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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
There are some stories that will always be told, tales as timeless as they are gripping.
There are some authors who can tell any story.
In RAG & BONES, award-winning and bestselling authors retell classic fairytales and twisted tales in the way that only they can. With magic and passion, they bring these stories - whether much loved or forgotten – back to life.
Read Sleeping Beauty as only Neil Gaiman can tell it. See Rumpelstiltskein through the eyes of Kami Garcia. And hear of Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would be King from the inimitable Garth Nix.
Tim Pratt and Melissa Marr’s anthology contains retellings of fairy tales and other classic short stories. Although marketed as YA, it’s interesting that the majority of the tales here feature adult characters and some of the source stories are quite obscure. As with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others but on the whole it’s an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages.
THAT THE MACHINE MAY PROGRESS ETERNALLY by Carrie Ryan is taken from THE MACHINE STOPS by E. M. Forster. It’s a slow story about a boy, Tavil, who finds himself in a heavily mechanised world that he’s unable and then unwilling to leave. For me it was a little too slow and the shift between Tavil’s desire to escape and fear of leaving didn’t convince me.
LOSING HER DIVINITY by Garth Nix is an entertaining fantasy reimagining of THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING by Rudyard Kipling. The nameless narrator has a great voice and I loved his diversions as he told his tale because they really developed the fantasy world.
THE SLEEPER AND THE SPINDLE by Neil Gaiman combines Snow White and Sleeping Beauty but while there are some great lines in it and I loved the dwarves, it’s not up to the Gaiman’s other short stories and while it’s okay it’s not great.
THE COLD CORNER by Tim Pratt is based on THE JOLLY CORNER by Henry James and is about a man who returns to small town North Carolina for a family gathering after losing his job and his lover. There he discovers that he has alternative personas, giving him opportunities he never thought possible. It’s a thought-provoking piece and I enjoyed the themes what could be.
MILLCARA by Holly Black is taken from Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and it’s an atmospheric, tense and touching vampire story about a vampire girl and her adoptive vampire mother. The pair look for wealthy marks that they can literally drain but when the girl makes a friend in the daughter of the family they’ve most recently targeted, she finds that she doesn’t want to leave.
WHEN FIRST WE WERE GODS by Rick Yancey was my favourite story in the anthology. Inspired by THE BIRTH-MARK by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it’s a SF story about immortality and love that had me gripped from beginning to end.
SIROCCO by Margaret Stohl is a retelling of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO by Horace Walpole that does not do justice to the original. I didn’t connect with the characters and some of the characters disappear without explanation en route.
AWAKENED by Melissa Marr is influenced by THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin. Drawing on selkie legends, it’s a dark and sad tale about abuse and freedom that had me thinking about it long after I finished the book.
NEW CHICAGO by Kelly Armstrong is a clever reimagining of THE MONKEY’S PAW y W. W. Jacobs. The original’s always been a favourite of mine and I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a virus that makes people violent and which revolves around two brothers who’ve found refuge in ravaged Chicago.
THE SOUL COLLECTER by Kami Garcia is a sad reworking of Rumpelstiltskein that follows a young woman forced into a world of bad choices who makes a bargain with death. It’s clever and well written and thoroughly enjoyable.
WITHOUT FAITH, WITHOUT LAW, WITHOUT JOY by Saladin Ahmed examines THE FAERIE QUEENE by Sir Edmund Spenser from the point of view of the Saracen brothers Sansfoy, Sansloy and Sansjoy. It’s well told and makes a good point about the original’s anti-Arabic sentiment.
UNCAGED by Gene Wolfe draws on THE CAGED WHITE WEREWOLF OF THE SARABAN by William B. Seabrook in a story about the blindness and powerlessness of love in an okay read.
The Verdict:
Tim Pratt and Melissa Marr’s anthology contains retellings of fairy tales and other classic short stories. Although marketed as YA, it’s interesting that the majority of the tales here feature adult characters and some of the source stories are quite obscure. As with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others but on the whole it’s an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages.
RAG & BONES – NEW TWISTS ON TIMELESS TALES was released in the United Kingdom on 22nd October 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
There are some authors who can tell any story.
In RAG & BONES, award-winning and bestselling authors retell classic fairytales and twisted tales in the way that only they can. With magic and passion, they bring these stories - whether much loved or forgotten – back to life.
Read Sleeping Beauty as only Neil Gaiman can tell it. See Rumpelstiltskein through the eyes of Kami Garcia. And hear of Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would be King from the inimitable Garth Nix.
Tim Pratt and Melissa Marr’s anthology contains retellings of fairy tales and other classic short stories. Although marketed as YA, it’s interesting that the majority of the tales here feature adult characters and some of the source stories are quite obscure. As with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others but on the whole it’s an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages.
THAT THE MACHINE MAY PROGRESS ETERNALLY by Carrie Ryan is taken from THE MACHINE STOPS by E. M. Forster. It’s a slow story about a boy, Tavil, who finds himself in a heavily mechanised world that he’s unable and then unwilling to leave. For me it was a little too slow and the shift between Tavil’s desire to escape and fear of leaving didn’t convince me.
LOSING HER DIVINITY by Garth Nix is an entertaining fantasy reimagining of THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING by Rudyard Kipling. The nameless narrator has a great voice and I loved his diversions as he told his tale because they really developed the fantasy world.
THE SLEEPER AND THE SPINDLE by Neil Gaiman combines Snow White and Sleeping Beauty but while there are some great lines in it and I loved the dwarves, it’s not up to the Gaiman’s other short stories and while it’s okay it’s not great.
THE COLD CORNER by Tim Pratt is based on THE JOLLY CORNER by Henry James and is about a man who returns to small town North Carolina for a family gathering after losing his job and his lover. There he discovers that he has alternative personas, giving him opportunities he never thought possible. It’s a thought-provoking piece and I enjoyed the themes what could be.
MILLCARA by Holly Black is taken from Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and it’s an atmospheric, tense and touching vampire story about a vampire girl and her adoptive vampire mother. The pair look for wealthy marks that they can literally drain but when the girl makes a friend in the daughter of the family they’ve most recently targeted, she finds that she doesn’t want to leave.
WHEN FIRST WE WERE GODS by Rick Yancey was my favourite story in the anthology. Inspired by THE BIRTH-MARK by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it’s a SF story about immortality and love that had me gripped from beginning to end.
SIROCCO by Margaret Stohl is a retelling of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO by Horace Walpole that does not do justice to the original. I didn’t connect with the characters and some of the characters disappear without explanation en route.
AWAKENED by Melissa Marr is influenced by THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin. Drawing on selkie legends, it’s a dark and sad tale about abuse and freedom that had me thinking about it long after I finished the book.
NEW CHICAGO by Kelly Armstrong is a clever reimagining of THE MONKEY’S PAW y W. W. Jacobs. The original’s always been a favourite of mine and I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a virus that makes people violent and which revolves around two brothers who’ve found refuge in ravaged Chicago.
THE SOUL COLLECTER by Kami Garcia is a sad reworking of Rumpelstiltskein that follows a young woman forced into a world of bad choices who makes a bargain with death. It’s clever and well written and thoroughly enjoyable.
WITHOUT FAITH, WITHOUT LAW, WITHOUT JOY by Saladin Ahmed examines THE FAERIE QUEENE by Sir Edmund Spenser from the point of view of the Saracen brothers Sansfoy, Sansloy and Sansjoy. It’s well told and makes a good point about the original’s anti-Arabic sentiment.
UNCAGED by Gene Wolfe draws on THE CAGED WHITE WEREWOLF OF THE SARABAN by William B. Seabrook in a story about the blindness and powerlessness of love in an okay read.
The Verdict:
Tim Pratt and Melissa Marr’s anthology contains retellings of fairy tales and other classic short stories. Although marketed as YA, it’s interesting that the majority of the tales here feature adult characters and some of the source stories are quite obscure. As with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others but on the whole it’s an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages.
RAG & BONES – NEW TWISTS ON TIMELESS TALES was released in the United Kingdom on 22nd October 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
