Scan barcode
directorpurry's review
3.0
Overall rating: 2.8 stars, rounded up to 3.
Somewhat unfortunately coming into this collection, while I am aware of all the stories these authors are retelling, I am not necessarily closely acquainted with many of them. I decided to keep reading anyway, though, because there are plenty of retellings and reimaginings that can stand on their own. While I overall enjoyed this collection, I wouldn't necessarily say that all of these stories succeeded without foreknowledge and a few of them fell very short, despite my awareness of their basis text.
"The Soul Eaters of Raveloe" by Alison Littlewood - 2 stars
"A Journey to the Center of the Moon" by Alan K Baker - 2.5 stars
"She-Who-Thinks-For-Herself" by Juliet E. McKenna - 2 stars
"The Great Steam Time Machine" by Brian Herbert and Bruce Taylor - 3 stars
I was really intriguied and onboard with this story - alt history Tesla! And then they added Einstein and that was fine. But it really started to spiral when they introduced Jung and Freud...
"Silver Selene" by Philip Palmer - 3.5 stars
I actually have read a Wilkie Collins novel, so I really enjoyed the way Palmer worked to emulate his style and I thought it was well written. I'm not sure how I feel about that dual soul concept, though...
"White Fangoria" by Roland Moore - 3 stars
"The God of All Machines" by Scott Harrison - 3.5 stars
"The Crime of the Ancient Mariner" by Adam Roberts - 3.5 stars
This story featured some of the best writing in the whole collection, with somer really beautiful phrases at the beginning. Some of it was lost towards the end, though, and overall the story felt like it dragged a bit. Some of the humor was a touch dated as well.
"There Leviathan" by Jonathan Green - 3 stars
I'd read this over Moby Dick any day.
"The Island of Peter Pandora" by Kim Lakin-Smith - 4 stars
Having previously read Lakin-Smith's novel [b:Autodrome|17434826|Autodrome|Kim Lakin-Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378847085l/17434826._SX50_.jpg|24291953], I was a bit nervous coming into this story. But it was really inventive and I found myself enjoying it very much as it went along.
"The Ghost of Christmas Sideways" by Simon Bucher-Jones - 2 stars
"Talented Witches" by Paul Magrs - 1 star
I was so disappointed. This was supposed to be a retelling of [b:Wuthering Heights|348914|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498262484l/348914._SY75_.jpg|1565818] but it legitimately had very, very little to do with the actual plot of the book.
"Fairest of Them All" by Cavan Scott - 2 stars
"Tidewrack Medusa" by Rachel E. Pollock - DNF
I really couldn't get into this one, not sure why. I really love [b:Treasure Island|417994|Treasure Island|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328753171l/417994._SY75_.jpg|3077988] but this story just didn't do it for me.
"Robin Hood and the Eater of Worlds" by Jim Mortimore - 4.5 stars
Never in my LIFE did I ever think I would be requesting a full length novel retelling of "Robin Hood" myths in Lovecraftian style, but oh my god, here we are. This story was awesome. It had some old school mythos (hi Yog-Sothoth, how's it going? Long time no see.) and some really inventive use of text distortion for the Old God Truth Bombs™.
I really, really want to read more of Mortimore's work now.
I wish I had liked this collection overall much more, and I was really tempted to keep it just for the finale story. But, I'm going to be passing this along to another Lovecraft-loving friend who just owns way less books than I do!
Somewhat unfortunately coming into this collection, while I am aware of all the stories these authors are retelling, I am not necessarily closely acquainted with many of them. I decided to keep reading anyway, though, because there are plenty of retellings and reimaginings that can stand on their own. While I overall enjoyed this collection, I wouldn't necessarily say that all of these stories succeeded without foreknowledge and a few of them fell very short, despite my awareness of their basis text.
"The Soul Eaters of Raveloe" by Alison Littlewood - 2 stars
"A Journey to the Center of the Moon" by Alan K Baker - 2.5 stars
"She-Who-Thinks-For-Herself" by Juliet E. McKenna - 2 stars
"The Great Steam Time Machine" by Brian Herbert and Bruce Taylor - 3 stars
I was really intriguied and onboard with this story - alt history Tesla! And then they added Einstein and that was fine. But it really started to spiral when they introduced Jung and Freud...
"Silver Selene" by Philip Palmer - 3.5 stars
I actually have read a Wilkie Collins novel, so I really enjoyed the way Palmer worked to emulate his style and I thought it was well written. I'm not sure how I feel about that dual soul concept, though...
"White Fangoria" by Roland Moore - 3 stars
"The God of All Machines" by Scott Harrison - 3.5 stars
"The Crime of the Ancient Mariner" by Adam Roberts - 3.5 stars
This story featured some of the best writing in the whole collection, with somer really beautiful phrases at the beginning. Some of it was lost towards the end, though, and overall the story felt like it dragged a bit. Some of the humor was a touch dated as well.
"There Leviathan" by Jonathan Green - 3 stars
I'd read this over Moby Dick any day.
"The Island of Peter Pandora" by Kim Lakin-Smith - 4 stars
Having previously read Lakin-Smith's novel [b:Autodrome|17434826|Autodrome|Kim Lakin-Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378847085l/17434826._SX50_.jpg|24291953], I was a bit nervous coming into this story. But it was really inventive and I found myself enjoying it very much as it went along.
"The Ghost of Christmas Sideways" by Simon Bucher-Jones - 2 stars
"Talented Witches" by Paul Magrs - 1 star
I was so disappointed. This was supposed to be a retelling of [b:Wuthering Heights|348914|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498262484l/348914._SY75_.jpg|1565818] but it legitimately had very, very little to do with the actual plot of the book.
"Fairest of Them All" by Cavan Scott - 2 stars
"Tidewrack Medusa" by Rachel E. Pollock - DNF
I really couldn't get into this one, not sure why. I really love [b:Treasure Island|417994|Treasure Island|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328753171l/417994._SY75_.jpg|3077988] but this story just didn't do it for me.
"Robin Hood and the Eater of Worlds" by Jim Mortimore - 4.5 stars
Never in my LIFE did I ever think I would be requesting a full length novel retelling of "Robin Hood" myths in Lovecraftian style, but oh my god, here we are. This story was awesome. It had some old school mythos (hi Yog-Sothoth, how's it going? Long time no see.) and some really inventive use of text distortion for the Old God Truth Bombs™.
I really, really want to read more of Mortimore's work now.
I wish I had liked this collection overall much more, and I was really tempted to keep it just for the finale story. But, I'm going to be passing this along to another Lovecraft-loving friend who just owns way less books than I do!
sadouglas's review
4.0
Great idea, well implimented.
Putting a steampunk spin on a dozen or so traditional fairy-tales is a more than decent basis for an anthology, and Scott Harrison does an exemplary job in keeping a tight rein on an excellent range of authors.
There's not a weak story in the collection, but particular highlights for me were Alison Littlewood's take on Silas Marner (a great choice for the opening story, with something of the feel of a Pixar cartoon, for some reason I can't put my finger on), Jim Mortimore's Robin Hood (which takes multiple Hoods and plays narrative games with them) and - most of all - Paul Magrs' cut up version of 'Wuthering Heights' which I read several times in a row, once out loud, just because the language is so delightful.
Putting a steampunk spin on a dozen or so traditional fairy-tales is a more than decent basis for an anthology, and Scott Harrison does an exemplary job in keeping a tight rein on an excellent range of authors.
There's not a weak story in the collection, but particular highlights for me were Alison Littlewood's take on Silas Marner (a great choice for the opening story, with something of the feel of a Pixar cartoon, for some reason I can't put my finger on), Jim Mortimore's Robin Hood (which takes multiple Hoods and plays narrative games with them) and - most of all - Paul Magrs' cut up version of 'Wuthering Heights' which I read several times in a row, once out loud, just because the language is so delightful.
pers's review
3.0
Some of these stories worked much better than others for me. An interesting collection, however...
More...