Monday, May 30, 2016

Red as Blood and White as Bone, by Theodora Goss

Read this story
(Historical Fantasy) In Eastern Europe between the wars, Klara works as a kitchen maid. One night she admits a woman she thinks is a lost fairy-tale princesses into the castle. (9,484 words; Time: 31m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: JStrahan

"," by (edited by Ellen Datlow), published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: From the moment we hear the Baron and Prince talking about hunting the wolves, we're sure who the "princess" really is, and the only question is how she'll get her revenge. This adds a lot of tension to the scenes where Klara watches her and the prince together. The princess's explanation of her deal with the Old Woman of the forest makes it clear why she couldn't just transform into a wolf in the dance hall, but it leads nicely into the conclusion with Klara asking the Old Woman to help her save the old tales.

Fans of Downton Abbey will understand at once the difficulty of Klara's situation as she explores parts of the castle where she doesn't belong.

Con: The wolf princess is the real protagonist, and the story drags after she's gone.

Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 05/04/16)
Theodora Goss Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB

2 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. I liked this story a lot better than you. I am very partial to fantasy stories based on fairy tales.

    Klara is the main character. I really liked the end. I did NOT find that it dragged afterwards, and the ending nicely tied in with the start of the story.

    It is a cleverly contracted fantasy story. The author uses a fairy tale, and embeds it into her fantasy novelette.

    The cover of the story done by Anna & Elena Balbusso is beautiful and really suits the story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oops - I mean "It is a cleverly constructed fantasy story".

    ReplyDelete