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katzreads's review
3.0
Some good, some not so great. Spent many months reading it, so I really don't remember. I typically have a book of short stories going so that I have something to read in between books. . .like when I'm about to go on a trip, so I don't want to start a new book that I won't be able to finish before leaving.
georgiaand's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marshaniemeijer's review
3.75
yeah i’m a risk-taker (i like to read collections of short stories knowing some will be a hit while others will be a miss)
fictionfan's review
5.0
Not just for horror fans…
Stephen Jones is a multi-award-winning writer and editor of horror stories and anthologies. For this one, he has asked some of the best of today’s horror writers to come up with a modern spin on some old folk and fairy tales – most but not all are taken from the Grimms’ collections. These are not in the main re-writings of the old stories but instead are imaginatively inspired by some aspect of them. Some are in traditional fairy tale settings and some in the modern day. The stories range from only a few pages up to almost novella-length, and a short author bio is given at the end of each.
Each new story is preceded by a version of the original story that inspired it and, although I can’t find anything in the book to confirm this, I assume these original stories have been re-written or at least re-edited specially for this book, probably by Jones himself, since no-one else is credited for it. And very well re-written they are too, in standard modern language but without the intrusion of anachronistic modern slang. Although they’re really only there as a taster and prompt for the new stories, I found these versions of the originals a pleasure to read in themselves.
The meat of the book however is in the new stories. As with any anthology, both approach and standard varies a little from story to story, but overall I found all of the stories to be above average for the genre and some are really excellent. Some of my favourites were Neil Gaiman’s entry, Down to a Sunless Sea – not a supernatural story as such, but spun very imaginatively from the old tale of The Singing Bone; Michael Marshall Smith’s clever and amusing twist on The Three Little Men in the Wood; Brian Lumley’s Lovecraftian tale of an aeons-old alien; and Angela Slatter’s brilliantly scary story of a brothel-keeper’s daughters – a take on The Robber Bridegroom.
I’ve only highlighted these three, but could easily have picked another half-dozen or so that I also greatly enjoyed. And amongst the names that might only be familiar to horror fans, there are some that are known much more widely - Gaiman, of course, Christopher Fowler of Bryant and May fame, and Joanne Harris, best known perhaps for Chocolat.
Yes, there are a few less good stories in the book, or at least that appealed less to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the collection as a whole. Some are scary, but there’s no gore-fest or chainsaw massacre in here – the horror is in the atmosphere created by some fine writing and a lot of inventiveness. A word of caution - Jones makes it clear that this book is aimed at adults, not children, and I would endorse that. But I certainly don’t think they’re only for dedicated horror fans either – this quality of writing and imagination deserves a wider audience than that. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Stephen Jones is a multi-award-winning writer and editor of horror stories and anthologies. For this one, he has asked some of the best of today’s horror writers to come up with a modern spin on some old folk and fairy tales – most but not all are taken from the Grimms’ collections. These are not in the main re-writings of the old stories but instead are imaginatively inspired by some aspect of them. Some are in traditional fairy tale settings and some in the modern day. The stories range from only a few pages up to almost novella-length, and a short author bio is given at the end of each.
Each new story is preceded by a version of the original story that inspired it and, although I can’t find anything in the book to confirm this, I assume these original stories have been re-written or at least re-edited specially for this book, probably by Jones himself, since no-one else is credited for it. And very well re-written they are too, in standard modern language but without the intrusion of anachronistic modern slang. Although they’re really only there as a taster and prompt for the new stories, I found these versions of the originals a pleasure to read in themselves.
The meat of the book however is in the new stories. As with any anthology, both approach and standard varies a little from story to story, but overall I found all of the stories to be above average for the genre and some are really excellent. Some of my favourites were Neil Gaiman’s entry, Down to a Sunless Sea – not a supernatural story as such, but spun very imaginatively from the old tale of The Singing Bone; Michael Marshall Smith’s clever and amusing twist on The Three Little Men in the Wood; Brian Lumley’s Lovecraftian tale of an aeons-old alien; and Angela Slatter’s brilliantly scary story of a brothel-keeper’s daughters – a take on The Robber Bridegroom.
I’ve only highlighted these three, but could easily have picked another half-dozen or so that I also greatly enjoyed. And amongst the names that might only be familiar to horror fans, there are some that are known much more widely - Gaiman, of course, Christopher Fowler of Bryant and May fame, and Joanne Harris, best known perhaps for Chocolat.
Yes, there are a few less good stories in the book, or at least that appealed less to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the collection as a whole. Some are scary, but there’s no gore-fest or chainsaw massacre in here – the horror is in the atmosphere created by some fine writing and a lot of inventiveness. A word of caution - Jones makes it clear that this book is aimed at adults, not children, and I would endorse that. But I certainly don’t think they’re only for dedicated horror fans either – this quality of writing and imagination deserves a wider audience than that. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
jentenelleke's review
4.0
I don't normally like thrillers, but some of these were really good, though you shouldn't read it at night;). I really liked how the fairy tales were worked into the new versions.
5elementknitr's review
5.0
This was EXCELLENT. Seriously, with short story collections, it's often hit or miss. There was not one lemon in the bunch here. (I do have a least favorite - guessed the ending immediately, but still well written.)
I'm always impressed with well-written short stories. To get an entire story into such a small space. Beyond beginning, middle, and end - to get backstory, character development, hinting at future happenings. It amazes me!
My one peeve with this book is the placement of one picture.
So this book is a collection of fairy tales and fearie tales. They give you one unsanitized,
un-Disney-ized fairy tale and follow it with a modern author's take on that tale. Each modern tale has a creepy drawing added somewhere in the tale. The modern take on Rapunzel had the picture on the second page, which gave away the ending of the story. So that was unfortunate.
Other than that...
These were so good that I've sought out many of the author's novels and added them to my to-read list!
I'm always impressed with well-written short stories. To get an entire story into such a small space. Beyond beginning, middle, and end - to get backstory, character development, hinting at future happenings. It amazes me!
My one peeve with this book is the placement of one picture.
So this book is a collection of fairy tales and fearie tales. They give you one unsanitized,
un-Disney-ized fairy tale and follow it with a modern author's take on that tale. Each modern tale has a creepy drawing added somewhere in the tale. The modern take on Rapunzel had the picture on the second page, which gave away the ending of the story. So that was unfortunate.
Other than that...
These were so good that I've sought out many of the author's novels and added them to my to-read list!
sanamun's review
3.0
Kind of a mixed bag, some of the stories were good (favorites: "Peckish", "Fraulein Fearnot", "By The Weeping Gate", "Anything To Me Is Sweeter") but a lot were weirdly hard to get into. Also I'm not sure why this book was printed in such tiny text but thanks for the eye strain, guys.
cjblates's review
3.0
Full review (mini reviews of each tale!) available at:
https://sapphistication.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/reviewing-fearie-tales-stories-of-the-grimm-and-gruesome-ed-stephen-jones/
Fearie Tales is an anthology of short horror stories inspired by some of the Brothers Grimm tales, presented alongside the tales that inspired or influenced them. Given that this is my first time reviewing an anthology, I’m going to give you a quick and spoiler-free (mostly) summary of each tale and then add my thoughts on it underneath to try and put into words my feelings on this confusing book. I was so excited to read this, I picked it up in Brighton and it looked exactly my cup of tea and ended up being…well, you’ll see.
https://sapphistication.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/reviewing-fearie-tales-stories-of-the-grimm-and-gruesome-ed-stephen-jones/
Fearie Tales is an anthology of short horror stories inspired by some of the Brothers Grimm tales, presented alongside the tales that inspired or influenced them. Given that this is my first time reviewing an anthology, I’m going to give you a quick and spoiler-free (mostly) summary of each tale and then add my thoughts on it underneath to try and put into words my feelings on this confusing book. I was so excited to read this, I picked it up in Brighton and it looked exactly my cup of tea and ended up being…well, you’ll see.