Terribly Twisted Tales

These eighteen entries will remind readers of Rocky and Bullwinkle's Fractured Fairy Tales as the authors take an irrelevant spin on famous stories. Almost all the contributions are excellent with a couple, though well written, disappointingly changing the personalities of the key players without explanation. Fans will enjoy what happens to Snow White after she owns the Prince and the Mirror in Chris Pierson's superb "Once They Were Seven", the witch chasing after violent Hansel and Gretel in "Waifs" by Dennis L. McKiernan and the scary science fiction twister "Jack and the Genetic Beanstalk by Robert E. Vardeman. Overall this is a great collection that pays homage to the brilliant zany minds of Jay Ward and Bill Scott. Harriet Klausner

Actually, in many ways, these fairy tales are very much in the spirit of the original stories by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christan Anderson, since the original stories were morality tales designed to scare and warn the populace, (and occasionally entertain). Here, 18 authors bring back that original feeling in their stories. Some authors went with humor, and some went with the original creepy feel. My favorite stories "Once They Were Seven" by Chris Pierson. If you like your stories on the horror side of life, this is an excellent reimagining of the Snow White mythos. It impressed me enough I would read more by Pierson. "A Charming Murder" by Mary Louise Eklund is also quite good: CSI meets Cinderella with great results. "Capricious Animistic Temper" by Mickey Zucker Reichert is hilarious, and anyone with a cat will like it that much more. A complete list of the stories and authors (in order) is... *** Waifs by Dennis L. McKiernan ***My Great-Great-Grandma Golda Lockes by Annie Jones ***Once They Were Seven by Chris Pierson *** Capricious Animistic Temper by Mickey Zucker Reichert ***A Charming Murder by Mary Louise Eklund ***Jack and the Genetic Beanstalk by Robert E. Vardeman ***What's in a Name by Kathleen Watness ***No Good Deed by Jody Lynn Nye ***The Red Path by Jim C. Hines ***Lost Child by Stephen D. Sullivan ***Rapunzel Strikes Back by Brendan DuBois ***Revenge of the Little Dance Girl by Paul Genesse ***Clockwork Heart by Ramsey "Tome Wyrm" Lundock ***The Hundred Year Nap by Skip and Penny Williams ***Five Goats and a Troll by Elizabeth A. Vaughan ***Something About Mattresses by Janet Deaver-Pack ***Three Wishes by Kelly Swails ***The Adventure of rge Red Riding Hoods by Michael A. Stackpole This latest DAW anthology delivers a great set of stories, and it would be well worth spending the money for a great summer read. You won't be disappointed, but as with the original stories, these are more meant for adults than children or young readers. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS