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Bone Swans: Stories
A swan princess hunted for her bones, a broken musician and his silver pipe, and a rat named Maurice bring justice to a town under fell enchantment. A gang of courageous kids confronts both a plague-destroyed world and an afterlife infested with clowns but robbed of laughter. In an island city, the murder of a child unites two lovers, but vengeance will part them. Only human sacrifice will save a city trapped in ice and darkness. Gold spun out of straw has a price, but not the one you expect.
World Fantasy Award winner Ellen Kushner has called Cooney's writing "stunningly delicious! Cruel, beautiful and irresistible." BONE SWANS, the infernally whimsical debut collection from C. S. E. Cooney, gathers five novellas that in the words of Andre Norton Award winner Delia Sherman are "bawdy, horrific, comic, and moving-frequently all at the same time." Cooney's mentor, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Gene Wolfe, proclaims in his introduction that her style is so original it can only be described as "pure Cooney," and he offers readers a challenge: "Try to define that when you've finished the stories in this book."
Introducing C.S.E. Cooney / by Gene Wolfe --
Life on the sun --
The bone swans of Amandale --
Martyr's gem --
How the milkmaid struck a bargain with the crooked one --
The big bah-ha
World Fantasy Award winner Ellen Kushner has called Cooney's writing "stunningly delicious! Cruel, beautiful and irresistible." BONE SWANS, the infernally whimsical debut collection from C. S. E. Cooney, gathers five novellas that in the words of Andre Norton Award winner Delia Sherman are "bawdy, horrific, comic, and moving-frequently all at the same time." Cooney's mentor, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Gene Wolfe, proclaims in his introduction that her style is so original it can only be described as "pure Cooney," and he offers readers a challenge: "Try to define that when you've finished the stories in this book."
Introducing C.S.E. Cooney / by Gene Wolfe --
Life on the sun --
The bone swans of Amandale --
Martyr's gem --
How the milkmaid struck a bargain with the crooked one --
The big bah-ha
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2015
About the author
C.S.E. Cooney
177 books309 followersC.S.E. Cooney lives and writes in Queens, whose borders are water. She is an audiobook narrator, the singer/songwriter Brimstone Rhine, and author of World Fantasy Award-winning Bone Swans: Stories (Mythic Delirium 2015).
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
October 27, 2022
Outside the gates of Rok Moris, a white sun blazed. Rattlesnake basked. Sandwolf slunk to fit inside the meager shadow of a sarro cactus.
Inside the gates, blackness. Frost glistened on brick, boardwalk, dirt path, temple column. Quiet canals formed ice at the banks. Olive branches silvered and verdy bushes withered, and each blood-pink bougainvillea shed its papery petals to show the thorns.
In the hottest, driest month of the year, to the hottest driest city on the Empire of the Open Palm, a long and endless winter night had come.
Fa Izid ban Azure and his Army of the Childless Men marched upon Rok Moris.
5 stars for the short story Life on the Sun. I liked it so much I may put this anthology on my all time faves list for this short story alone. I recommend to Tanith Lee fans, especially.
The rest of the short stories were okay.
Full review to come.
Inside the gates, blackness. Frost glistened on brick, boardwalk, dirt path, temple column. Quiet canals formed ice at the banks. Olive branches silvered and verdy bushes withered, and each blood-pink bougainvillea shed its papery petals to show the thorns.
In the hottest, driest month of the year, to the hottest driest city on the Empire of the Open Palm, a long and endless winter night had come.
Fa Izid ban Azure and his Army of the Childless Men marched upon Rok Moris.
5 stars for the short story Life on the Sun. I liked it so much I may put this anthology on my all time faves list for this short story alone. I recommend to Tanith Lee fans, especially.
The rest of the short stories were okay.
Full review to come.
August 13, 2016
Bone Swans collects 5 novellas/novelettes that explore storytelling and folklore in unique and lyrical ways. My favorites were the two fairy tale retellings, and the collection is worth picking up for just those two stories alone--The Bone Swans of Amandale and How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One. In fact, the milkmaid story is my favorite Rumpelstiltskin retelling I've read (up until now, of course). I loved it.
I've read C.S.E. Cooney before, different stories and poems than in this collection. I was unsure whether I liked her writing or not, but this collection puts her on my read list. Her style is sort of similar to Catherynne M. Valente and Maria Dahvana Headley, so if you like those authors, you should like this.
Life on the Sun: Dense fantasy about a war, the bird people, and power. It's so dense I felt like it needed to be longer to better develop the characters and conflict. Otherwise, cool concept and writing. 3.5/5
The Bone Swans of Amandale: The shapeshifting swans of Amandale are being hunted a killed, their bones made into instruments beneath the juniper tree, at the bidding of an ogre-mayor Ulia Gol. But shapeshifting rat Maurice has an idea to save his lady love Dora Rose, one of the swans, with the help of his good friend the pied piper Nicholas. Combining The Juniper Tree, The Pied Piper of Hamlin, and Sleeping Beauty, this is a wonderfully creative novella. 4.5/5
Martyr's Gem: In a fantasy, post-apocalyptic world, Shursta, a poor fisherman, marries the wealthy Hyrryrai at her request. Hyrryrai's sister has recently been murdered, and she's heard Shursta is kind to his own sister Sharrar. This is a good story overall. I enjoyed the world and characters, though some characters were a bit one-dimensional. 4/5
How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: A really wonderful Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Loved. 5/5
The Big Bah-Ha: Not sure I know what was going on in this one! In a post apocalyptic world, some sort of rash kills adults, and there's these tall people that eat children, and heaven is a sort of circus. Um. This is my least favorite in the collection, but it's certainly inventive. 2/5
I've read C.S.E. Cooney before, different stories and poems than in this collection. I was unsure whether I liked her writing or not, but this collection puts her on my read list. Her style is sort of similar to Catherynne M. Valente and Maria Dahvana Headley, so if you like those authors, you should like this.
Life on the Sun: Dense fantasy about a war, the bird people, and power. It's so dense I felt like it needed to be longer to better develop the characters and conflict. Otherwise, cool concept and writing. 3.5/5
The Bone Swans of Amandale: The shapeshifting swans of Amandale are being hunted a killed, their bones made into instruments beneath the juniper tree, at the bidding of an ogre-mayor Ulia Gol. But shapeshifting rat Maurice has an idea to save his lady love Dora Rose, one of the swans, with the help of his good friend the pied piper Nicholas. Combining The Juniper Tree, The Pied Piper of Hamlin, and Sleeping Beauty, this is a wonderfully creative novella. 4.5/5
Martyr's Gem: In a fantasy, post-apocalyptic world, Shursta, a poor fisherman, marries the wealthy Hyrryrai at her request. Hyrryrai's sister has recently been murdered, and she's heard Shursta is kind to his own sister Sharrar. This is a good story overall. I enjoyed the world and characters, though some characters were a bit one-dimensional. 4/5
How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: A really wonderful Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Loved. 5/5
The Big Bah-Ha: Not sure I know what was going on in this one! In a post apocalyptic world, some sort of rash kills adults, and there's these tall people that eat children, and heaven is a sort of circus. Um. This is my least favorite in the collection, but it's certainly inventive. 2/5
August 4, 2016
A few months ago I wrote a couple of paragraphs on the splendidly fresh The Bone Swans Of Amandale, a 28.000 word novella by C.S.E. Cooney. I ended that review with the promise to pick up the entire collection, and I’ve done just that.
Bone Swans features 5 stories – most about 40 pages. All of the stories can by read for free online (check the links below), but I think it merits a physical purchase, very much so. Unique, bold authors as Claire Cooney need all the support they can get. It will also be a great collection to read to your 12 year old kids – and bedtime reading from a tablet simply doesn’t have the same charm. Not to mention screen light being bad for your loved ones’ sleep cycles.
Everything I wrote about The Bone Swans of Amandale is true for the other 4 stories: “poetic, humorous, original, daring, gruesome, outrageous, unsettling and even amoral.” Maybe that last adjective doesn’t go for every tale, but still: that’s quite a row of lauding words. I cannot praise the collection enough. I’m fairly sure it will end up in my favorite ten reads this year…
Below a few notes on each story. Whatever you do after the jump, please, do read those four, short quotes.
(...)
Please read the full review on Weighing A Pig...
Bone Swans features 5 stories – most about 40 pages. All of the stories can by read for free online (check the links below), but I think it merits a physical purchase, very much so. Unique, bold authors as Claire Cooney need all the support they can get. It will also be a great collection to read to your 12 year old kids – and bedtime reading from a tablet simply doesn’t have the same charm. Not to mention screen light being bad for your loved ones’ sleep cycles.
Everything I wrote about The Bone Swans of Amandale is true for the other 4 stories: “poetic, humorous, original, daring, gruesome, outrageous, unsettling and even amoral.” Maybe that last adjective doesn’t go for every tale, but still: that’s quite a row of lauding words. I cannot praise the collection enough. I’m fairly sure it will end up in my favorite ten reads this year…
Below a few notes on each story. Whatever you do after the jump, please, do read those four, short quotes.
(...)
Please read the full review on Weighing A Pig...
August 17, 2015
I finished this book more than a week ago, and I'm still absolutely stunned by it.
Five stories, ranging in length from short story to novella. Each reminiscent of an old-school fairy tale (though only two are outright retellings of popular Western tales), both beautiful and disquieting, with various recognizable tropes and archetypes and plotlines and characters all delicately woven together into something entirely new. Each told in phraseology that echoes the rhythm and poetry of a truly gifted oral storyteller, full of sure-footed language that carefully signals character, time, place, while nonetheless belonging clearly to the voice of this author alone.
Cooney clearly understands the evolution of stories, how bits and pieces of their DNA free-float between people before recombining in our minds, adapting themselves to the time and environment in which they're told. The stories themselves are familiar and yet different from anything I've read in a long time. Her masterful use of language reminded me more than once of David Mitchell; and yet, while Mitchell's cleverness is the sort that (justifiably) demands recognition, Cooney's style is almost the opposite. Subtle, lyrical, with a beauty that shines through its familiar trappings; you could read each story without ever noticing the careful craft of the words, and then they would be there to surprise and delight you upon reread.
These aren't long stories, but they're not quick reads either. They're as much poem as story, meant to be thoroughly enjoyed; read quickly, they lose much of their power. But if you love fairy tales, if you love stories, if you love beautiful use of language, if you enjoy the journey of the story as much as the destination? This is the book you didn't even know you desperately wanted.
Five stories, ranging in length from short story to novella. Each reminiscent of an old-school fairy tale (though only two are outright retellings of popular Western tales), both beautiful and disquieting, with various recognizable tropes and archetypes and plotlines and characters all delicately woven together into something entirely new. Each told in phraseology that echoes the rhythm and poetry of a truly gifted oral storyteller, full of sure-footed language that carefully signals character, time, place, while nonetheless belonging clearly to the voice of this author alone.
Cooney clearly understands the evolution of stories, how bits and pieces of their DNA free-float between people before recombining in our minds, adapting themselves to the time and environment in which they're told. The stories themselves are familiar and yet different from anything I've read in a long time. Her masterful use of language reminded me more than once of David Mitchell; and yet, while Mitchell's cleverness is the sort that (justifiably) demands recognition, Cooney's style is almost the opposite. Subtle, lyrical, with a beauty that shines through its familiar trappings; you could read each story without ever noticing the careful craft of the words, and then they would be there to surprise and delight you upon reread.
These aren't long stories, but they're not quick reads either. They're as much poem as story, meant to be thoroughly enjoyed; read quickly, they lose much of their power. But if you love fairy tales, if you love stories, if you love beautiful use of language, if you enjoy the journey of the story as much as the destination? This is the book you didn't even know you desperately wanted.
July 5, 2017
This is a book with a beautiful cover and of course an interesting name so there was almost no telling what type of story was going to be found within the cover. Instead it appeared that this was a collection of stories that had been written by the author and compiled into one book, which of course allowed the reader to have access to more works of the author without having to buy or loan more than one of her works.
The first thing that I didn't like was the introduction - yep I am the type of person who will actually read that. Although I understand he was her mentor he actually seemed to talk long and heavy while making a promise that sometimes just cannot be kept since not all readers are going to correspond.
The first story - Life On the Sun - was an alright enough tale. Basically the reader was dumped into the middle of it so there wasn't much secondary character development unless they were related to the story. It was also predictable and to keep it to the short story format there were some important parts that felt missing to me as I finished it.
The second story - The Bone Swans of Amandale - and the one that the book is named after was a bit more of the fairytale re-telling that interests me although it combined the two very different works of "The Swan Princess" and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." Most of the characters were really developed but the story started off slow and in some areas dragged yet at other times there was so much action you wanted to know more. In my opinion this is one of the better stories within the book.
The third - Martyr's Gem - I am still trying to figure out my stance on this particular story. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, especially the male protagonist who proved to be so much more than what he was given as. Unfortunately I didn't see him as a coward or one who would leave a fight but it seemed he may have been just as the Crones had said he was.
The fourth - How The Milkmaid Struck A Bargain With The Crooked One - was yet another fairytale re-telling although this time of Rumplestiltskin. Again it proved to be one of the better stories and probably ranked a bit higher over the Bone Swans. Why did I like this one more? The characters although underdeveloped in a sense actually were darker and yet made more human sense in comparison to each other. I loved how the author was able to prove that the villain may not have been a villain after all.
And finally the last story - The Big Bah-Ha - in my opinion didn't quite fit the collection. Although it has enough fantastical bits and pieces it is more a horror story and one of conquering fear to conquer a shared enemy although some parts of life cannot be changed. It was dark and a bit on the troubling side while holding similar to the same theme of "Lord of the Flies" of what happens to children left behind on their own although this time with ancient creepy gods who want to devour their bones along with dead bodies.
Although intrigued with some parts of these stories they just aren't my cup of tea but I know that so many others may enjoy some of the amorality, the gruesomeness and the violence that can be found within the stories.
The first thing that I didn't like was the introduction - yep I am the type of person who will actually read that. Although I understand he was her mentor he actually seemed to talk long and heavy while making a promise that sometimes just cannot be kept since not all readers are going to correspond.
The first story - Life On the Sun - was an alright enough tale. Basically the reader was dumped into the middle of it so there wasn't much secondary character development unless they were related to the story. It was also predictable and to keep it to the short story format there were some important parts that felt missing to me as I finished it.
The second story - The Bone Swans of Amandale - and the one that the book is named after was a bit more of the fairytale re-telling that interests me although it combined the two very different works of "The Swan Princess" and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." Most of the characters were really developed but the story started off slow and in some areas dragged yet at other times there was so much action you wanted to know more. In my opinion this is one of the better stories within the book.
The third - Martyr's Gem - I am still trying to figure out my stance on this particular story. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, especially the male protagonist who proved to be so much more than what he was given as. Unfortunately I didn't see him as a coward or one who would leave a fight but it seemed he may have been just as the Crones had said he was.
The fourth - How The Milkmaid Struck A Bargain With The Crooked One - was yet another fairytale re-telling although this time of Rumplestiltskin. Again it proved to be one of the better stories and probably ranked a bit higher over the Bone Swans. Why did I like this one more? The characters although underdeveloped in a sense actually were darker and yet made more human sense in comparison to each other. I loved how the author was able to prove that the villain may not have been a villain after all.
And finally the last story - The Big Bah-Ha - in my opinion didn't quite fit the collection. Although it has enough fantastical bits and pieces it is more a horror story and one of conquering fear to conquer a shared enemy although some parts of life cannot be changed. It was dark and a bit on the troubling side while holding similar to the same theme of "Lord of the Flies" of what happens to children left behind on their own although this time with ancient creepy gods who want to devour their bones along with dead bodies.
Although intrigued with some parts of these stories they just aren't my cup of tea but I know that so many others may enjoy some of the amorality, the gruesomeness and the violence that can be found within the stories.
July 30, 2015
If you're attracted by the title of this anthology, then I think it's highly likely you'll love the stories, because they are exactly that combination of beautiful and unsettling--but unsettling in a sensual and gorgeous way. You want to get closer, and the stories beckon you with sidelong glances.
My favorite is "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One," a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story that's so full and deep that it's more of a revisioning than a retelling. It's fast, funny, and imaginative, with the best heroine. Here she describes her situation:
Her relationship with the crooked one is much more... complicated than the relationship between the milkmaid and Rumplestiltskin in the story we knew as kids:
Mmmmm, yes. My favorite story.
And the others are equally good: surprising, strange, beautiful.
My favorite is "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One," a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story that's so full and deep that it's more of a revisioning than a retelling. It's fast, funny, and imaginative, with the best heroine. Here she describes her situation:
[I was] shut up in a silo with enough straw to stuff a legion of scarecrows. From the itching in my arms and the tickle in my nose, I apprehended a heretofore unknown but deeply personal reaction to straw. In sufficient quantities, and given enough time, the straw might actually murder me.
Her relationship with the crooked one is much more... complicated than the relationship between the milkmaid and Rumplestiltskin in the story we knew as kids:
"I've a trade for your future." His voice was very soft. "'I'll spin you a king's ransom of gold tonight--in exchange for your firstborn child."
"[The king's] spawn?" I laughed balefully, remembering that hot, dry hand on my neck. "Take him! And take his father too, if you've a large enough sack."
"You barter the flesh of your flesh too complacently."
"No one cares about my flesh. It's not mine anymore. I'm not even me anymore."
...
"Your flesh," he murmured, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "How can you say no one cares for it, when I would risk the wrath of two realms to spare it from harm?"
Mmmmm, yes. My favorite story.
And the others are equally good: surprising, strange, beautiful.
October 25, 2017
Some of the stories are old though a bit twisted, but the writing is fresh and brilliant.
October 9, 2015
This is a collection of stories that despite their length are rich and deep. There's very little spent on exposition, so you're immersed in the story and expected to keep up. But that's not hard to do, most of the time, as context throws you just enough twine and branches to build a framework to hang what you've already discovered.
The titular story, Bone Swans, instantly made me think of Bonny Swans, and apparently for good reason. The titular story is an amazing mash up of that story, the Juniper Tree, and the Pied Piper all neatly tied together by a skinchanging rat who lends his own earthy sensibilities to the tale.
One of the stories is a re-envisioning of Rumpelstiltskin in the strong and creative vein of Datlow and Windling.
One of the stories may remind me of South Pacific legends, one of the western First Nations, but not tied to them as strongly as the first two, and the final piece is a sort of 'what if Danny Elfman wrote a post apocalyptic Dia de los Fairy Tales'.
I like stories about people, and it looks like one of Cooney's strong points is people. When I used the term immersion, I meant it. Reading this book meant being surrounded by it, filled with it. This is one of those books that I would prefer a dead-tree version of, because I kept wanting to go back and re-read bits as I remembered them, to re-experience them. If you love fairy stories or märchen, whether old favorites or as yet undiscovered favorites, you owe it to yourself to sit down and make friends with this book.
The titular story, Bone Swans, instantly made me think of Bonny Swans, and apparently for good reason. The titular story is an amazing mash up of that story, the Juniper Tree, and the Pied Piper all neatly tied together by a skinchanging rat who lends his own earthy sensibilities to the tale.
One of the stories is a re-envisioning of Rumpelstiltskin in the strong and creative vein of Datlow and Windling.
One of the stories may remind me of South Pacific legends, one of the western First Nations, but not tied to them as strongly as the first two, and the final piece is a sort of 'what if Danny Elfman wrote a post apocalyptic Dia de los Fairy Tales'.
I like stories about people, and it looks like one of Cooney's strong points is people. When I used the term immersion, I meant it. Reading this book meant being surrounded by it, filled with it. This is one of those books that I would prefer a dead-tree version of, because I kept wanting to go back and re-read bits as I remembered them, to re-experience them. If you love fairy stories or märchen, whether old favorites or as yet undiscovered favorites, you owe it to yourself to sit down and make friends with this book.
December 20, 2016
A collection of five novellas, Bone Swans exceeded my expectations.
I'll admit to not being the right reader for "Life on the Sun" and "Martyr's Gem." And "The Big Bah-Ha" had clowns, need I say more?
But I absolutely lost my mind when I finished "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One," a fairy-tale retelling based on Rumpelstiltskin tales. It was SO good, an instant favorite -- seriously, it's worth buying this book for that story alone.
The other retelling, "The Bone Swans of Amandale," a mash-up of "The Pied Piper" and "The Juniper Tree," was more sinister than yet equally fulfilling as "Milkmaid." That's saying a lot coming from me because I'm not usually too impressed with the Pied Piper. (See "Some Wait" by Stephen Graham Jones in The Starlit Wood for another exception to my usual meh response to the Piper.) Maurice cracked me up! He reminded me of Templeton from Charlotte's Web.
If you're looking for stories with a fresh voice, I highly recommend this collection.
4 stars
I'll admit to not being the right reader for "Life on the Sun" and "Martyr's Gem." And "The Big Bah-Ha" had clowns, need I say more?
But I absolutely lost my mind when I finished "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One," a fairy-tale retelling based on Rumpelstiltskin tales. It was SO good, an instant favorite -- seriously, it's worth buying this book for that story alone.
The other retelling, "The Bone Swans of Amandale," a mash-up of "The Pied Piper" and "The Juniper Tree," was more sinister than yet equally fulfilling as "Milkmaid." That's saying a lot coming from me because I'm not usually too impressed with the Pied Piper. (See "Some Wait" by Stephen Graham Jones in The Starlit Wood for another exception to my usual meh response to the Piper.) Maurice cracked me up! He reminded me of Templeton from Charlotte's Web.
If you're looking for stories with a fresh voice, I highly recommend this collection.
4 stars
May 2, 2017
Think fairy tales for adults. And no, I do not mean what they were originally like when kids tales generally were pretty metal before the Disneyfication that was to come. This author has a stunningly unique voice and vision, though to my delight I could sense some influences of authors floating about, which could only be seen from the corner of the discerning eye.
The first story clearly had that Dunsany vibe, but captured the dream like wonder of those tales in a more emotionally resonant way than he ever did. The second story made me think of Jack Vance-one of my all time favorite authors. That generally vibe made it my personal favorite of this collection. The third was in a leaque all its own, but Clark Ashton Smith lightly hovered about its margins. The final story of all things made me think of a writing challenge where someone issued the task of 'take bizarro fiction and have it written by Ligotti.'
None of this is to deny the authors complete originality, but as a lifelong consumer of weird fiction, I cant help but see the influences that really made it connect with me. Dark fantasy meets psychological pseudo horror. This is not one to pass up.
The first story clearly had that Dunsany vibe, but captured the dream like wonder of those tales in a more emotionally resonant way than he ever did. The second story made me think of Jack Vance-one of my all time favorite authors. That generally vibe made it my personal favorite of this collection. The third was in a leaque all its own, but Clark Ashton Smith lightly hovered about its margins. The final story of all things made me think of a writing challenge where someone issued the task of 'take bizarro fiction and have it written by Ligotti.'
None of this is to deny the authors complete originality, but as a lifelong consumer of weird fiction, I cant help but see the influences that really made it connect with me. Dark fantasy meets psychological pseudo horror. This is not one to pass up.
April 29, 2019
The first story didn't work for me, and I almost abandoned this collection. Very glad that I didn't, because the middle three stories were worth the price of admission. The last was also a bit rough, but murderous clowns in the land of the dead? Sure, why not!
Author C.S.E. Cooney has written numerous short stories and poems, and to date two collections. A novel is apparently in the works. Her mentor - this collection is introduced by him - is Gene Wolfe, who recently passed away. Cooney is apparently also a narrator of audio books and short stories.
Back to this collection, a solid 3.5 stars. The Bone Swans of Amandale is worth the price of admission. In future, I'd like to read more from this author, and for that matter another book or two from Gene Wolfe.
Author C.S.E. Cooney has written numerous short stories and poems, and to date two collections. A novel is apparently in the works. Her mentor - this collection is introduced by him - is Gene Wolfe, who recently passed away. Cooney is apparently also a narrator of audio books and short stories.
Back to this collection, a solid 3.5 stars. The Bone Swans of Amandale is worth the price of admission. In future, I'd like to read more from this author, and for that matter another book or two from Gene Wolfe.
September 3, 2015
I should post a disclaimer right at the beginning, that C. S. E. Cooney is a friend, and I helped critique one of the stories in this collection ("The Bone Swans of Amandale," if you're curious). So perhaps my utter adoration for these stories is biased. I don't care. This is an absolutely brilliant book, rich and strange, heartbreaking and hopeful, each story more wondrous than the last. Without flinching from the shadows in the world, Claire makes you believe in light and life. Don't ask me to pick a favorite here.
January 1, 2017
Five fantastic stories, little gems, strange countries populated by fierce characters, big ideas, vocabulary fancy and fanciful. Loved it.
April 6, 2020
I was completely blown away by how gorgeous these stories are. I mean, I expected it--Desdemona and the Deep is one of my favorite books from a craft standpoint alone, so I knew that I would most likely fall similarly in love with anything CSE Cooney-written. But this collection of stories that are part fairy tale but all Cooney's own were absolutely stunning.
The theme common among all five of these stories is transformation--deal-making and changing and changing perspectives. Becoming. Which is appropriate because this book transformed me. It was haunting and haunted, weird and creepy, lovely and lush. Darker than I expected, bittersweet, but delicious. With edges. Soft curves and hard edges that make you want to sing, to fly.
I can't explain it. I can't compare it. It's completely it's own thing and yet dusted in hints and nods to fairy tales that are instantly recognizable. But nothing about any of these stories feels like fairy tale retellings. They are completely original and yet somehow not at all, and it's a balance as fine as a knife edge and just as risky. But damn, Cooney walked that easily, and made something amazing.
The theme common among all five of these stories is transformation--deal-making and changing and changing perspectives. Becoming. Which is appropriate because this book transformed me. It was haunting and haunted, weird and creepy, lovely and lush. Darker than I expected, bittersweet, but delicious. With edges. Soft curves and hard edges that make you want to sing, to fly.
I can't explain it. I can't compare it. It's completely it's own thing and yet dusted in hints and nods to fairy tales that are instantly recognizable. But nothing about any of these stories feels like fairy tale retellings. They are completely original and yet somehow not at all, and it's a balance as fine as a knife edge and just as risky. But damn, Cooney walked that easily, and made something amazing.
November 12, 2017
C.S.E. Cooney is one of the the best wordsmiths I've read. Her turns of phrase are just brilliant. The landscapes, characters and emotions she paints are so vivid you cannot help but FEEL the stories as you read them.
The Martyr's Gem is my favorite out of the collection. While, I LOVED them all; this story, in particular, just broke into a million possibilities in my mind. I want more... I NEED MORE of this world, of these characters!! (Claire, if you read this... I'm begging! lol)
This is a MUST READ for me.
This is one book I have given multiple times as a gift and one I will continue to give for years to come.
Simply put... READ IT.
(Also of note: If it were so good, why did it take me so long to finish it? Quite simple really... I didn't want it to end, so I prolonged the inevitable as long as possible.)
The Martyr's Gem is my favorite out of the collection. While, I LOVED them all; this story, in particular, just broke into a million possibilities in my mind. I want more... I NEED MORE of this world, of these characters!! (Claire, if you read this... I'm begging! lol)
This is a MUST READ for me.
This is one book I have given multiple times as a gift and one I will continue to give for years to come.
Simply put... READ IT.
(Also of note: If it were so good, why did it take me so long to finish it? Quite simple really... I didn't want it to end, so I prolonged the inevitable as long as possible.)
August 3, 2023
Apart from Gene Wolfe's 'Introducing C.S.E Cooney' and the author's 'Acknowledgements' describing the background of these stories, the book contains~
1. Life on the Sun: This was a dense and confusing read that had almost switched me off. Luckily I persisted.
2. The Bone Swans of Amandale: An exceptional retelling of old tales.
3. Martyr's Gem: Brilliant story of revenge and redemption.
4. How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: Best story of this collection that succeeded in infusing fresh life into several old and modern tales with wit, irony and pace.
5. The Big Bah-Ha: A grim post-apocalyptic tale with its own flourish towards the end.
Overall, this is one of the finest modern fantasy collections that you can get hold of.
Recommended, whole-heartedly.
1. Life on the Sun: This was a dense and confusing read that had almost switched me off. Luckily I persisted.
2. The Bone Swans of Amandale: An exceptional retelling of old tales.
3. Martyr's Gem: Brilliant story of revenge and redemption.
4. How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: Best story of this collection that succeeded in infusing fresh life into several old and modern tales with wit, irony and pace.
5. The Big Bah-Ha: A grim post-apocalyptic tale with its own flourish towards the end.
Overall, this is one of the finest modern fantasy collections that you can get hold of.
Recommended, whole-heartedly.
January 25, 2022
Simply amazing stories!! Full of darkness and light, rich with life and texture, fashinating and beautiful characters you care about. Reminded my of some of Patricia Mckillip in regards of words and languish.
You'll meet a ratman and unreliable narrator, a girl without a leg, complex societies and islanders murder, swan girls becoming bone harps (loved the reference to the two sisters tale in there, triakel and garmarna and Rå:s singing versions of the tale are dear to my heart).
I want more, much more!!
You'll meet a ratman and unreliable narrator, a girl without a leg, complex societies and islanders murder, swan girls becoming bone harps (loved the reference to the two sisters tale in there, triakel and garmarna and Rå:s singing versions of the tale are dear to my heart).
I want more, much more!!
August 10, 2017
Excelentes historias, en particular las dos primeras. Tienen un aire cuento-de-hadas-esco encantador. Iba para 5 estrellas pero el ultimo cuento es un poco lento y no está tan bien desarrollado como los otros.
January 26, 2024
Cooney is one of the best and most diverse living writers we have, and you are SORELY missing out if you haven't read anything she's written.
Martyr's Gem is going to haunt me for such a long time
Martyr's Gem is going to haunt me for such a long time
September 5, 2015
An excellent collection of five stories. the writing is rich and the characters fascinating. I'm not sure how or where I came across C.S.E. Cooney, but I'll definitely look out for her writing in future. Overall, highly recommended.
Life on the Sun: Incredible worldbuilding in just a few pages. The mix of cultures, desert landscape, rights wronged and wrongs righted, and a nearly perfect ending.
The Bone Swans of Amandale: Interesting fusion of faerie tales, brought down-to-earth by the wonderfully grounded narrator, Maurice the Incomparable. I especially adored the characterisation of the Pied Piper, fey and lost and eldritch when he needs to be.
Martyr's Gem: Again, excellent world-building in a very short space. About the only quibble I have with this story is the subplot and ending:
How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: Excellent rumpelstiltskin. I really liked Gordie.
The Big Bah-Ha: This story let the collection down, somehow. While the ending came back up to par, the first half was... uninspiring, in comparison. In any other collection I probably wouldn't have noticed, but after the first four stories, it was glaringly clumsy in comparison.
Life on the Sun: Incredible worldbuilding in just a few pages. The mix of cultures, desert landscape, rights wronged and wrongs righted, and a nearly perfect ending.
The Bone Swans of Amandale: Interesting fusion of faerie tales, brought down-to-earth by the wonderfully grounded narrator, Maurice the Incomparable. I especially adored the characterisation of the Pied Piper, fey and lost and eldritch when he needs to be.
Martyr's Gem: Again, excellent world-building in a very short space. About the only quibble I have with this story is the subplot and ending:
How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One: Excellent rumpelstiltskin. I really liked Gordie.
The Big Bah-Ha: This story let the collection down, somehow. While the ending came back up to par, the first half was... uninspiring, in comparison. In any other collection I probably wouldn't have noticed, but after the first four stories, it was glaringly clumsy in comparison.
October 6, 2015
C.S.E. has the most efficiently beautiful use of language, weaving fascinating worlds without a single poisonous drop of exposition. Her characters are the sort of people you like as soon as you meet them, and her lists read like skipping rhymes and rituals and stained diamonds.
The stories are lots of different genres- gorgeous high fantasy sacrifice that rips your heart out like a painted priestess! Darkly embroidered twist on the Swan Wife/Juniper Tree fairytales with a splendid brash female antagonist! - but they're all very clever. And, more importantly, they make you feel things, which is better than mere cleverness. You should read this anthology even if you have to pay for it. It is absolutely worth the cost.
The stories are lots of different genres- gorgeous high fantasy sacrifice that rips your heart out like a painted priestess! Darkly embroidered twist on the Swan Wife/Juniper Tree fairytales with a splendid brash female antagonist! - but they're all very clever. And, more importantly, they make you feel things, which is better than mere cleverness. You should read this anthology even if you have to pay for it. It is absolutely worth the cost.
May 7, 2017
This is a marvelous collection full not only of marksman-like craft, technique, and artistry, but of life. It's every emotion you've ever held inside you, but here reconciled beautifully. Descriptions that read like poetry, stories that read like scripture. C.S.E. Cooney has created a collection that reminds that reading is a pleasure in so many more ways than ever, ever one.
September 2, 2016
I think I have a new favorite author after reading this collection. Witty, intricate, and full of spunk, each of these stories was like reading a woven tapestry where each thread glimmered and shone.
December 7, 2015
We're fortunate to live in the shadow of such towering creativity. Every one of these stories suck you into a beautifully crafted world, and linger with you long after their final page.
July 6, 2016
Loved these stories! Magic, myth and fairy tales retold with darkness, humor and wit. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.
February 25, 2017
Gaaaaah, I loved this. I mean, LOVED it!
All my gushing fangirly thoughts can be found here
All my gushing fangirly thoughts can be found here
March 24, 2020
This is one of the most haunting, enchanting, and beautiful short-story collections I've read in a long time. C. S. E. Cooney is not a writer I'd ever heard of before, but this collection proves to me that she's bound to move on to great things, and she's going to be a powerful and vibrant new voice in the fantasy world. Her stories are unique and gorgeously told, and even the fairy-tale retellings are given such new life that it's like reading an entirely new story. Her language is vivid and colorful without being overly flowery, and her characters are complex and delightful to read about.
There are five stories in this collection, some almost novella-length, so I'm going to take a moment to comment on each one:
"Life on the Sun" -- a young woman has managed to help lead a brave band of rebels to victory... but may have to sacrifice her own life to save the two kingdoms she has come to love. For me, probably the weakest of the stories, as there's a LOT of worldbuilding crammed into one short story and character development feels thin. Despite that, however, it's still a good and intriguing tale.
"The Bone Swans of Amandale" -- two shapeshifters, one a rat and one a swan, and a troubled musician with a gift for hypnosis must band together to stop a sadistic mayor from using her power to destroy the Fair Folk. A great blend of two different fairy tales ("The Juniper Tree" and "The Pied Piper of Hamlin"), with a flawed anti-hero of a protagonist who's still likable in a rascally sort of way.
"Martyr's Gem" -- on an island nation in a half-drowned world, a young man sets out to help his newly betrothed find her sister's killer and exact revenge. A richly realized world that I'd love to see more of, and a heartbreaking but thrilling story about revenge and justice.
"How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain With the Crooked One" -- a sharp-tongued milkmaid finds herself a pawn between a religious leader and a military leader who seek to seize the kingdom, and makes a bargain with one of the Gentry (the Fair Folk) to save her own life. A retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" that adds a great deal of backstory and character development, and makes a heroic character out of the "Rumpelstiltskin" character without jarring my suspension of disbelief.
"The Big Bah-Ha" -- in a post-apocalyptic world where disease has claimed all adults, a gang of children needs the help of a terrifying clown-demon to save their friend from a twisted carnival of an afterlife. Weird yet fascinating, this story feels like something Catherynne Valente would write, with a bizarre world that nonetheless operates on its own internal logic and a strange mishmash of clowns and plague that somehow works, and works well.
The book also comes with an introduction by author Gene Wolf, who mentored Cooney... but in all honesty, this can be skipped without trouble, as it mostly amounts to a travelogue. Just my thoughts.
"Bone Swans" shimmers with originality (even in its fairy-tale retellings) and beautiful writing, and gives us tantalizing glimpses of worlds that I'd love to see more of. Cooney is a strong and lovely writer, and I look forward to seeing more of her work. Perhaps one of these stories can be fleshed out into a longer work...
There are five stories in this collection, some almost novella-length, so I'm going to take a moment to comment on each one:
"Life on the Sun" -- a young woman has managed to help lead a brave band of rebels to victory... but may have to sacrifice her own life to save the two kingdoms she has come to love. For me, probably the weakest of the stories, as there's a LOT of worldbuilding crammed into one short story and character development feels thin. Despite that, however, it's still a good and intriguing tale.
"The Bone Swans of Amandale" -- two shapeshifters, one a rat and one a swan, and a troubled musician with a gift for hypnosis must band together to stop a sadistic mayor from using her power to destroy the Fair Folk. A great blend of two different fairy tales ("The Juniper Tree" and "The Pied Piper of Hamlin"), with a flawed anti-hero of a protagonist who's still likable in a rascally sort of way.
"Martyr's Gem" -- on an island nation in a half-drowned world, a young man sets out to help his newly betrothed find her sister's killer and exact revenge. A richly realized world that I'd love to see more of, and a heartbreaking but thrilling story about revenge and justice.
"How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain With the Crooked One" -- a sharp-tongued milkmaid finds herself a pawn between a religious leader and a military leader who seek to seize the kingdom, and makes a bargain with one of the Gentry (the Fair Folk) to save her own life. A retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" that adds a great deal of backstory and character development, and makes a heroic character out of the "Rumpelstiltskin" character without jarring my suspension of disbelief.
"The Big Bah-Ha" -- in a post-apocalyptic world where disease has claimed all adults, a gang of children needs the help of a terrifying clown-demon to save their friend from a twisted carnival of an afterlife. Weird yet fascinating, this story feels like something Catherynne Valente would write, with a bizarre world that nonetheless operates on its own internal logic and a strange mishmash of clowns and plague that somehow works, and works well.
The book also comes with an introduction by author Gene Wolf, who mentored Cooney... but in all honesty, this can be skipped without trouble, as it mostly amounts to a travelogue. Just my thoughts.
"Bone Swans" shimmers with originality (even in its fairy-tale retellings) and beautiful writing, and gives us tantalizing glimpses of worlds that I'd love to see more of. Cooney is a strong and lovely writer, and I look forward to seeing more of her work. Perhaps one of these stories can be fleshed out into a longer work...
September 5, 2023
BONE SWANS is a collection of five novellas that are a mix of funny, scary, and emotional all at once. Each story is unique and captivating in its own way.
1. The first story, "Life on the Sun," was interesting but not my favorite. It had some weird things like flying carpets and a prophecy, and there was a war going on. The story kept changing and surprising me, which I liked. It was interesting, but it didn't grab my attention as strongly as the later stories did.
2. "The Bone Swans of Amandale" was the standout for me. It combines different fairy tales and tells the story through the perspective of a shape-shifting rat named Maurice. It's dark and twisted, but Maurice's witty and obscene comments keep it entertaining. The characters are well-developed and the plot is gripping.
3. "Martyr's Gem" is a departure from the fairy tale style and focuses on revenge, murder, and family. The world-building is subtle yet impactful, and the characters, especially Shursta and his sister Sharrar, are beautifully portrayed. It also explores the theme of chosen family, which I found touching. It's a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
4. "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain With the Crooked One" is my favorite story. It's a unique twist on the Rumpelstiltskin tale and follows the practical milkmaid Gordie. The combination of mythology and fairy tale elements, along with Gordie's lovable character, made it a joy to read.
5."The Big Bah-Ha" is a strange and creepy story about a world where all the grown-ups are gone because of a deadly disease. Even the children are in danger. Beatrice, the main character, wakes up in a weird place called The Big Bah-Ha. It's supposed to be funny, but it's actually really scary because there are clowns and circus things everywhere. Beatrice and her friends meet a mysterious person named Flabberghast who can help them. They go on an adventure together where everyone can show off their skills, but Flabberghast always steals the attention. It's not as enjoyable as the happier story "How the Milkmaid..." at first, but once you get into it, the dark and creepy atmosphere grabs hold of you.
I cannot express enough how much I am truly enjoying this book. Hence, I implore everyone not to waste any more time and fully immerse themselves in its pages without any hesitation. And I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to my big brother for gifting me this book as a symbol of his love for me.
1. The first story, "Life on the Sun," was interesting but not my favorite. It had some weird things like flying carpets and a prophecy, and there was a war going on. The story kept changing and surprising me, which I liked. It was interesting, but it didn't grab my attention as strongly as the later stories did.
2. "The Bone Swans of Amandale" was the standout for me. It combines different fairy tales and tells the story through the perspective of a shape-shifting rat named Maurice. It's dark and twisted, but Maurice's witty and obscene comments keep it entertaining. The characters are well-developed and the plot is gripping.
3. "Martyr's Gem" is a departure from the fairy tale style and focuses on revenge, murder, and family. The world-building is subtle yet impactful, and the characters, especially Shursta and his sister Sharrar, are beautifully portrayed. It also explores the theme of chosen family, which I found touching. It's a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
4. "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain With the Crooked One" is my favorite story. It's a unique twist on the Rumpelstiltskin tale and follows the practical milkmaid Gordie. The combination of mythology and fairy tale elements, along with Gordie's lovable character, made it a joy to read.
5."The Big Bah-Ha" is a strange and creepy story about a world where all the grown-ups are gone because of a deadly disease. Even the children are in danger. Beatrice, the main character, wakes up in a weird place called The Big Bah-Ha. It's supposed to be funny, but it's actually really scary because there are clowns and circus things everywhere. Beatrice and her friends meet a mysterious person named Flabberghast who can help them. They go on an adventure together where everyone can show off their skills, but Flabberghast always steals the attention. It's not as enjoyable as the happier story "How the Milkmaid..." at first, but once you get into it, the dark and creepy atmosphere grabs hold of you.
I cannot express enough how much I am truly enjoying this book. Hence, I implore everyone not to waste any more time and fully immerse themselves in its pages without any hesitation. And I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to my big brother for gifting me this book as a symbol of his love for me.
July 18, 2024
At my very first Readercon, I bought the at-the-time recently published Bone Swans: Stories by C.S.E. Cooney, a very charming and extraverted woman I met at a hotel room party. I liked Cooney very much and I also like reading short stories very much when I actually do it, and yet I am really, really bad at getting around to reading all the short story collections I buy at Readercon. So for this year’s Readercon I put it in the Bag of Shame, as a reminder to not buy any more damn short story collections until I read the ones I have.
I didn’t get much reading done this Readercon but I did opt for Bone Swans when I did dig into the Bag of Shame, and it took me approximately the whole convention to get through these five short-ish stories (novelettes, maybe?). And, about as I expected, I am kicking myself for not reading it a lot sooner, like as soon as I bought it.
All the stories in this collection are sort of mythic and fairy-tale-y, but there the resemblance to each other ends. They’re all quite different in tone and language. Two of them are recognizable as fairy tale retellings–The Bone Swans of Amandale being a Pied Piper story, and How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One being a romantic retelling of Rumpelstiltskin–and if the other three are based on existing stories I did not recognize them. My favorite was probably The Big Bah-Ha, which is about a bunch of children navigating a world that’s killed off all the grown-ups and then an amusement-park-themed afterlife that’s been corrupted. If this story reminds me of anything already existing it’s probably Spirited Away, although that comparison possibly does a bit of a disservice to how gory and grungy the world of The Big Bah-Ha is.
Overall, this collection is… well, it’s exactly the type of thing I come to Readercon to discover! What took me so fucking long!
Originally posted at The weird and whimsical world of novelettes>
I didn’t get much reading done this Readercon but I did opt for Bone Swans when I did dig into the Bag of Shame, and it took me approximately the whole convention to get through these five short-ish stories (novelettes, maybe?). And, about as I expected, I am kicking myself for not reading it a lot sooner, like as soon as I bought it.
All the stories in this collection are sort of mythic and fairy-tale-y, but there the resemblance to each other ends. They’re all quite different in tone and language. Two of them are recognizable as fairy tale retellings–The Bone Swans of Amandale being a Pied Piper story, and How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One being a romantic retelling of Rumpelstiltskin–and if the other three are based on existing stories I did not recognize them. My favorite was probably The Big Bah-Ha, which is about a bunch of children navigating a world that’s killed off all the grown-ups and then an amusement-park-themed afterlife that’s been corrupted. If this story reminds me of anything already existing it’s probably Spirited Away, although that comparison possibly does a bit of a disservice to how gory and grungy the world of The Big Bah-Ha is.
Overall, this collection is… well, it’s exactly the type of thing I come to Readercon to discover! What took me so fucking long!
Originally posted at The weird and whimsical world of novelettes>
June 18, 2018
This is a surprisingly good collection of stories, especially since it was a fairly random selection, just something that I saw on the library shelf and found intriguing. But it was a choice that I am very happy with. Even my least favorite story in the collection was engagingly written, it just has themes and a premise that don't particularly interest me. I am disappointed that my library system doesn't have anything else by this author (though she apparently is a narrator for several audiobooks, but none that would appeal to me), but looking at her profile here it appears she just hasn't written that much.
"Life on the Sun": this feels like a fairly typical sort of fantasy short story, but one enlivened by good writing and a distinctive setting. I'm still not really sure what the title means. And the author's afterword reveals that it is sort of a sequel to a novella, which I'm now interested in trying to find.
"The Bone Swans of Amandale": the longest story of the bunch (appropriate, then, that it lent its name to the collection) it is an interesting blend of fairy tales with a more conventional sort of fantasy setting. Or perhaps, it is a story set in something like medieval Europe, where fantastical elements common to fairy tales, like ogres and giants and the Pied Piper, are a real and regular part of the world, but which also feels just a bit like a fairy tale itself, albeit one of the darker ones. I found it interesting that the Pied Piper was given a backstory overlapping a bit with Thomas the Rhymer. I don't think I've ever encountered something like that before, but it also feels like it fits.
"Martyr's Gem": my favorite story in the collection, I think. I like how well the world-building and descriptions of the setting and society of the characters is woven into the narrative.
"How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One": perhaps my second favorite story. Like "Bones Swans" it is heavily influenced by fairy tales, but it does so in a different way. Rather than just including different fairy tale elements, it is basically a retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" but in a more overtly fantasy setting, and giving very different motivations to the characters, and a quite different resolution.
"The Big Bah-Ha": my least favorite story of the bunch. Decent writing and some interesting ideas or images , but none of the elements are particularly appealing to me and it has issues of scale, like how did the disease spread so far, and why are the Tall Ones confined to the one cemetery when the whole world is apparently ravaged by the disease?
"Life on the Sun": this feels like a fairly typical sort of fantasy short story, but one enlivened by good writing and a distinctive setting. I'm still not really sure what the title means. And the author's afterword reveals that it is sort of a sequel to a novella, which I'm now interested in trying to find.
"The Bone Swans of Amandale": the longest story of the bunch (appropriate, then, that it lent its name to the collection) it is an interesting blend of fairy tales with a more conventional sort of fantasy setting. Or perhaps, it is a story set in something like medieval Europe, where fantastical elements common to fairy tales, like ogres and giants and the Pied Piper, are a real and regular part of the world, but which also feels just a bit like a fairy tale itself, albeit one of the darker ones. I found it interesting that the Pied Piper was given a backstory overlapping a bit with Thomas the Rhymer. I don't think I've ever encountered something like that before, but it also feels like it fits.
"Martyr's Gem": my favorite story in the collection, I think. I like how well the world-building and descriptions of the setting and society of the characters is woven into the narrative.
"How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One": perhaps my second favorite story. Like "Bones Swans" it is heavily influenced by fairy tales, but it does so in a different way. Rather than just including different fairy tale elements, it is basically a retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" but in a more overtly fantasy setting, and giving very different motivations to the characters, and a quite different resolution.
"The Big Bah-Ha": my least favorite story of the bunch. Decent writing and some interesting ideas or images , but none of the elements are particularly appealing to me and it has issues of scale, like how did the disease spread so far, and why are the Tall Ones confined to the one cemetery when the whole world is apparently ravaged by the disease?
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