Product Description

The award-winning editors of Snow White, Blood Red return us to distinctly adult realms of myth and the fantastic - with 18 wondrous works that cloak the magical fictions we heard at grandma's knee in mantles of darkness and dread. From Roger Zelansky's delightful tale of Death's disobedient godson to Peter Straub's blood-chilling examination of a gargantuan Cinderella and her terrible twisted "art," here are stories strange and miraculous - remarkable modern storytelling that remold our most cherished childhood fables into things sexier, more sinister... and more appealing to grown-up tastes and sensibilities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88510 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 248 pages

Synopsis
The award-winning editors of "Snow White, Blood Red" return us to distinctly adult realms of myth and the fantastic - with 18 wondrous works that cloak the magical fictions we heard at grandma's knee in mantles of darkness and dread. From Roger Zelansky's delightful tale of Death's disobedient godson to Peter Straub's blood-chilling examination of a gargantuan Cinderella and her terrible twisted "art," here are stories strange and miraculous - remarkable modern storytelling that remold our most cherished childhood fables into things sexier, more sinister...and more appealing to grown-up tastes and sensibilities.

From the Author
More information:
BLACK THORN, WHITE ROSE was a finalist for the 1995 World Fantasy Award. For more information on this and other "adult fairy tale" collections, please visit the Endicott Studio web site.

Customer Reviews

Best one I've read
This is my favourite of the series by Ellen Datlow. In other collections of the series, there have always been stories that I skipped but I enjoyed every story in this one.

Once upon a time fairy tales were for adults
Many people don't realize that the fairy tales we grew up on were not always stories aimed at children. As is discussed in the forward of this book, the original fairy tales were frequently much darker and disturbing than the ones we are familiar with today. Sleeping Beauty, for example, is not brought awake by the chaste kiss of Prince Charming but rather the suckling of the twin babies she has born, having been impregnated by the less-than-charming prince while she slept. It was only during the Victorian period, when realism became the fashion, that these stories were relegated by men to the domain of women and children, being sanitized in the process so as not to upset the more delicate sensibilities.

This anthology, along with its companion volumes, returns the fairy tale to its roots. In doing so it strikes a chord deep within us. The stories contained within are both familiar and strange at the same time. Because of this they are sometimes eerily disturbing, sometimes heart-wrenchingly poignant, always entertaining.

The one drawback of this collection, as with any anthology, is that style and quality vary according to author. The good news is that most of these stories are very well written and if you run across one you don't like, you can always move on to the next.

If you're looking for something enjoyable to read, you could do far worse than this collection. Overall I strongly recommend this book.