(partial) WisCon book haul
Ok, first of all, this is Amazon's description of Phyllis Ann Karr's The Gallows in the GreenwoodEveryone knows the Robin Hood legend, but for this retelling, Phyllis Ann Karr has found a historical precident to create a female Sheriff of Nottingham and suddenly the whole myth explodes, taking on new meanings that resonate deep within contemporary culture.
OMG how do I interpret this? Is Marian the sheriff? (!!!) Is SOMEONE ELSE the sheriff and we get Marian AND a female sheriff? (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Is Marian replaced by a new character who is the sheriff? (I ARBITRARILY BUT JUSTIFIABLY IN MY MIND REJECT YOU!)
The possibilities! the lack of information!
Anyway, possibly noteworthy books I got at WisCon:
Blood Red Road by Moira Young (upcoming post-apocalyptic YA)
Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett (YA about Sive, the shapeshifting first wife of Finn mac Cumhail)
From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey Through Myth and Legend by Valeries Frankel (non-fiction, self-explanatory title)
Hawksmaid by Kathryn Lasky (YA about Marian and Robin Hood-but mostly Marian-as adolescents and presumably onward)
Slayedby Amanda Marrone (it simultaneously sounds interesting and like "Help! I am an emo teen vampire slayer in love with a hot vampire!"...I suspect I'm just susceptible to "descent of Van Helsing" stories)
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (New Martha Wells!)
The Gossamer Years (I now have all the Heian diaries! I think. Are there more than 4?)
Sleeping Beauty, Indeed (Anthology of lesbian fairy tales. Read at the con. pretty good.)
God's War by Kameron Hurley (Post-Apocalyptic SF-not familiar with the author but from what I can gather, the leads are black and the main character is a female assassin turned headhunter)
The Water of Possibility by Hiromi Goto (ehh...basically just the Hiromi Goto book I found after a panel she was on)
ARTHURIANA!
Kingdom of Summer by Gillian Bradshaw (Gawain book, but apparently the middle of a trilogy. Woes!)
The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris (Part of the Squire's Tales series? I need to figure out how important coninuity is there.)
Song of the Sword by Edward Willett (Modern descendant of The Lady of the Lake looks for pieces of Excalibur because Merlin is evil and wants them for himself. Lady of the Lake! Potential anti-Merlin-ness!)
Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley (First book in a Guenevere trilogy originally published in the 80s. Description is a cringe-ily close to "only tomboys are cool girls" but given other 20+ year old portrayals of Guenevere...)
The Blind Knight by Gail Van Asten (Apparently an "Arthur Reborn" story using the Henry II/Rosamund affair as its base, with Rosamund a descendant of Merlin.)
The Child Queen by Nancy McKenzie (Guenevere book that seems well liked by some listies.)
On Artguran Women: Essays in Memory of Maureen Fries (Non-fiction, self-explanatory)
I swear I also got a book about one of Pellinor's sons, but can't find it.
This was...about 40% of the books I got? Maybe a bit more?