Reviews for How You Lose

The average rating for How You Lose based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-06-09 00:00:00 Stanley Walker Another volume in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's series of re-told fairy tales. There's a reason they're two of my favorite editors. This is a classic anthology. Highly, highly recommended. Contents: The Flounder's Kiss • Michael Cadnum A rather disturbing tale of a fisherman who hates fish, his wife who doesn't think much of him, and what happens when a fish willing to grant wishes is caught... The Black Fairy's Curse • Karen Joy Fowler Short and simple... what if Sleeping Beauty didn't particularly feel like being woken up? Snow in Dirt • Michael Blumlein A very odd, science-fiction style story of a man who finds a beautiful woman buried, alive but seemingly comatose, in his backyard...Once she is resuscitated, he of course marries her, and she goes on to a career as a famous fashion model... but as usual, not everything works out perfectly when mysterious and possibly magical elements are involved... Riding the Red • Nalo Hopkinson The story of Little Red Riding Hood is used here as a metaphor for young women's sexuality and the threat(?) posed by sexually voracious men. No Bigger Than My Thumb • Esther M. Friesner A lord forces a showdown with the forest-dwelling woman whom, many years ago, he raped, and whose mother he burned as a witch. He accuses her of cursing him to not sire any heirs, and demands from her the child that he is sure she is hiding from him. However, the woman may indeed have some odd powers, and a woman's revenge can be nasty, gory, and oh-so-fitting..... not for the weak-stomached! In the Insomniac Night • Joyce Carol Oates A divorced mother has some serious emotional issues.... Protectiveness, whether or not it comes from a well-founded fear, can be as destructive as anything else... Reminded me a little of Melanie Tem's story in the other volume of this series that I just read. The Little Match Girl • Steve Rasnic Tem A short poem based on the story. The Trial of Hansel and Gretel • Garry Kilworth In this medieval-esque courtroom drama, the actions of the two children who pushed an old woman into her own oven take on a more criminal aspect. Rapunzel • Anne Bishop In this fairly-traditional retelling of the Rapunzel story, the eponymous character's mother is shown to be a horrible, self-centered bitch - and the witch who steals her is no better - a bitter, malevolent old woman. However, Rapunzel herself manages to transcend the trials that beset her, in order to become a stronger person. Sparks • Gregory Frost This story sets the tale of 'The Tinder Box' in the milieu of the 1940's noir detective story. When a veteran-turned-P.I. accepts a commission to find a strange old lady's Zippo lighter, he falls into a bizarre underworld. Soon he has three huge, magical dogs willing to do his bidding, and a beautiful femme fatale who seem to be quite interested in him... Unfortunately, getting involved with her may also mean getting on the wrong side of organized crime... The Dog Rose • Sten Westgard Driven to desperation by drought, a gardener and a blacksmith go in search of the legendary castle of Sleeping Beauty, surrounded by impenetrable thorns. Perhaps only a Prince will end the enchantment, but a bold and lucky commoner may also find rewards according to his station. The Reverend's Wife • Midori Snyder A very cute and funny story set in Puritan(?) times about two women who concoct a couple of quite absurd stories in order to each have an affair with the other's husband - but, oddly enough, both end up happier for their adulteries in the long run. The Orphan the Moth and the Magic • Harvey Jacobs Suddenly orphaned and unexpectedly left a fortune by his miserly father, a young man is dismayed when a magical moth tells him that it would be best to discard that fortune. Inexplicably, he decides to pay attention to the moth. Penniless, he is mysteriously transported to a foreign land where animals are unknown, and where he is mistaken for a cat, and expected to eat rats - and sleep in the princess' bed. An enterprising young man may find a way to seriously capitalize on this situation... Doesn't really hold up to any kind of logic, but quite entertaining. Three Dwarves and 2000 Maniacs • Don Webb An intentionally absurdist riff on Snow White, set in a futuristic(?) mental hospital. Eh. It tries too hard. True Thomas • Bruce Glassco An truly memorable and excellent science fiction story that postulates that the legendary Thomas the Rhymer, who was supposed to have been abducted by Faeries and taken 'under the hill,' was actually taken on an FTL interstellar flight by insectoid aliens (which would account for his returning only to find that years had gone by in his absence, while he had not aged). The portrayed perception of aliens from an early medieval perspective (Thomas assumes that the aliens ARE fairies) is done really well. The True Story • Pat Murphy Snow White's stepmother tells her side of the story - perhaps she wasn't evil after all, but was actually trying to save her beloved stepdaughter from incestuous abuse. Lost and Abandoned • John Crowley The counterpart to Joyce Carol Oates' story - a father fights tooth and nail to gain custody of his children, even though he is neither financially nor emotionally equipped to care for them. The Breadcrumb Trail • Nina Kiriki Hoffman A poem based on Hansel & Gretel. On Lickerish Hill • Susanna Clarke Clarke's 'period' spelling is in even heavier effect in this story than it is in 'Jonathan Norrell.' Personally, I really find it irritating, even if it is historically correct for her Victorian-esque setting. Still, if one can get past the 'creative' spelling, this is a clever, funny and very entertaining version of 'Rumplestiltskin.' The team of 'learned experts' is hilarious, and the portrayal of the seemingly helpless Victorian lady as calm and resourceful in the face of adversity (including being locked away and threatened) is quite subtly subversive. Steadfast • Nancy Kress The tale of the tin soldier and the ballerina is here transposed into real-life France. A soldier devotes his life, and makes all his sacrifices for the ballerina he loves, although she has no interest in him - indeed, no interest in dancing. Still, his actions mystically somehow bring her success - although she does not appreciate it. Possibly even more tragic than the original. Godmother Death • Jane Yolen A wonderful story of Death (as a lady) and her human godson. Although he is granted special knowledge and privileges, he must learn that even he cannot cheat Death. Now available as an e-book (from Open Road Media) for the first time! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy! As always, my opinions are my own.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-10-06 00:00:00 Lorraine Mathews As with all anthologies, Black Swan, White Raven is a mixed bunch, with some stories and I enjoyed and others I was more ambivalent about. That's probably going to be the same for just about anyone, but Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling are legendary SF/F editors for a reason, and that's apparent here. Reading other reviews for these stories makes me laugh: complaining about the darker aspects of the stories, the fact that sometimes only a few vestiges of the original story (or rather, the story we usually know) are used, etc. Clearly these people have never looked at the 'original' stories -- 'negative and creepy' is one person's assessment, so goodness knows what they'd think of earlier versions of Sleeping Beauty and so on. It's an interesting selection of writers, too, some of whom are well known names now (I don't know about when this was first published). I can't pick out a favourite, but overall I enjoyed the collection, and while for some stories the theme seemed a bit stretched, it's still worth reading -- I actually read the whole collection in two sittings. Someone does point out that the voice of women is fairly absent here. There's one or two strong stories, particularly a retelling of Snow White, but there are also stories where women remain the objects of the quest rather than people. Somewhat to be expected, given the fairytale theme; still somewhat disappointing.