Book Review: Once Upon a Curse by Anna Kashina and others

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Title: Once Upon a Curse: Stories and Fairy Tales for Adult Readers
Editor: Anna Kashina
Authors: Peter S. Beagle, Siobhan Carroll, Imogen Howson, Anna Kashina, Nancy Kress, Lucy A. Snyder, Cindy Lynn Speer, Patricia C. Wrede
Publisher: Dragonwell Publishing
Paperback: 250 pages
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

Fair maidens, handsome princes, witches, and fairy godmothers all show their dark and dangerous side in this anthology inspired by myths and fairy tales, retold by some of the best authors in this generation and by some upcoming new talents. Each beautifully crafted story brings an unusual twist to the traditional tale, from Cinderella’s story told from the not-so-kind fairy godmother’s point of view, to the Bluebeard tale showing the lure of this dark and dangerous man that drives young girls to rush willingly to their fate.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

It's rare for me to wholeheartedly recommend an anthology, but I am recommending this one. Once Upon a Curse is a collection of amazing fairy tale interpretations from some pretty fantastic authors. With short story collections, I usually only like a couple and am neutral about the rest, but for this one there isn't one story that I didn't like. Most of them, I loved.

There are some things keeping me from giving this book a perfect rating. The last story definitely could have been cut by at least ten pages. While it was interesting to read about all the different cultural retellings of Cinderella, I don't think it was necessary to the main plot and all the stories-within-the-story made it drag. There were also a couple of others where the endings fell a bit flat, but not enough to make me dislike them outright.

There are two Sleeping Beauty stories in here (both excellent), along with Bluebeard, Cinderella, "Diamonds and Toads," among others. Anna Kashina has become my new favorite fantasy author with her story "Solstice Maiden," and I most definitely plan to check out her other works. If you're at all a fan of fantasy, you will find at least one story in this book to love (although, I'm betting that you'll find more). These stories are all entertaining, full of twists, and have interesting characters.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.*

Book Review: Beyond Grimm - Tales Newly Twisted

Title: Beyond Grimm - Tales Newly Twisted

Authors: Various
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

Not your grandmother's fairy tales! From the far-ranging imaginations of Book View Cafe authors comes this delirious collection of classic tales newly twisted into dark, dangerous, and occasionally hilarious re-tellings. From the golden isles of Greece to the frozen north, from fairytale castles to urban slums, join us on an unforgettable journey!

Stories:
Through Forests Dark and Grimm...
Hair Raising, by Pati Nagle
No Newt Taxes, by Patricia Rice
Rum Pelt Stilt’s Skin, by Alma Alexander
Of Rats and Cats and Teenagers, by Irene Radford
The Tinderbox, by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Any Brave Boy, by Laura Anne Gilman

Across Golden Seas…
Elfleda, by Vonda N. McIntyre
Harpies Discover Sex, by Deborah J. Ross
To Serve A Prince, by Brenda W. Clough
The Rapture of Ancient Danger, by Sherwood Smith

In Another Part of the Forest...
Mending Souls, by Judith Tarr
Sister Anne, by Sylvia Kelso
Princess Dancer, by Sue Lange
Nimuë’s Tale, by Madeleine E. Robins
Ricky Cowlicky, by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Little Red in the ’Hood, by Irene Radford

Around a Campfire...
Hero/Monster, by Amy Sterling Casil
To Ride Beyond the Wide World’s End, by Judith Tarr
Turnabout, by Deborah J. Ross

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings and was really looking forward to reading darker versions of the classic fairy tales. As always with short story anthologies, I loved some and disliked others. For Beyond Grimm: Tales Newly Twisted, I found myself enjoying most of the stories, however. As the title suggests, these stories are for those who enjoy more twisted, darker tales. It is even better that many are based off popular children's fairy tales.

Many of these authors are well established and I definitely enjoyed seeing more of their work. I requested this book because of Irene Radford, but I also loved reading stories from Sherwood Smith, Laura Anne Gilman, and Alma Alexander. "Hair Raising" made me want to read more of Pati Nagle, and "Ricky Cowlicky" was also a fun story by an author who was new to me.

I think that the first six stories are the strongest of the anthology, so the later ones were a bit of a disappointment for me. But I do think that there is something for everyone -- while I particularly enjoyed the twists on Rapunzel, Snow White, and Rumpelstiltskin, I think that fans of Arthurian legends will love "Nimue's Tale." I don't think that every single one of these stories will be favorites for one person, but anyone interested in fantasy will find at least one or two stories to love.

*I received a free copy from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for my honest review.*

Audiobook Review: One More for the Road by Ray Bradbury

Title: One More for the Road
Author: Ray Bradbury
Narrator: Campbell Scott
Publisher: HarperAudio
Edition: Unabridged
Duration: 6 hours, 49 minutes
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

This collection from America's greatest storyteller contains 18 never-before-published stories and seven previously, but never collected, stories of the fantastic, the melancholy, and the macabre.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5
As with most short story collections, some are better than others. However, I thought that there were few good ones in this particular collection. I thought a few were quite good, but most just left me going, "eh."

The mood of these stories definitely falls on the depressing side, so if you're looking for something uplifting, don't pick this book up. I did like that it was more character-driven than anything else. Most of these stories are about people trying to find something worthwhile and fantastic in their life, but finding themselves stuck in mediocrity. There are some science fiction stories in here, but most are set in the real world.

For the audiobook, the sound quality wasn't as crisp as I like it to be. I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the  sound itself, but it was sometimes hard to understand because it seemed like the narrator was mumbling at times. There are also inconvenient cut-offs. Some stories cut off at the end of a disc and continue at the beginning. Since these are short stories, I thought the cut-off could have been a little sooner so that each disc started with a new story.

Overall, I don't think that this is one of Bradbury's best. If you're going to read it, either pick up the book or listen to a different version. I do think that print would be better, though.