend’s next project will be." -Suzanne

[Bug · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was honestly incredible.
First of all, I absolutely loved the writing style. The best adjective I can think of is "magical". The words used and the natural melody to the sentences was put together so beautifully. The style really suited the fantasy stories, but certainly wasn't out of place with the sci-fi, it just added an extra beautiful element to it. It made the worlds really come alive and the characters pop off the page.
I found every single story fascinating. I was invested with each one from its very first page, and I had the hardest time setting it down without finishing the story. The only thing I wasn't over-the-moon in love with was that I wished the stories were longer, which isn't exactly a negative. I don't tend to read many short stories and gravitate towards longer novels, so I felt like I wasn't getting enough. They still felt like completed stories, but I loved the stories and just wanted more and more and more!
I don't want to comment too much on the racial importance of these stories, because as a white person living in a predominantly white area I don't think I'm able to add to the conversation. But as a reader, I loved how refreshingly different and lovely it was to see so many black characters described so beautifully. Representation and diversity is something that needs to be improved in most stories, and when some authors do add POC they don't get nearly as much development and focus. But in these short stories, the characters' race was described as a part of their beauty. It wasn't simply "this character is black", it was describing the beauty of their skin colour and their hair and their faces and everything that went along with their race. And it wasn't done in a way that distracted from the story, it was told so naturally. Although I'm not a POC and can't relate to the lack of representation, I can only imagine how this would make young readers who can relate feel.
I read the ebook and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy to have on my shelves forever. I loved it and I'd love to read many more stories by this author. If you like magic, incredible writing, beautiful style, representation, interesting characters, or great stories I highly recommend this book!

[R.R. Willica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book of short fiction which, as the title suggests, are fairy tales and science fiction. The first half of the book are retellings of classic tales of Snow White, The Little Mermaid, and Rapunzel. The second half are all original science fiction stories.

Townsend is a fantastic writer. She was able to change the voice and tone of her writing with each new tale. Moving from a classical fairy tale style with Snow White, to an easy going modern first person narrative in The Cosmic Adventures of Sophie Zetyld, as an example of her range. Each story had it's own pace and flow and remained steady without overlap to the others.

Characterization was well done in each story. Even the shorter Little Mermaid brought about a fully developed character as the protagonist, which gave each tale the feeling of a snapshot or short film of the real lives being shown.

I would say my favorite of the stories was Omega Star: Genesis, which felt akin to a Star Trek type episode. I would very much like to see more of the world developed there as a longer novel. My other favorite was Rapunzel, which has always been my favorite fairy tale to begin with, and I really like the new twist Townsend put on the old story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys fantasy and science fiction.

[Kaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

First: It's always a delight to read stories centered around a diverse cast!

Second: Um, that cover? Sa-woon.

Jasmine Shea Townsend does a great job with voice. Each story's perspective is unique, identifiable, and a perfect fit for their respective tale.

These stories are a fun read, but still have some heavier (yet important) themes woven through them. TW:Sexual Assault: There is a character who is a victim of assault in "Omega Star: Genesis" It isn't shown, but thought it'd be a good FYI.

As a black woman, I especially appreciated the details that incorporated real life issues with the magical (as seen in "Snow White"). Heck, I loved a lot of the details period. It's not often that we get to read diverse descriptions of black women. I really loved the way hair in particular is described, and how there are different hairstyles depicted throughout the book.

It was tough choosing a favorite because fantasy is always #1 in my heart, but I was pleasantly taken by "Omega Star: Genesis". So it's a tie between that and "Rapunzel, the Night Maiden" for me. I felt the cast in both stories were particularly distinct and well-developed.

Definitely recommend your get your hands on this book!

[K.R.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad I had the chance to read this short story collection by Jasmine Townsend, as I tend to enjoy retelling's of classic tales. My favorite story of the bunch has to be “Rapunzel the Night Maiden” as I found it to be a unique spin on a classic with hits of a darker plot that took place in the past, but while still being a more uplifting story. In this story, Rapunzel had dark skin and extremely long, braided hair. When she meets a boy for the first time after being locked away in her tower he tells her she resembles one of the mysterious “night maidens;” witches who were persecuted and cast away from their home. It was an enjoyable read because I wasn't sure if i should trust the boy or her mom who said he was dangerous. I like how this story was able to include a more serious issues such as the persecution of a people group but still tell a fun, light-hearted spin on a classic story.

[Samantha Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and original breath of fresh air. My favorite part of this story is the focus on black beauty which is so often overlooked and the series of shorts are incredibly diverse and entertaining.
I reccomend this story if you want an interesting and whimsical afro focused moder fairy tail adventure. I think the author has talent and would love to see more

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I regret that it has taken me this long to read this collection of short stories, because it is well worth the read.

I was entertained by each of the stories. I was engaged and thrilled at the differences in storytelling, from the fairy tale styles of "Princess Snow White" and others to the trippy dream that is "Evangelina's Dream."

You can bet that once I have children I'll be reading them Jasmine Shea Townsend's fairy tales.

While I like each of the stories in this collection, my favorites from each section would have to be "Rapunzel the Night Maiden," and "The Cosmic Adventures of Sophie Zetyld." Both feature narratives with great worldbuilding for short stories.

[Stronglysalty · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75