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thecaptainsquarters 's review for:
The Scarlet Circus
by Jane Yolen
Ahoy there mateys! I have always loved reading Jane Yolen's novels but as I have gotten older I have loved her short stories just as much. The publisher is continuing the trend of gifting us with these collections. This is the fourth one and deals with romance in lovely, untypical ways.
This collection has 10 varied tales. Like any collection, I liked some better than others. I also very much enjoyed Yolen's "Story Notes" at the end of the book which gives background on the short stories in the collection.
I don't want to spoil the magic of the stories and can't really do them justice with me own paltry words but I will try to give ye an idea of the bare bones of the stories:
"Sans Soleil" - This was a tragic tale of love gone wrong despite the best intentions. Loved the sun imagery.
"Dusty Loves" - A rather unique take on the Romeo and Juliet story. Involves the fae and a ghost. I loved this.
"Unicorn Tapestry" - The deals with magic and unicorn embroidery and a middling middle princess. I don't know that I understood all of the magic but the ending was excellent.
"A Ghost of an Affair" - A chance encounter has consequences across time. I loved how the assumptions I had continued to be wrong. Another lovely ending if somewhat bittersweet.
"Dark Seed, Dark Stone" - I loved this tale set in the 600s of a forward thinking woman dealing with the death of her warrior-hero father. The time period came to life on the page. The historical notes at the end were also lovely.
"Dragonfield" - Everyone knows that dragons are long gone. Until they aren't. A girl helps a boy become the hero he is thought to be. Excellent.
"The Sword in the Stone" - I don't like King Arthur retellings but this one was fun. It made me want Yolen to tell me what happens next and how things end up going wrong cause this version rocked.
"The Sea Man" - A short sea yarn about compassion and humanity in all its forms.
"Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn" - A Greek slave meets a Djinn and an usual wish is made.
"Peter in Wonderland" - This Wonderland tale was fine but didn't thrill me.
"The Erotic in Faerie: The Footnotes" - Weird. I didn't get this piece at all.
I have to admit that I did enjoy the emerald circus better than this one but I will certainly read another collection of Jane Yolen's work, especially if published by Tachyon. Arrrr!
This collection has 10 varied tales. Like any collection, I liked some better than others. I also very much enjoyed Yolen's "Story Notes" at the end of the book which gives background on the short stories in the collection.
I don't want to spoil the magic of the stories and can't really do them justice with me own paltry words but I will try to give ye an idea of the bare bones of the stories:
"Sans Soleil" - This was a tragic tale of love gone wrong despite the best intentions. Loved the sun imagery.
"Dusty Loves" - A rather unique take on the Romeo and Juliet story. Involves the fae and a ghost. I loved this.
"Unicorn Tapestry" - The deals with magic and unicorn embroidery and a middling middle princess. I don't know that I understood all of the magic but the ending was excellent.
"A Ghost of an Affair" - A chance encounter has consequences across time. I loved how the assumptions I had continued to be wrong. Another lovely ending if somewhat bittersweet.
"Dark Seed, Dark Stone" - I loved this tale set in the 600s of a forward thinking woman dealing with the death of her warrior-hero father. The time period came to life on the page. The historical notes at the end were also lovely.
"Dragonfield" - Everyone knows that dragons are long gone. Until they aren't. A girl helps a boy become the hero he is thought to be. Excellent.
"The Sword in the Stone" - I don't like King Arthur retellings but this one was fun. It made me want Yolen to tell me what happens next and how things end up going wrong cause this version rocked.
"The Sea Man" - A short sea yarn about compassion and humanity in all its forms.
"Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn" - A Greek slave meets a Djinn and an usual wish is made.
"Peter in Wonderland" - This Wonderland tale was fine but didn't thrill me.
"The Erotic in Faerie: The Footnotes" - Weird. I didn't get this piece at all.
I have to admit that I did enjoy the emerald circus better than this one but I will certainly read another collection of Jane Yolen's work, especially if published by Tachyon. Arrrr!