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Faerie Tales edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davies
01/05/2004 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: DAW. 309 page paperback. Price: $ 6.99 (US), $ 9.99 (CAN). ISBN: 0-7564-0182-8. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.dawbooks.com
The Victorians were very fond of fairy tales. Their image, though was often of cute, diminutive beings frequently associated with flowers. Faerie has roots far, far older. Where there is a tradition of folklore, there will be tales of magical beings from the Otherworld.
Many of them were malicious. It is the dangerous side of faerie that fantasy writers have embraced. Nowhere in the twelve original stories in this anthology is there room for cute. There is an edge to all of them. Most of the stories are from established writers within the fantasy field.
The stories are set within the context of the modern world. Charles de Lint has for a long time written novels and stories set in the fictional city of Newford where, for those who can see, lurk Otherworld creatures. 'Sweet Forget-Me-Not', the first story in this volume, adds to the Newford oeuvre. Those familiar with his work may have met his gemmin. They are spirits of a place that soak up information then disappear, breaking hearts. Ahmad meets a group of them when he most needs to and forms a liaison with one. This is a quiet story and adds to our knowledge of de Lint's magical people.
Tim Waggoner's 'The September People' has the same kind of ambience, but instead of youth it is age that needs the boost in confidence. At seventy-four, Maggie takes the path into the Otherworld that she first followed as a child of nine. After her first encounter with the creatures she called the September People, she grew up to become an expert in local myth and folklore. Now, towards the end of her life she decides to see if she can find them again.
It is not only humans that venture into the Otherworld. Sometimes, their denizens enter ours. In Kristine Kathryn Rusch's 'Judgement', the being that calls himself Tyrone Briggs was lured into the human world by the music of the Meistersinger of Nuremberg, Hans Sachs. Now, after centuries away, he finds himself back in the city, as a photographer at the Nazi trials. He finds that it is not only the war criminals that are being judged.
While music may be a lure to them, drugs can be used to lure the young in the other direction as Sandra, straight cop finds in Sarah A. Hoye's 'Yellow Tide Foam'.
The Sidhe also make it into the space age. Traditionally, time runs differently in the Otherworld. A day there may be a year passing in our world. In 'A Very Special Relativity' by James Fiscus, the discovery of a dead chicken outside the pilot's module on the spaceship Dunkwart Rowtow leads the indentured Mike Horvath to discover how this skill of time distortion has been put to use in navigating space.
In only one story, 'Wyvern' by Watt Spencer, is there real co-operation between the magical and non-magical worlds. Kate, a human has to work with the Crowsong to catch the wyvern that is picking off the elfin workforce along the construction route of the railway between the two worlds.
Whereas most of the stories here deal with the principle denizens of the Otherworld, the Sidhe, even though they are not always called that, they are not the only inhabitants. In her contribution, 'Witches' Broom, Apple Soon', Jane Lindskold tells of Satyrs and Dryads. These are the creatures Johanna encounters when she trespasses in search of the witches' broom, a growth sometimes found on trees such as apple, that she hopes to develop as a new apple cultivar similar to the one she lost when all her young trees were bought from her before they had a chance to fruit.
All these stories are new takes on the theme of Faerie. The remaining five give new twists to traditional folklore. It was believed that a woman could rescue the man she loves from the clutches of the Queen of the Faeries by physically holding on to him, whatever happens.
'He Said, Sidhe Said' by Tanya Huff is one of the best in this volume as it also touched with humour. It is told as alternating view points. When Titania takes a fancy to Tommy Lane, a skater-boy, there is a serious clash of cultures. Whereas, Tommy is enjoying himself, Titania realises she has made a serious mistake and has to find a way of remedying it without becoming the laughing stock of Faerie.
The remaining four stories are all changeling tales, but are very different from each other. John Helfers 'Changeling' concerns the problems the changeling has in fitting in to modern society, while 'The Filial Fiddler' by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, contrasts the adult changeling and the returned child at the end of the mother's life. Adam Stemple's 'A Piece Of Flesh' tells of the problems the narrator has in trying to get her brother back. It is a chilling piece as it is a first person narration and the question arises as to her reliability as a witness and the reality she relates.
The last story in the volume is probably the best. In Michelle West's 'The Stolen Child', the father of the stolen child has spent years not only finding where his daughter is hidden but of the trials he must go through to get her back. It is a beautifully crafted story filled with determination and hope. The book is worth reading for gems such as this.
Pauline Morgan
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