The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest

Yet another brilliant collection from Datlow and Windling. "The Green Man" takes you furthur into the otherworldly forest realm with each new story. I could not stop reading, knowing that with each new author came another tale I knew I wanted to get lost in. The beautiful chapter illustrations by Charles Vess serve as more than decoration, but set the stage for the next story to be ensared by. His ability to capture the spirit of a story in only a few inches of ink is reason enough to buy this book for me. The enchanting stories by such greats as Charles De Lint, Neil Gaiman and Gregory MacGuire are a pretty good reason too.

This book won the 2003 World Fantasy Award, and it's easy to see why. There are wonderful stories here by many fine writers, including Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, Midori Snyder, Delia Sherman, Patricia McKillip, Tanith Lee, Jeffrey Ford, and many others, a real Who's Who of the fantasy field. I'm not sure why the reviewers below were surprised that the stories are aimed at teenagers -- this book is a Young Adult anthology, published by Viking Children's Books, so what else did they expect? Nonetheless, there is plenty for adult readers here too, if you love myth, magic, and the timeless concerns of coming-of-age.

Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have paid true homage to the spirit of the Green Man in this anthology. Not only do the short stories collected in this hefty volume evoke a true sense of mystery in the wild, but artist Charles Vess -- who publishes much of his work via his own, well-respected Green Man Press -- has provided cover art and incidental illustrations to bring the concept alive.From top to bottom, front to back, Tales from the Mythic Forest is an excellent collection of stories unearthing the heart of the woodlands, the spirit of the trees and the face of nature.

At first, I did not realize that 'The Green Man' is a book for young adults. The give-away was when I realized that there was no sex or violence! The book is a fast read and I enjoyed the stories. Some are better than others as is true in most anthologies and a couple are truly inspired. The stories are a nice way to connect with the natural world.

Here's why I recommend this anthology:-- It's a terrific bargain. For around the price of a nonillustrated trade paperback [$$$], you get a hardbound book with illustrated dust jacket and chapter headings by master fantasy illustrator Charles Vess.-- I read the stories in it in order, instead of picking and choosing the authors I liked. I probably haven't done that in a multi-author anthology since I was a teenager (back when giant lizards roamed the Earth).-- Vess is an Illustrator, in the best sense of the word. He doesn't just draw pretty pictures; he helps tell the stories.-- Even though this is a theme anthology, and (as others note) there's lots of stories of teens coming of age while lost in the wilderness, the authors have diverse voices. You get different stories, with different teens (some likeable, others detestable), going through a variety of life-changing experiences.-- Although the stories vary in quality, they're all readable -- even Midori Snyder's story, which left a bad taste in my mouth by tying things up in too neat a bow and giving the hero's girlfriend a highly-annoying speech at the end.Give it a try!