Sunday 4 December 2016

Red as Blood

Red as Blood by Tanith Lee

Series: None
Author: Tanith Lee
Genre: Fantasy (with a bit of sci-fi), short story
Publisher: Wildside Press
Pages: 224 (paperback)


Swift Synopsis:


Ten twisted fairytales retold by Tanith Lee, dark and beautiful as ever! You’ll meet Snow White again, Sleeping Beauty and  Rapunzel, but many of these characters have a much more sinister and macabre nature…

Review:


What can we say? This book is no let down. We were first introduced to Tanith Lee through a teacher and ever since then, Lee has never disappointed us. We’ll begin by reviewing the book overall then go into the specific stories.

Tanith Lee’s writing is breathtaking. You know how you read and you get that fairytale vibe? How the author’s writing is so beautiful it’s ethereal? That’s Lee’s writing. And she has nailed that fairytale/fantastical vibe. The only problem is that sometimes her stories are hard to understand. The writing can be really confusing because she goes into detail, but not the right detail. A few times, we were left thinking, what just happened?

This book never has any action packed fighting or that thrill, but it makes it up for suspense and a sense of dread. In Lee’s world, there are pretty much no rules, so it’s fun (unless it’s a dark ending) to see what will play out. Tanith Lee drags out the usual fairytale and completely turns it upside down (in a good way).
                                   
Take for instance the Paid Piper. You know the usual tale, the Piper lures the children away and they all follow him. But this tale, taking the children away has a darker meaning, the Piper has an arrogance and cruelty not highlighted in usual tales, and we really can’t tell you about it without spoiling it!

The title story Red as Blood is amazing as well. It’s a Snow White adaptation, but in this tale, the stepmother is perfectly good while Snow White just drips with malice. We found this tale so vivid and creepy, and again, we can’t tell you anymore or we’ll spoil it!!!!

We basically loved all the stories except Thorn, because the ending was so confusing- didn’t really understand where Lee is getting at. Wolfland and Black as Ink are nice tales but the plot isn’t captivating.


Sorry, for the long post. Hope you all liked it. Well, we recommend trying this book because Tanith Lee is an awesome writer and please comment below if you know any other fairytale anthologies!

Rating:







6 comments:

  1. Yay! I love twisted fairytales! Short stories are even more suspenseful <3 From the sounds of it, it seems amazing! While I don't know of any anthologies I know a couple of novellas that I hear are really good! I recently downloaded Sinful Cinderella by Anita Valle from Amazon for free..According to the reviews on Goodreads, it's really awesome!!

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    1. Fairytale retellings are amazing! We'll definitely try your suggestion, it sounds cool and original. Another awesome anthology of fairytale retelling is The Snow White, Red Blood anthologies series edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. IT IS EPIC!!!

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  2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fairy tale retellings! Great review! I'll definitely look out for this book :)

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    1. We love fairy tale retellings too! Thanks for your compliment! 💖💖

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  3. Wow. This sounds SOOOO intriguing and I love your combined review. I do love fractured fairy tales and this collection of dark retellings sounds so goooood!

    Great review!

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    1. It is really good. :) Tanith Lee is an amazing author who doesn't disappoint. Thank you!

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