I quite enjoyed this collection of clever re-imaginings of characters and concepts from familiar fairy tales as well as gas-lit confections spun of whole cloth. The book opens very strongly with what was, for me, the most engaging story of the entire anthology. The Iron Revolution by Christina Ruth Johnson was marvelous and agrees definitely on my watch list now. Her twists and characterizations were engaging and grabbed me from the opening salvo with their evocative imagery.
Book Review: Clockwork, Curses and Coal (Punked Up Fairy Tales, #2) by Rhonda Parrish (Editor)
Ditto Beth Cato’s marvelous A Future of Towers Made, which delivered comeuppance with just the right dash of satisfying panache., and the surprising twists and turns of Sarah Van Goethem’s darkly evocative A Bird Girl in the Dark of Night. While there were a number of other stories that I enjoyed, those three struck me as the strongest of the collection.
I found myself connecting better with the stories in the first half of the book than in the second. I think things went a little more hardcore steampunk in the second half, and that’s not normally my metier. Still, the stories were consistently good throughout and the collection was curated well with the stories all fitting the theme and flowing nicely.
And how fabulous is that cover?? Very evocative, and definitely one of the things that drew me to the book!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Will look up.
It was a fun, quick read!