From Publishers Weekly
The dark and shadowed aspects of well-known folk stories and fairy tales are explored in updated retellings by such writers as Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen and Leonard Rysdyk in this anthology by the team that also compiles The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror volumes. In Esther M. Freisner's "Puss," one of the finest contributions, an ancient being dons boots with his feline guise to discharge a blood debt to a hated and brutal master. Patricia A. McKillip's "The Snow Queen" tells of a young woman who finds her real identity while her bored husband and their sophisticated friends nearly lose their souls to the eponymous enchantress. In a lighter vein, Caroline Stevermer and Ryan Edmonds write about an irritated stepmother who turns a baseball-mad family of boys into "The Springfield Swans." Blanche, a witch's daughter raised in isolation in Susan Wade's "Like a Red, Red Rose," finds tragedy when she reaches out for love. In "I Shall Do Thee Mischief in the Woods," Kathe Koja shows what Little Red Riding Hood really was doing on her way to her grandmother's. Some of these tales are enchanting; some are horrifying; most, like the originals, offer insight into human nature. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

Once upon a time, fairy tales
were for children . . . But no longer.

You hold in your hands a volume of wonders -- magical tales of trolls and ogres, of bewitched princesses and kingdoms accursed, penned by some of the most acclaimed fantasists of our day. But these are not bedtime stories designed to usher an innocent child gently into a realm of dreams. These are stories that bite -- lush and erotic, often dark and disturbing mystical journeys through a phantasmagoric landscape of distinctly adult sensibilities . . . where there is no such thing as "happily ever after."

About the Author
Ellen Datlow was the fiction editor at Omnimagazine for seventeen years. She is now editor of thewebzine Event Horizon She has edited numerous successful anthologies, including Blood Is Not Enough, Little Deaths, Off Limits, Twists of the Tale, and Vanishing Acts. With Terri Windling she has edited the popular anthology series The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror for thirteen years. A multiple World Fantasy Award-winner, she lives in New York City.

ANNOTATION

This provocative collection of magical tales explores the darker side of classic fairy tales. Penned by some of the most acclaimed fantasists of our day, here are tales of trolls, ogres, bewitched princesses and cursed kingdoms.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

You hold in your hands a volume of wonders - magical tales of trolls and ogres, of bewitched princesses and kingdoms accursed, penned by some of the most acclaimed fantasists of our day. But these are not bedtime stories designed to usher an innocent child gently into the realm of dreams. These are stories that bite - lush and erotic, often dark and disturbing mystical journeys through a phantasmagoric landscape of distinctly adult sensibilities. Set in haunted forests, amid the recognizable urban sprawl of contemporary society, or in worlds beyond our imagining, here are the lusts, dreams and nightmares of the human animal - presented in a manner that would make the Grimm brothers proud. From provocative alternate takes on time-honored myths - Tanith Lee's sensuous and unsettling futuristic retelling of Snow White; Gahan Wilson's delightful account of the Frog Prince in therapy - to stunningly original new tales rich in archetypal imagery - Steve Rasnic Tem's deliciously gruesome chronicle of a miniature child abandoned in a city of giants. Each is a compelling grown-up fable relevant to the times in which we live. Through the collective creative genius of such masters as Charles de Lint, Nancy Kress, Jane Yolen and many others, the magical characters we loved in childhood have been reborn. But Jack is older, though no wiser now...and he has climbed the beanstalk one time too many. Rapunzel's sweet innocence has vanished like a song on the wind. And there is no such thing as "happily ever after."

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The dark and shadowed aspects of well-known folk stories and fairy tales are explored in updated retellings by such writers as Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen and Leonard Rysdyk in this anthology by the team that also compiles The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror volumes. In Esther M. Freisner's ``Puss,'' one of the finest contributions, an ancient being dons boots with his feline guise to discharge a blood debt to a hated and brutal master. Patricia A. McKillip's ``The Snow Queen'' tells of a young woman who finds her real identity while her bored husband and their sophisticated friends nearly lose their souls to the eponymous enchantress. In a lighter vein, Caroline Stevermer and Ryan Edmonds write about an irritated stepmother who turns a baseball-mad family of boys into ``The Springfield Swans.'' Blanche, a witch's daughter raised in isolation in Susan Wade's ``Like a Red, Red Rose,'' finds tragedy when she reaches out for love. In ``I Shall Do Thee Mischief in the Woods,'' Kathe Koja shows what Little Red Riding Hood really was doing on her way to her grandmother's. Some of these tales are enchanting; some are horrifying; most, like the originals, offer insight into human nature. (Jan.)

BookList - Candace Smith