CompleteMartialArts.com - Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
|
List Price: $12.95
Our Price: $10.36
Your Save: $ 2.59 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Prime Books
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780809571505
ISBN: 0809571501
Label: Prime Books
Manufacturer: Prime Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2008-03-29
Publisher: Prime Books
Studio: Prime Books
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
In their third critically acclaimed collection of original fairy tales for adults, World Fantasy Award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling present 21 new stories by some of the top names in literature today. Dark, disturbing and delightful, each story was written expressly for this superb collection of distinctly grown-up fantasy - a brilliant companion volume to Datlow and Windling's acclaimed anthologies, Snow White, Blood Red and Black Thorn, White Rose.
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling present RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS
Comment: When I was a child, mythology and fairy tales took up a huge portion of my reading time, informing me at a young age that tragedy is but only one of the many inescapable aspects of being alive in this world, and probably the greatest common denominator connecting humans to one another; and that in between our frequent bouts of grief we humans can sometimes experience paradoxical bliss - a truism oft times illustrated in fairy tales. So it was no small joy for me to read RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS: A Modern Book of Adult Fairytales, edited by the estimable team of Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, who have a long list of co-edited anthologies behind them as testament to their extraordinary talent for putting together wonderfully entertaining and emotionally provocative stories. Together, Datlow and Windling have edited several excellent volumes of classic fairy tales, interpreted and retold by some of the best story-tellers writing today - with RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS standing tall as the third volume in their fairytale series. Datlow and Windling write in their introduction to RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS: Three's the charm.
Indeed it is.
I cannot remember when I last enjoyed reading an original fantasy anthology as much as I loved reading RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS, as each consecutive story I read made me shake my head in amazement and mutter to myself that this one must indeed be the best story thus far - until I moved on to the next story, then on to the one after that. The fairy tales are that good, with three of the tales poetic renderings of traditional themes. In fact, if I were to reference the poet Robert Graves I would have to say that the very foundation from which all true poetry originates is the primary constant throughout this book and for me to favor one tale over another would be misleading, since I loved them all. But if pressed I would choose the following: "Summer Wind" by Nancy Kress - a variation on the Briar Rose fairy tale in which the Wyrd Sisters hold together the fabric of creation unseen; "The Death of Koshchei the Deathless" by Gene Wolfe - a clever riff on the Oedipus theme and the eternal dance between creatrix and creation; "The Real Princess" by Susan Palwick - a disturbing tale in which something far worse than the-pea-under-the-mattress determines the balance; "Match Girl" by Anne Bishop - a heart-wrenching tale about sexual abuse and survival; "The Fox Wife" by Ellen Steiber - a visually stunning story about shape-shifting in late nineteenth-century Japan; "The Traveler and the Tale" by Jane Yolen - an SF fairy tale in which visions perceived and myths deliberately sown cross boundaries and shape the future; "The Printer's Daughter" by Delia Sherman - a perfect closing fairy tale for an extraordinary book!
Rounding out RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS, and equally as stunning as the aforementioned stories, are "Ruby Slippers" by Susan Wade - a sardonic riff on the Red Shoes ballet and the Wizard of Oz, á la Hollywood; "The Beast" by Tanith Lee - in which Psyche meets up with a serial killer, in this dark take on "Beauty and the Beast"; "Masterpiece" by Garry Kilworth - with Rumpelstiltskin as Mephistopheles exacting his due; "This Century of Sleep or, Briar Rose Beneath the Sea" by Farida S. T. Shapiro -an eloquent and visually inspiring poem about the earth; "The Crossing" by Joyce Carol Oates - another variation of Sleeping Beauty in which a woman returns home to find a bizarre dreamscape awaiting her; "Roach in Loafers" by Roberta Lanne - an amusing riff on "The Shoemaker and the Elves" meets "Puss in Boots" (Chinese take-out included); ""Naked Little Men" by Michael Cadnum - a whimsical tale about the discontented Shoemaker and his frustrated wife; "Brother Bear" by Lisa Goldstein - a Native American flavored version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"; "The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon" by John Brunner - in which a humble painter of dragons outsmarts a cruel and stupid ruler; "Billy Fearless" by Nancy A. Collins - a quirky take on the Brothers Grimm's "A Tale About a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was" with "The House on Haunted Hill" thrown in for good measure; "The Huntsman's Story" by Milbre Burch - a tragic and short tale based on "Snow White"; "After Push Comes to Shove" also by Milbre Burch - a poetic rendering of Hansel and Grettel; "Hansel and Grettel" by Gahan Wilson - a modern tale of narcissism and cupidity; "Waking the Prince" by Kathe Koja - a tale of disappointment and denial as Sleeping Beauty switches gender roles; "The White Road" by Neil Gaiman - a chilling poem in which western Europe's shape-shifting Mr. Fox is much, much more than he claims to be.
RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS closes with a section on recommended reading for those who wish to read more about fairy tales and their origins.
I cannot say enough in praise of RUBY SLIPPERS, GOLDEN TEARS, except read and judge the anthology yourself. I think you will find it most favorable.
Highly recommended!
JLR
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unnecessarily cruel
Comment: I had read the book Black Thorn White rose before picking up this anthology and had a lot of hopes for this book. I love the retelling of fairy tales even with a dark twist to them. However, some of the stories in this book are absolutely horrific. The Match Girl, in my opinion, does not belong in a collection of fantasy but instead perhaps in one of horror. Its been a week since I read this book and I still have a bad taste left from it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: the best, so far
Comment: I love the whole Windling/Datlow edited series of fairy tale short stories. This particular book is by far the best one I have read (and I've read them all, to date, Jan 2004). Ellen Steiber's "The Fox Wife" is the best short story I've read in awhile - well worth repeated readings, and even led me to seek out more oriental "fox" tales. Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman, and Jane Yolen are here, and the editors, for this one collection, have abandoned their informal trademark touch of including that one truly odious story. ALL the stories are of high quality, and if you are a devotee of this genre, you MUST read this one. It's really the best of the bunch! Five stars!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Retellings
Comment: A great short stories of Fairy Tales for adults.Wonderfully intertaning and an enlighting read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Anthologies are often difficult...
Comment: ...but I found this book overall to be good. I particularly liked 'The Match Girl' (and have since found all of Anne Bishops books to be great!), but I disliked a few of the contemporary stories. Grab it if you enjoyed any of the other anthologies, but no, you're not going to like all of the stories!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
