I enjoy steampunk and also fairy-tale retellings, so when I heard about this collection I had to pick it up. Got this trade paperback at Barnes and Noble. (I first heard about it via the audiobook on Audible.com, which has different narrators for each story. If I like the book I'll probably get the audio version later.)

And - I enjoyed this collection! Some of the stories are fairly faithful adaptations, with changes mainly in the setting, while others turn the whole story upside down. My favorite stories include:

"La Valse" by K. W. Jeter, based on "The Red Shoes" - it puts a very dark twist on the "forced to dance" concept, in a decadent, decaying society.

Steven Harper's "Fair Vasyl", based on "Vasilisa the Beautiful", has a "perform dangerous task to win the maiden's hand" plot - but with several twists, including the hero's innermost secret and the maiden's own preferences. Other characters include Vasyl's trusty robot Broom, his friend Petro the blacksmith - and the witch Baba Yaga, whose help Vasyl will need. But at what cost?

"You Will Attend Until Beauty Awakens" by Jay Lake follows the "Sleeping Beauty" story through the eyes of several different characters, including the 13th fairy whose ire triggers the curse.

"Mose and the Automatic Fireman" by Nancy A. Collins is based on a legend I hadn't heard of, "Mose the Fireboy" - but it's rather like "John Henry" in an urban environment, fighting fires instead of driving steel. Some really good scene-setting and characterization.

G. K. Hayes' "The Clockwork Suit" takes "The Emperor's New Clothes" and kinda-sorta inverts it, with some intriguing world-building and some characters that kept me interested.

I'm adding this book to the Otherworldly bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop on Monday. Hope someone enjoys the book!

I pulled this from the Otherworldly book box.

This was a fantastic collection. The stories included are very well written re-interpretations of traditional fairy and folk tales. I'm very glad I pulled this from the book box.

To be left in the rhythm room bar area.