Black Swan, White Raven

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from netgally in exchange for this review.

I've always wanted to read Datlow and Windling's fairy tale series. Color me surprised when I saw this title being re-released?, eBookified?, on netgalley. I collect books on re-imagined fairy tales. I think it's important to honor both the traditional stories from which we've learned important morals from, as well as updating the stories to fit our changing culture. Datlow and Windling have this to say about these stories, “Like the wizards who roam through enchanted woods, the tales themselves are shape-shifters: elusive, mysterious, mutable, capable of wearing many different forms.” What a perfect description of fairy tales in themselves. With this in mind, I opened the eBook and dove in.

The stories are amazing. Each one has a short preface written by the editors giving information about each author and the original fairy tale from with their adaptation came from. The stories range from traditional fantasy, to contemporary fantasy, to some horror. I also liked the wide variety of sources each story came from. Some are very familiar, while others came from further corners of the world, unknown to me.

If you love mythic fantasy, and have been waiting for this book to come out in eBook format, I recommend you grab it now. So many good stories, and quotes to choose from.