Review: The Seed & Other Fairy Tales

The Seed & Other Fairy Tales
by Joseph Hillenbrand

Synopsis

How do you measure yourself? By family, friends, enemies? By what you fight for? Or what you fight against?

Follow the tales of those struggling to find an identity of their own. A little girl with a ghost as a best friend. A woman who hates wishes. A man lost in the secret kingdom of frog people. A girl at war with her god. And a pair of soldiers on a deadly mission of peace.

The seeds have been sown. The storm is coming. Who will grow and who will drown?

Review

Let's get one thing out of the way (cuz I'm kinda going to geek out in a bit), I enjoyed this book. 

Now, let's get to the why. 

I am a huge fan of fairy tales. Classic ones, retellings, modern ones, etc. If there's a fairy tale out there, I want to read it. What I enjoyed most from this collection was that it wasn't a direct retelling. The tales were written in a way where you understood where the inspiration came from, but it was not a direct repeat/retelling. This was definitely refreshing. 

The stories were incredibly well-written and included great illustrations. What's a fairy tale book without illustrations, am I right? 

There is incredible description - such detail goes into the author's writing. 

And the icing on the cake? It's creepy. It reminded me of Grimm's fairy tales - not too shabby!

Verdict

There is creepiness folks. Read at your own risk. 

Read anyway.

About the Author

I was born, raised and still live in the outskirts of Chicago. Every few years a move a little further west. Slowly inching my way to California. I love the big sky, the vast plains, the harvest moons of the Midwest.

I grew up reading comic books and playing G.I. Joe. Watching wrestling and listening to Led Zeppelin. I drew, I wrote, I strummed. I learned Stone Temple Pilots and I read Beckett. I grew and I withered.

I have spent the majority of my time in software - from support to development to management. And with my first book out now, I'm trying to get back to my roots: telling stories. 

Social Media Links:

Website: www.undertowstories.com

Blog: www.undertowstories.com/wordpress

Twitter: Xtapalapaquetl (twitter.com/xtapalapaquetl)

 Purchase:

  a. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Seed-ebook/dp/B007OBXRNA/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335481825&sr=1-5

  b. Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-seed-other-fairy-tales-hillenbrand-joseph/1119448186?ean=9780615885803

  c. Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-seed-other-fairy-tales

   Also available from the iTunes store

Top Shelf Short Stories: Faeries on Facebook

Faeries on Facebook
by Francesca Lia Block

If you, dear reader, want a glimpse of what it is to read  Block's writing, this short story is the perfect sample. 

The story is about a lovely girl Daphne and the sudden disappearance of her magical mother, Sylvia. Daphne doesn't know what to do with Sylvia's disappearance and so she lives on missing her mother but also focused on living her life, which was so often shadowed by Sylvia. 

She meets a boy, Caden, on Facebook and is enamored by his own magical ways when they meet in person. But there is so much to Sylvia and Caden than what Daphne realizes. 

Verdict 

A fantastic taste of Block's writing: magically realistic. You'll definitely love this story and her writing if you're into magical realism. 

Top Shelf Short Story: The Bloody Chamber

Short Story: The Bloody Chamber

Collection: The Bloody Chamber
Author: Angela Carter

Review

Well. That wasn't what I was expecting.

But, dear reader, that's not a bad thing! I had read that Carter's The Bloody Chamber was a collection of fairy tale/folklore retelling with a sensual and dark twist. So, that much I was expecting. However, I didn't think I'd have to play a guessing game with what tale was being retold, for one, and two, I didn't know how dark it would be! Not that this bothers me, mind you. I love the dark and creepy stories out there. This short story was a great one to kick off my October short story month. I'll gladly tell you a vague synopsis before I urge you to read the story yourself. 


The story is about a young girl who chooses to get married to a much MUCH older (and richer) man purely out of need. This girl comes from a one-parent household since her father died when she was a lot younger. The girl's mother knows her daughter doesn't love this man, but the young girl is determined to marry him anyway. Carter's writing provides a lot of symbolism and visual cues to the reader. Everything described, however, is practically dripping with dread. Even though the young girl is trying to make the most of her situation, you can't help but feel that she has definitely made the wrong decision in marrying this man. 

At first, I thought this story was based on Little Red Riding Hood. There is a lot of mentioning of the color red (His wedding gift, clasped around my throat. A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat) and of, well, death. But color me surprised when I researched the story after finishing it that I got the completely wrong story. Click here if you're curious what it's really about. 

Beware! This story (and the whole book, probably) is not for the young or easily-embarrassed/squeamish. There is sex and death all over this work. You've been warned!

Verdict

A great pick for a first short story read! I can't wait to get to Carter's other retellings later this month. Have I mentioned I'm a sucker for a fairy tale retelling? :)