Bone Swans: Stories in Into the Forest

Apr 09, 2016 Margaret rated it really liked it

Shelves: apocalypse-dystopia, fairytale-myth-inspired, 2nd-world-fantasy, short-stories

Bone Swans collects 5 novellas/novelettes that explore storytelling and folklore in unique and lyrical ways. My favorites were the two fairy tale retellings, and the collection is worth picking up for just those two stories alone--The Bone Swans of Amandale and How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One. In fact, the milkmaid story is my favorite Rumpelstiltskin retelling I've read (up until now, of course). I loved it.

I've read C.S.E. Cooney before, different stories and poems than Bone Swans collects 5 novellas/novelettes that explore storytelling and folklore in unique and lyrical ways. My favorites were the two fairy tale retellings, and the collection is worth picking up for just those two stories alone--The Bone Swans of Amandale and How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One. In fact, the milkmaid story is my favorite Rumpelstiltskin retelling I've read (up until now, of course). I loved it.

I've read C.S.E. Cooney before, different stories and poems than in this collection. I was unsure whether I liked her writing or not, but this collection puts her on my read list. Her style is sort of similar to Catherynne M. Valente and Maria Dahvana Headley, so if you like those authors, you should like this.

Life on the Sun: Dense fantasy about a war, the bird people, and power. It's so dense I felt like it needed to be longer to better develop the characters and conflict. Otherwise, cool concept and writing. 3.5/5

The Bone Swans of Amandale: The shapeshifting swans of Amandale are being hunted a killed, their bones made into instruments beneath the juniper tree, at the bidding of an ogre-mayor Ulia Gol. But shapeshifting rat Maurice has an idea to save his lady love Dora Rose, one of the swans, with the help of his good friend the pied piper Nicholas. Combining The Juniper Tree, The Pied Piper of Hamlin, and Sleeping Beauty, this is a wonderfully creative novella. 4.5/5

Martyr's Gem: In a fantasy, post-apocalyptic world, Shursta, a poor fisherman, marries the wealthy Hyrryrai at her request. Hyrryrai's sister has recently been murdered, and she's heard Shursta is kind to his own sister Sharrar. This is a good story overall. I enjoyed the world and characters, though some characters were a bit one-dimensional. 4/5

How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: A really wonderful Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Loved. 5/5

The Big Bah-Ha: Not sure I know what was going on in this one! In a post apocalyptic world, some sort of rash kills adults, and there's these tall people that eat children, and heaven is a sort of circus. Um. This is my least favorite in the collection, but it's certainly inventive. 2/5 ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2016 Leah rated it really liked it

A collection of five novellas, Bone Swans exceeded my expectations.

I'll admit to not being the right reader for "Life on the Sun" and "Martyr's Gem." And "The Big Bah-Ha" had clowns, need I say more?

But I absolutely lost my mind when I finished "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One," a fairy-tale retelling based on Rumpelstiltskin tales. It was SO good, an instant favorite -- seriously, it's worth buying this book for that story alone.

The other retelling, "The Bone Swans of Ama ...more

2 likes · Like · see review