Sister Emily's lightship and other stories Book

Every time I open an anthology of SF or fantasy stories, Jane Yolen's contribution is one of the first I turn to. They stand out among other stories for their quirkiness and audacity in revisioning traditional stories and genres. So I was thrilled to read an entire volume of her stories, some of which I had read before but most new to me. Some short story anthologies can seem repetitive but Yolen is stylistically very diverse. The stories vary not only in genre but also in mood and writing style; every reader is likely to find something captivating. Although the title story is SF, my personal favourites are some of the fairytale retellings and fantasy stories, which left me wanting more of the worlds she creates so convincingly in just a few pages.

There were just as many stories, though, which left me cold. I did find most of the SF stories a little formulaic, with predictable twists in the end, and the same could be said for some of the fairytale retellings, which are often political at the expense of atmosphere and originality. I found the collection less satisfying than Yolen's full length works, which I recommend highly to anyone who is enchanted and intrigued by some of the stories in this volume. Briar Rose, for example, combines the dark allegory of some of the tales here with more fully developed characters, plot and themes. Despite these reservations, though, this is a great volume to dip into occasionally - you never know what kind of story you will find.