The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Last week, Juliette Wade was talking about the "why?" question when it came to stories, especially with first lines, whether they're at the beginning of a story or simply at the beginning of a paragraph. Wanting to know why something happens is our motivation to keep reading. Authors who include plenty of why moments will hook their readers. But if they never answer them, they will disappoint those same readers.

Just look at the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Haven't you ever had question after question when reading the basic story? From the back of The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde:

Why would a miller claim that his daughter could spin straw into gold? Why would the king believe him? And why would an odd little man that can spin straw into gold do so in exchange for a tiny gold ring? The story is just silly.

In an attempt to make sense of this wayward fairy tale, Vivian Vande Velde provides six alternative versions of the classic account, each of which is far more intriguing and revealing than the original.

These stories are:

A Fairy Tale In Bad Taste
Straw Into Gold
The Domovoi
Papa Rumpelstiltskin
Ms. Rumpelstiltskin
As Good As Gold

Not only are the stories fun, but the author's note in the beginning is a must-read. She begins by comparing the game she used to call Gossip and that I know as Telephone to the way fairy tales have changed over time from oral retellings. Each time the story was told, it was a little different based on time and place. Eventually, so many details would have been changed or lost that the story made no sense anymore. Just like gossip, and just like this story in particular. She goes through the story and elaborates on what doesn't make sense. Her assessments and asides had me chuckling throughout. How many author's notes can you say you've actually enjoyed?

So if you like fairy tales, especially ones that make sense, you should go find a copy of this book. I like to think that even Juliette's daughter would find her why's fully answered.


Quick reminder: if you haven't already, go to Monday's post and enter in my milestone drawing. All you have to do is tell me how you found my blog and what made you decide to follow me. Yes, even if I know perfectly well how we became acquainted. I'm seeing who is paying attention. You have through the end of Friday, so what are you waiting for? ;D

Coming soon: Eight Against Reality

On Monday, I mentioned reading my first ARC. I was given the opportunity to read and review Eight Against Reality by one of the authors, Juliette Wade, who sent me it to me as a pdf file. She'd stopped by my blog and enjoyed her visit. Because she liked how I've been writing my reviews, calling them "thoughtful," she wanted to know if I'd be interested in sharing my opinion of the book with all of you.

Since TalkToYoUniverse is one of my reading staples, I was thrilled to be asked. Her blog is full of informative articles utilizing her expertise with language and culture to help writers enliven their fictional worlds, and she is responsive to her readers with charm, grace, and a sincere desire to help. (I'm sure she's blushing now, but it's all true.) She is an inspiration.

Even though I was very excited to be doing this, I was also nervous. What if I didn't like the stories? She was risking my opinion to help promote her writing group's work. Well, I can now say, that while I didn't personally enjoy every story, this is a book worth buying when it's released on July 15th.

Her story, The Eminence's Match, illustrates many of the topics she's written about on TTYU, from hiding information in plain sight to considering how another culture may do things differently. Throughout the story, I had the sense of, "So this is what she's been talking about."

Eminence Nekantor is obsessed with perfection. Every flaw he perceives must be corrected, even the tiniest things such as which of the two buttons on his jacket is to be buttoned first. Xinta is a senior Service Academy student who can't maintain the required calm of the Imbati, personal body-servants to the noble caste. Calm is crucial for keeping their master's secrets and being alert to their slightest whim. Play sessions are fraught with torment from noble youths intent on making him cry, and therefore, fail. Will these two destroy each other, or can they find the peace they both desperately crave?

Kip, Running by Genevieve Williams is another story with a fascinating world. Kip's sub-culture takes cross-country running to a whole new level: on maglev trains, across moving sidewalks, and over smart buildings, despite that the way runners do so is illegal in normal society. The rules are simple: you run or freeride--no driving or paying fares. No interference of other runners. The first to reach the finish point wins. I had fun following Kip's path to the finish line and how she'd been drawn into this thrill-seeking sport.

The Lonely Heart by Aliette de Bodard was one of the ones I couldn't get into but only because of the subject matter. It was very well written. I'm just not into horror type stories, especially ones involving sexual exploitation. (I have trouble sitting through most episodes of Law and Order: SVU. Just to give you an idea.) This one takes us to China's Three Gorges Dam region. Chen sells trinkets to tourists while her husband works in another part of the city to scrape together the money for a proper flat. But a chance encounter with a sinister man and his girl-toy threatens more than just the plan to move to legal housing.

The Flying Squids of Zondor: The Movie Script by Doug Sharp wasn't to my taste either but for different reasons. It's more of my husband's kind of story, the sort of thing he laughs at before waving me over to read when he finds them online, and I just pat his shoulder and go, "That's nice, dear," before going back to what I prefer. I'd rate this story as "R" for raunchy--comic book style, minus the pictures. There's several guys I know who'd get a kick out of this space romp.

Commandrix Den Dron loathes aliens and crashes the BattleRocket Trigon into the planet Zondor, home to a race of flying squid, while her libido battles her gag reflex. I can just imagine hordes of guys chortling, "Need...power...steering," and "Look out! Pink gas attack!" (Ok, so I laughed, too. But it's not my kind of story. Really.)

Spoiling Veena by Keyan Bowes grabbed my interest from the first line with an unlikely simile that propelled me into this story of genetic manipulation set in India. Shalini and her husband spent a fortune and hours in front of genetic spreadsheets to design the perfect daughter. Now on her twelfth birthday, Veena tells her parents that she'd rather be a boy named Vikrum.

Man's Best Enemy is written by Janice Hardy, another great blogger. This story of survival in a devastated world was just as good as I expected from the author of The Shifter. (Blue Fire is due out in October; I can hardly wait.) Shawna, apprentice medic, longs to be one of the hunters. It's a dangerous occupation. With such a small population, only one person per family is permitted to join their ranks, and Shawna's brother is already one of them. But when Deeke's teammate is killed by an attack from a wild dog and he gets quarantined after becoming ill from a potential new strain of the Bug, Shawna is grudgingly allowed to take his place.

Love, Blood, and Octli by T. L. Morganfield plays on South American legends. The gods have many gifts for mankind, but not all of them are beneficial. Ayomichi becomes the priestess of Ehecatl, the Wind God bearing the form of a feathered serpent. She passes his gifts to her people, but the ones from his sinister form cause grief, even heartbreak. Can her belief in the goodness of the original Ehecatl be enough to save her people?

Dancing By the Numbers by Dario Ciriello confused me at first. There are multiple Lyra's, all written in first person, but once I got the hang of the shifts, helped along by headers indicating which Lyra was speaking, I followed along just fine. A fascinating story of reaching across parallel dimensions and what might happen if you connect with your other-selves.

I am grateful to Juliette for considering me to be part of this book's promotion. If you think any of these stories sound intriguing, I highly recommend you head to your nearest favorite book seller to get your own copy on July 15th. Even though I have one on pdf, I may have to buy a paper version, just to have something to pass around to my friends and co-workers. (And for collecting signatures if/when I get the chance to meet any of the authors in person.)

Panverse is going to be a publisher to watch when they can offer this level of quality to their readers despite their fledgling status in the business world. I look forward to what they will release next.

Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits

I'd never read anything by Peter Dickinson before, but Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors. So, when I spotted Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by the two of them at the library, I had to pick it up. Three of the five stories blew me away, enough that even though the other two were less interesting, I want a copy of this book.

Hellhound by McKinley is a prime example of what happens when you flip a preconception. You don't think of hellhounds as being cute, companiable creatures. Certainly not pitiable. But that's what Miri sees when she spots the chestnut-red dog with the sad scarlet eyes huddled in its cage at the pound, many times rejected by prospective owners. He responds well to her overtures. Looking for a dog who would be good at the family stable for protection and could be trusted to behave around the horses, cats, and the students who came came for horse riding lessons, she declares that he is just the dog she wants.
"It's only that he's a hellhound," Miri said. "That's why he has those eyes. I'll take him."

She is closer to the truth than she realizes. Flame settles into his new home as Miri's trusted companion. And on a eerie storm-struck day, the hellhound proves both his heritage and his allegiance to Miri and her family. This story gave me tingles. Its coolness factor helped make up for the less interesting story that opened the book.

Salamander Man was the only one of Dickinson's that really gripped me. Tib is a slave boy with no knowledge of his parents. His primary duty is to help with Aunt Ellida's stall, watching for sneak-thieves and trouble-makers, something he is very good at doing. He can also spot a magician from a long way off, from the way that crowds never quite touched them and always moved aside without even being aware of the effect. But he never expected one to take an interest in him. He certainly never expected what happened after the magician bought him.

Part of what is neat with this story, besides the engaging style, is the surprise at the end. I thought I understood what was going on and found out I was wrong in a very cool way.

First Flight by McKinley is more of a novelette or maybe a novella, taking the latter half of the book by itself. This story is the reason it has taken so long to post this review. I could go read this story again right now.

In just the first couple pages you already get a sense of the culture Ern grew up in. Most important is the fact that no one wants to associate with a known healer. It's a loss of face to be treated by one, that even unavoidable injuries are considered a mark of shame, illnesses as a sign of weakness. If you must have a healer's help, you go in secret. Few people will even risk saying "good day" to a known healer for fear of wrong conclusions being drawn. Because of this attitude, most wizards refuse to have anything to do with healing, despite its necessity.

Ern's greatest desire is to a healer anyway.

Ralas is not like most wizards, in more ways than one. She has no problem with doing the occasional healing and doesn't mind Ern hanging around. He uses the herb lore he has picked up from her to help his neighbors, making use of the fact that he's small and looks younger than his age to convince them to take his offerings. Looking harmless is his motto, something easy to achieve with Sippy, the foogit he saved as a pup, bounding next to him. Foogits are considered to be a bit of a joke, because they look a little like small dragons, only with hair and a buffoonish manner.

Ern's brother is about to take his First Flight, a big milestone in dragonriding training, where for the first time, he will command a dragon to enter the Firespace, a travel shortcut only dragons can use. Dag comes home on break fretting about it. Not the ordinary jitters of a first timer, but true concern. For the dragon he has been assigned is missing one eye, lost in combat when she took a spear meant for her rider. Without that third eye, she cannot enter the Firespace. And it will mean a special kind of humiliation for her. Dag fears what will happen and is angry that she is being forced into that situation. Ralas tells them that Dag should take Ern and Sippy with him when he returns to the Academy. Though they don't understand what good that will do, they trust her and follow the advice.

Sometimes the simple desire to help someone who needs it can change more around you than you know. Even when you don't know what to do or how to do it.

Like The Shifter, the world of First Flight has a unique approach to healing. Maybe not as drastic, but how many places do you know of where healing yields a loss of face? While I was reading this story, I was reminded of a great article Juliette Wade wrote in April on how healing can play a role in world-building. I'd say this would make another great example.

I'm also an admitted dragon fan. Not the dragons-are-evil/vile-beast (unless in the same story there are also good ones, like Dragonlance), but any story where dragons are treated with dignity. Whether they have beast-mentality (Dragon Jousters series) or human-like intelligence (Pern series), I love dragons. This story is every bit as fantastic as I would expect from McKinley. The dragons are wondrous/glorious, the characters are charming, and the world is vivid. (Oh yes, I cried. Sniff.)

You should check out Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits, even if you skip the other two stories. These three make it worthwhile. Fabulous! Now I'm off to read them again before I have to take the book back to the library.

Sword and Sorceress XVI

Here's another collection of short stories I found entertaining: Sword and Sorceress XVI, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Sword and Sorceress series of anthologies features fantasy stories of fighters and spellcasters, as you might expect from the title. Catchy, isn't it?

This volume features stories from authors with many publishing credits in their hats, such as Diana Paxton, Deborah Wheeler, Elisabeth Waters, and Michael Spence, to those at the beginning of their published career, such as Charlotte Carlson and Gail Sosinsky Wickman.

With twenty-six stories here, I won't even begin to try to sum up each one. I will recommend that you check out this volume of fabulous writing. From a unique spin on the frog prince story to a woman tired of waiting for her husband to pass his Senior Ordeal which would permit them to move out of the married student housing (Salt and Sorcery) to a drudge-turned princess by royal decree to feed a loathsome beast (The Day They Ran Out of Princesses), there are many well-spun yarns waiting for your perusal.

Some tales lean on the humor side like "The Frog Prince," while others lean on the spooky side like "The Changing Room." Some play on folklore like "The Kappa's Gift" and "Honey From the Rock." Whatever your taste, you may find something to your liking. Personally, while I enjoyed some more than others, I thought they were all well chosen. This is a collection I wouldn't mind adding to my shelves. The hunt to find a copy will be worth the effort.

Book of Enchantments

A blue chipmunk, magical roses, a sword-seller, the Frying Pan of Doom, and more can all be found within the pages of this collection of short stories by Patricia Wrede. Book of Enchantments even includes a barbarian swordsman's recipe for Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake. So make yourself some cake and sit down in front of a roaring fire with this diverse collection of fantasy stories.

Begin your reading with "Rikiki and the Wizard." Watch how a greedy wizard gets his just desserts--or should I say nuts?--from the hands of the blue chipmunk god.

Next up is "The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn." This story takes you the world of Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Princess Elyssa, though the middle daughter, goes to seek her fortune with a talking cat and has to get away from an vain unicorn.

For a serious tone, "Roses by Moonlight" takes you to the modern world. Adrian is given the chance to change her life, but choosing one rose would mean an end to other dreams. Is she wise enough for the choice?

When your leader is both a wizard and hot-headed, you get "The Sixty-two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd." Imani's father and her family have just been struck with curse Forty-Eight, the first time anyone has ever managed to get that far on the list. Unfortunately, it's lycanthropy. Imani has to figure out how to get rid of the curse before someone gets hurt.

In the "Earthwitch," Mariel, the current holder of that position, faces the past when her former love seeks the earth's magic to end the atrocities against his people by an invading horde. But no one knows how the earth will answer the request, not even the Earthwitch herself.

Auridan is a blank-shield mercenary, available for hire. He finds himself drawn into an old conflict when he accepts a sword from "The Sword-seller." A job to escort a noblewoman leads to serving as champion with the woman's life in the balance.

"The Lorelei" returns the reader to the modern world. When Janet's school group, on tour in Germany, stops by the Lorelei cliffs, she discovers the truth behind the legend and faces off with the siren to save her classmate.

"Stronger Than Time" is a tale of a crumbling keep and a girl held in cursed sleep. A young man seeks the help of an old woodcutter to break a curse that will otherwise never end.

For a retelling of an old story, "Cruel Sisters" tells of the rivalry between two sisters begun long before the arrival of "bonny, sweet William" from the viewpoint of their middle sister, not usually mentioned in the songs. Meg speaks of the bitterness her sisters had for each other and of her grief in being unable prevent the tragedy.

Returning to the Enchanted Forest in "Utensile Strength", their Majesties Cimorene and Mendanbar hold a tourney, including a bake-off, to help find the proper person meant to wield the Frying Pan of Doom. The wielder turns out to be someone unexpected. Not to mention what happens when it is used.

Then comes the recipe for the cake mentioned as the winning entry of the bake-off in "Utensile Strength," written in both barbarian speak and modern day conventions. (My batch of Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake turned out yummy and got the Kid Stamp of Approval.)

For those who are interested in such things, Patricia Wrede includes Notes from the Author. She tells where and how she got the ideas for each story. The sources are as varied as the stories. As she concludes, "Ideas are the easy part. The hard part is getting the words down on paper that convey the ideas, and getting the words right."