#24 The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
After finishing up Firebirds Rising, I was still hungry for fantasy short stories. When I was out at Borders, I came across The Faery Reel, 
an award winning anthology printed by Firebird Books, and edited by two women known for their talent as editors. When I looked at the list of authors who contributed and found Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Gregory Maguire AND Patricia A McKillip, I knew that I needed to pick this up right away.
The collection is based around the subject of faeries. It begins with an informative and interesting essay by Terri Windling about the history of faeries, staring from their roots and covering their development in over the years. From there, we get twenty short stories and poems that focus on humans and their interactions with faeries, or the faeries themselves. The stories cover quite a lot of territory globally, taking place in Brazil, London, Japan, The Philippians, France, Boston, Australia, New York City, and Never Never Land. Each story is accompanied by a lovely illustration by Charles Vess, and the collection ends with a list of other books to read bout faeries (as if I didn’t have enough on my wish list!). My favorite stories included here would be “CATNYP,” “Tengu Mountain,” “Never Never,” “Screaming for Faeries,” “Immersed in Matter,” and “The Annals of Eelin-Ok.” My favorite poem is Charles de Lint’s The Boys of Goose Hill. For a list and short review of each story, check under the cut.
The Boys of Goosehill by Charles De Lint. This is a playful poem about trickster faeries that sounds as if it should be sung. I don’t read as much poetry as I used to, but I found this one to be a lot of fun. Five out of five stars
CATNYP by Delia Sherman. "CATNYP" tells of alternate New York City inhabited by faeries. Our protagonist, Neef, is spending time in the public library when she falls in love a young man who wants to escape back to the human world. The thing I liked the most about this story was how it gave a fantasy spin to a normal place. For example, the card catalog is a giant lion that sends out little furry mice to pick up books for the patrons. This story was a lot of fun and a great way to start out the collection. Five out of five stars.
Elvenbrood by Tanith Lee. This story tells about an English teenager who moves to the country with his family, only to discover that his younger sister has attracted the attention of faeries. There was a bit of a mystery aspect to this story which I really enjoyed, and the ending was quite exciting! Four and a half out of five stars.
Your Garnet Eyes by Katherine Vaz. This is a story of a young woman in Brazil whose father is human but her mother is something else. The main character possesses a lot of hostility towards her mother, who left when she was young. This story was quite interesting because the focus is more on family ties. The faery aspect is really more secondary. The unique location was very enjoyable, and the author does a great job transporting us there. Four out of five stars.
Tengu Mountain by Gregory Frost. Taking place in ancient Japan, "Tengu Mountain" tells of a young man who goes to visit his aunt on a mountain, and his encounters with demons. I love how this read like a fairy tale, but with a Japanese setting. As someone with an interest in Japanese culture, I felt as if this story was perfect for me. Five out of five stars.
The Faery Handbag by Kelly Link. The eccentric grandparent is a popular trope in fiction, but Zofia is quite different than anyone I’ve ever encountered. She tells her granddaughter Genevieve stories about living in country that no one’s heard about, and a magic handbag that carries around a village worth of people. It all sounds crazy, but as Genevieve is about to find out, it’s absolutely true. The story has won quite a few awards since being published and it’s the first story I’ve read by Kelly Link. I look forward to reading more. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Price of Glamour by Steve Berman. In London, 1844 Tup Smatterpit spends his days selling glamour to his fellow faeries. That is, until he hears about a thief that is stealing from the faey, a thief that turns out to be human! This is a fun little story that’s both fantasy and historical fiction. It feels like a part of a larger story. I’d be interested to see if author ever decides to go anywhere with it. Four out of five stars.
The Night Market by Holly Black. Out of all of the authors in this anthology, Holly Black is the one I’m the most familiar with. So I was surprised to see that "The Night Market" does not take place in New York City or New Jersey, like her other faerie fantasy novels, but instead in the Philippians. Beyond that it has everything you’d expect from her modern faerie tales: a likable heroine, dangerous faeries, and a bit of romance. Very enjoyable. Four and a half out of five stars.
Never Never By Bruce Glassco. Never Never shows us a different side of Never, Never Land, where the Lost Boys do grow up, and Peter Pan has to bring in new groups as the old ones get older. Each time, they face down with the villainous Captain Hook, who is consequentially fed to a crocodile at the end of every encounter, and then resurrected when he’s needed again. I enjoyed the sympathetic portrait painted of Hook here, and found the ending to be really satisfying. One of my favorites in this collection. Five out of Five stars.
Screaming for Faeries by Ellen Steiber. While babysitting, Cherry is shocked when her charges start screaming. She rushes to see what’s wrong and is surprised when young Annalise claims they are “screaming for faeries.” Cherry figures it to be harmless make-believe, until she receives a visit from two tiny faeries herself. Screaming for Faeries is a great story about magic, but also about a teenager’s budding sexuality. I flew right through this story. Five out of five stars.
Immersed in Matter by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Most stories in this collection present faeries as tricksters or dangerous, but the protagonist here feels more human in some ways, wanting nothing more than to know about her human father, and be able to connect with animals, especially horses. "Immersed in Matter" was beautifully written, and the characters well drawn. Five out of five stars.
Undine by Patricia A McKillip- One of the more lighthearted stories in the collection, "Undine" tells the story about a mermaid who tries to seduce a human man, but gets caught in our modern world. The story was short, but very satisfying. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Oakthing by Gregory Maguire. In France, the Gauthiers are forced to leave their farm as the Germans are invading. Unfortunately the elderly Mémé Gauthier is accidentally left behind. She discovers an “Oakthing”, a strange magical little creature who needs her help. Much like a recent Gregory Maguire book I’ve read, Son of a Witch, "The Oakthing" is written beautifully and has interesting characters. The story is a little uneven. It starts off well, but by the end, I was losing interest (it was the opposite with Son of a Witch). "The Oakthing" wasn’t a bad story of course, just a little uneven. Three and a half out of five stars.
Foxwife by Hiromi Goto. Like "Tengu Mountain", "Foxwife" has a Japanese setting. In this story, our protagonist Yumeko stumbles upon a wedding ceremony led by kitsune (fox-faeries), and finds herself taken prisoner. The only way she can escape is with the help of Hotaru, a strange girl who may not even be human. Although I didn’t like this story as much as "Tengu Mountain", I enjoyed the Japanese setting and found it to be rather exciting. Four out of five stars.
The Dream Eaters by A.M. Dellamonica. This is probably my least favorite story in the book. “The Dream Eaters” starts out as a story of a hip teenager designing artsy fashions, moves into the world of faeries, and then ends with having to save a secondary character that I feel the reader doesn’t get enough face time to care about. "The Dream Eaters" seems like it would have worked great if it were a longer story. As a short story, it feels over stuffed. I had a very hard time connecting with the characters. Two out of five stars.
The Faery Reel by Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman is an author that I’ve been getting into over the last couple years. I’ve read Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, and Neverwhere, each which are unique stories in their own way. From what I’ve read and heard about Gaiman, I knew this guy had range, but I didn’t know that he wrote poetry too! The Feary Reel is much darker than Charles De Lint’s opening poem, and it was quite enjoyable to read. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Shooter at the Heartrock Waterhold by Bill Congreve. The Australia setting of this short story makes it stand out among the rest. The protagonist is sent into the wilderness to shoot birds, only he ends up killing a girl, who turns out to be a faerie. Not being an outdoorsy person myself, I had a difficult time connecting with the story for a while, but as if developed into more of s story about family, I found myself enjoying it more. Three and a half out of five stars.
The Annals of Eelin-Ok by Jeffrey Ford. A Twilmish is a tiny creature who lives in a sandcastle, only existing until the sand castle is washed away from the tide. The pacing for "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" is as calm as the incoming tide, but it never feels overly slow. I was surprised at how quickly I found myself falling in love with the Twilmish, as he goes about his life. Even though the story is not as suspenseful or exciting as some of the other ones found here, it’s very well written and was joy to read. (Side Note: I read this while my fiancé played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I cannot think of the story without the background music for The Lost Woods playing over and over in my head). Five out of five stars.
De La Tierra by Emma Bull. In this story, there are faeries that are able to adapt and live among humans in Los Angeles. For those that are deemed unable to adjust, they are killed by people like the protagonist of this story. "De La Tierra" has a lot going on here. The story has a touch of sci-fi to it, and has a message about immigration. Admittedly, I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I could as I rushed a little bit, but I do like what I read. Four out of five stars.
How to Find Faery by Nan Fry. This poem (as you can tell from the title) contains instructions for finding faery. I found it to be rather charming, although I didn’t like it as much as the other poems in the book. Four out of five stars.
I highly recommend the Faery Reel for people that like to read about the dangerous creatures called Faeries. Although there were a handful of stories I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest, I found that it really succeeds on a whole. It looks like Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have edited two other collections in this series: The Green Man, which is about nature, and The Coyote Road, which is about tricksters.
Rating: four and half out of five stars
Length: 544 pages
Source: Borders
TBR Pile: 146
Similar Books: For More books about faeries, try anything by Holly Black (especially, The Good Neighbors: Kin, Tithe, Valiant ( my review), and Ironside), Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( my review), Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses by Diane Duane, certain novels of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (especially Summer Knight- ( my review)), and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.
Other books I've read by these editors: This is my first anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
I'm very behind on my reviews, so expect to see a lot of me this weekend.
an award winning anthology printed by Firebird Books, and edited by two women known for their talent as editors. When I looked at the list of authors who contributed and found Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Gregory Maguire AND Patricia A McKillip, I knew that I needed to pick this up right away.
The collection is based around the subject of faeries. It begins with an informative and interesting essay by Terri Windling about the history of faeries, staring from their roots and covering their development in over the years. From there, we get twenty short stories and poems that focus on humans and their interactions with faeries, or the faeries themselves. The stories cover quite a lot of territory globally, taking place in Brazil, London, Japan, The Philippians, France, Boston, Australia, New York City, and Never Never Land. Each story is accompanied by a lovely illustration by Charles Vess, and the collection ends with a list of other books to read bout faeries (as if I didn’t have enough on my wish list!). My favorite stories included here would be “CATNYP,” “Tengu Mountain,” “Never Never,” “Screaming for Faeries,” “Immersed in Matter,” and “The Annals of Eelin-Ok.” My favorite poem is Charles de Lint’s The Boys of Goose Hill. For a list and short review of each story, check under the cut.
The Boys of Goosehill by Charles De Lint. This is a playful poem about trickster faeries that sounds as if it should be sung. I don’t read as much poetry as I used to, but I found this one to be a lot of fun. Five out of five stars
CATNYP by Delia Sherman. "CATNYP" tells of alternate New York City inhabited by faeries. Our protagonist, Neef, is spending time in the public library when she falls in love a young man who wants to escape back to the human world. The thing I liked the most about this story was how it gave a fantasy spin to a normal place. For example, the card catalog is a giant lion that sends out little furry mice to pick up books for the patrons. This story was a lot of fun and a great way to start out the collection. Five out of five stars.
Elvenbrood by Tanith Lee. This story tells about an English teenager who moves to the country with his family, only to discover that his younger sister has attracted the attention of faeries. There was a bit of a mystery aspect to this story which I really enjoyed, and the ending was quite exciting! Four and a half out of five stars.
Your Garnet Eyes by Katherine Vaz. This is a story of a young woman in Brazil whose father is human but her mother is something else. The main character possesses a lot of hostility towards her mother, who left when she was young. This story was quite interesting because the focus is more on family ties. The faery aspect is really more secondary. The unique location was very enjoyable, and the author does a great job transporting us there. Four out of five stars.
Tengu Mountain by Gregory Frost. Taking place in ancient Japan, "Tengu Mountain" tells of a young man who goes to visit his aunt on a mountain, and his encounters with demons. I love how this read like a fairy tale, but with a Japanese setting. As someone with an interest in Japanese culture, I felt as if this story was perfect for me. Five out of five stars.
The Faery Handbag by Kelly Link. The eccentric grandparent is a popular trope in fiction, but Zofia is quite different than anyone I’ve ever encountered. She tells her granddaughter Genevieve stories about living in country that no one’s heard about, and a magic handbag that carries around a village worth of people. It all sounds crazy, but as Genevieve is about to find out, it’s absolutely true. The story has won quite a few awards since being published and it’s the first story I’ve read by Kelly Link. I look forward to reading more. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Price of Glamour by Steve Berman. In London, 1844 Tup Smatterpit spends his days selling glamour to his fellow faeries. That is, until he hears about a thief that is stealing from the faey, a thief that turns out to be human! This is a fun little story that’s both fantasy and historical fiction. It feels like a part of a larger story. I’d be interested to see if author ever decides to go anywhere with it. Four out of five stars.
The Night Market by Holly Black. Out of all of the authors in this anthology, Holly Black is the one I’m the most familiar with. So I was surprised to see that "The Night Market" does not take place in New York City or New Jersey, like her other faerie fantasy novels, but instead in the Philippians. Beyond that it has everything you’d expect from her modern faerie tales: a likable heroine, dangerous faeries, and a bit of romance. Very enjoyable. Four and a half out of five stars.
Never Never By Bruce Glassco. Never Never shows us a different side of Never, Never Land, where the Lost Boys do grow up, and Peter Pan has to bring in new groups as the old ones get older. Each time, they face down with the villainous Captain Hook, who is consequentially fed to a crocodile at the end of every encounter, and then resurrected when he’s needed again. I enjoyed the sympathetic portrait painted of Hook here, and found the ending to be really satisfying. One of my favorites in this collection. Five out of Five stars.
Screaming for Faeries by Ellen Steiber. While babysitting, Cherry is shocked when her charges start screaming. She rushes to see what’s wrong and is surprised when young Annalise claims they are “screaming for faeries.” Cherry figures it to be harmless make-believe, until she receives a visit from two tiny faeries herself. Screaming for Faeries is a great story about magic, but also about a teenager’s budding sexuality. I flew right through this story. Five out of five stars.
Immersed in Matter by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Most stories in this collection present faeries as tricksters or dangerous, but the protagonist here feels more human in some ways, wanting nothing more than to know about her human father, and be able to connect with animals, especially horses. "Immersed in Matter" was beautifully written, and the characters well drawn. Five out of five stars.
Undine by Patricia A McKillip- One of the more lighthearted stories in the collection, "Undine" tells the story about a mermaid who tries to seduce a human man, but gets caught in our modern world. The story was short, but very satisfying. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Oakthing by Gregory Maguire. In France, the Gauthiers are forced to leave their farm as the Germans are invading. Unfortunately the elderly Mémé Gauthier is accidentally left behind. She discovers an “Oakthing”, a strange magical little creature who needs her help. Much like a recent Gregory Maguire book I’ve read, Son of a Witch, "The Oakthing" is written beautifully and has interesting characters. The story is a little uneven. It starts off well, but by the end, I was losing interest (it was the opposite with Son of a Witch). "The Oakthing" wasn’t a bad story of course, just a little uneven. Three and a half out of five stars.
Foxwife by Hiromi Goto. Like "Tengu Mountain", "Foxwife" has a Japanese setting. In this story, our protagonist Yumeko stumbles upon a wedding ceremony led by kitsune (fox-faeries), and finds herself taken prisoner. The only way she can escape is with the help of Hotaru, a strange girl who may not even be human. Although I didn’t like this story as much as "Tengu Mountain", I enjoyed the Japanese setting and found it to be rather exciting. Four out of five stars.
The Dream Eaters by A.M. Dellamonica. This is probably my least favorite story in the book. “The Dream Eaters” starts out as a story of a hip teenager designing artsy fashions, moves into the world of faeries, and then ends with having to save a secondary character that I feel the reader doesn’t get enough face time to care about. "The Dream Eaters" seems like it would have worked great if it were a longer story. As a short story, it feels over stuffed. I had a very hard time connecting with the characters. Two out of five stars.
The Faery Reel by Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman is an author that I’ve been getting into over the last couple years. I’ve read Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, and Neverwhere, each which are unique stories in their own way. From what I’ve read and heard about Gaiman, I knew this guy had range, but I didn’t know that he wrote poetry too! The Feary Reel is much darker than Charles De Lint’s opening poem, and it was quite enjoyable to read. Four and a half out of five stars.
The Shooter at the Heartrock Waterhold by Bill Congreve. The Australia setting of this short story makes it stand out among the rest. The protagonist is sent into the wilderness to shoot birds, only he ends up killing a girl, who turns out to be a faerie. Not being an outdoorsy person myself, I had a difficult time connecting with the story for a while, but as if developed into more of s story about family, I found myself enjoying it more. Three and a half out of five stars.
The Annals of Eelin-Ok by Jeffrey Ford. A Twilmish is a tiny creature who lives in a sandcastle, only existing until the sand castle is washed away from the tide. The pacing for "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" is as calm as the incoming tide, but it never feels overly slow. I was surprised at how quickly I found myself falling in love with the Twilmish, as he goes about his life. Even though the story is not as suspenseful or exciting as some of the other ones found here, it’s very well written and was joy to read. (Side Note: I read this while my fiancé played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I cannot think of the story without the background music for The Lost Woods playing over and over in my head). Five out of five stars.
De La Tierra by Emma Bull. In this story, there are faeries that are able to adapt and live among humans in Los Angeles. For those that are deemed unable to adjust, they are killed by people like the protagonist of this story. "De La Tierra" has a lot going on here. The story has a touch of sci-fi to it, and has a message about immigration. Admittedly, I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I could as I rushed a little bit, but I do like what I read. Four out of five stars.
How to Find Faery by Nan Fry. This poem (as you can tell from the title) contains instructions for finding faery. I found it to be rather charming, although I didn’t like it as much as the other poems in the book. Four out of five stars.
I highly recommend the Faery Reel for people that like to read about the dangerous creatures called Faeries. Although there were a handful of stories I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest, I found that it really succeeds on a whole. It looks like Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have edited two other collections in this series: The Green Man, which is about nature, and The Coyote Road, which is about tricksters.
Rating: four and half out of five stars
Length: 544 pages
Source: Borders
TBR Pile: 146
Similar Books: For More books about faeries, try anything by Holly Black (especially, The Good Neighbors: Kin, Tithe, Valiant ( my review), and Ironside), Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( my review), Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses by Diane Duane, certain novels of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (especially Summer Knight- ( my review)), and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.
Other books I've read by these editors: This is my first anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
I'm very behind on my reviews, so expect to see a lot of me this weekend.