Short Story Thoughts
Feb. 2nd, 2019 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaStill cleaning up files and folders and came across links to some short stories.
The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys
I liked it. I wonder if I would have enjoyed Winter Tide more if I’d read this first? Based on what little we hear about this story in the books I was expecting a little bit more from the cult that she stopped than suicide. I don’t know, I was expecting something more malevolent with potential for a bigger death toll? It was nice to see Aphra’s beginnings with Charlie and Spector. I particularly liked that moment when Spector gave Aphra her mother’s file and confessed nothing could make him work with the new German government. I wish we’d seen more of the Koto’s and Aphra’s life with them.
The Sea Witch Sets The Record Straight by T. Kingfisher
Nice little Ursula subversion. I thought she made some pretty good points. Could have done without her basically calling Ariel stupid.
Toad Words by T. Kingfisher
Lovely. I don’t know the fairy tale this is from but I love this. I love her caring about the fate of her frogs, and her deciding to repopulate the world with frogs and toads, doing what she can even if she can’t solve the problem. I like her sister supporting her with her own spoken gems.
Bluebeard’s Wife by T. Kingfisher
I liked it. I love that Althea's desire to give him the privacy that she had never known and desired so strongly that saved her life and probably others as well. We're given no hint that he killed anyone after their marriage. Which is interesting in itself. I also rather love that he was a good husband and friend to her, and her wrestling with the dichotomy of him being "a very evil man but not a bad one" that she genuinely missed. I like that he tried to protect her before his death.
Never by T. Kingfisher
Nice creepy little Peter Pan subversion. I love the Indian's calling Peter "Young Wendigo" and everything that implies. I like to think Myrtle finds an escape though mostly likely she meets her brother Albert again when she dies. Oh, also crazy Benji is clearly not that crazy and I totally believe that Peter turns into a giant crocodile. I love the visual of the fairies cleaning it's teeth after he ate someone.
Elegant and Fine by T. Kingfisher
I'm pretty sure I've read this before or maybe it was just something similar. I think a lot of people contemplate how upsetting/damaging it could have been for the Pevensie's to suddenly be back on Earth as children again. I like the bit about Susan's dwarf lover and her forgetting his name. I liked the moment of comfort her and Edmund shared. I loved the final line - "Someone who loved her, as she had loved someone once, long ago, in a childhood dream without a name."
The Wolf and the Woodsman by T. Kingfisher
I loved it. I love the writing in this one and want more like it. Very fun, lots of clever little turns of phrase and interesting asides. "She brutalized flour and butter, she visited wartime atrocities to milk and yeast. She committed acts of crumpet." Ha. Turtle was great. I love that the grandmother was friends with wolves. The woodsman being bad is a common twist by I like how it played out here and the realistic horror of him.
The Dryad’s Shoe by T. Kingfisher
Great Cinderella remake. I love how sensible Hannah was and that she was only interested in her garden. I love that she inadvertently ended up being the fairy godmother to servant Kara, giving her the happy ending with the prince. And that the prince knew Kara by her voice and what they had talked about and not based on the shoe. The titmouse was great. I liked how Hannah's relationship with her stepmother and sisters was shown. Anabel was sweet and I loved the small point about her love of fashion, and Hannah bringing her the third dress, and Anabel immediately starting to dissect how it was made. I like the idea of the two of them living together and starting their own businesses. I loved that little bit with the titmouse being resignedly aghast that Hannah has been "embezzling honey" from her father, ha.
The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys
I liked it. I wonder if I would have enjoyed Winter Tide more if I’d read this first? Based on what little we hear about this story in the books I was expecting a little bit more from the cult that she stopped than suicide. I don’t know, I was expecting something more malevolent with potential for a bigger death toll? It was nice to see Aphra’s beginnings with Charlie and Spector. I particularly liked that moment when Spector gave Aphra her mother’s file and confessed nothing could make him work with the new German government. I wish we’d seen more of the Koto’s and Aphra’s life with them.
The Sea Witch Sets The Record Straight by T. Kingfisher
Nice little Ursula subversion. I thought she made some pretty good points. Could have done without her basically calling Ariel stupid.
Toad Words by T. Kingfisher
Lovely. I don’t know the fairy tale this is from but I love this. I love her caring about the fate of her frogs, and her deciding to repopulate the world with frogs and toads, doing what she can even if she can’t solve the problem. I like her sister supporting her with her own spoken gems.
Bluebeard’s Wife by T. Kingfisher
I liked it. I love that Althea's desire to give him the privacy that she had never known and desired so strongly that saved her life and probably others as well. We're given no hint that he killed anyone after their marriage. Which is interesting in itself. I also rather love that he was a good husband and friend to her, and her wrestling with the dichotomy of him being "a very evil man but not a bad one" that she genuinely missed. I like that he tried to protect her before his death.
Never by T. Kingfisher
Nice creepy little Peter Pan subversion. I love the Indian's calling Peter "Young Wendigo" and everything that implies. I like to think Myrtle finds an escape though mostly likely she meets her brother Albert again when she dies. Oh, also crazy Benji is clearly not that crazy and I totally believe that Peter turns into a giant crocodile. I love the visual of the fairies cleaning it's teeth after he ate someone.
Elegant and Fine by T. Kingfisher
I'm pretty sure I've read this before or maybe it was just something similar. I think a lot of people contemplate how upsetting/damaging it could have been for the Pevensie's to suddenly be back on Earth as children again. I like the bit about Susan's dwarf lover and her forgetting his name. I liked the moment of comfort her and Edmund shared. I loved the final line - "Someone who loved her, as she had loved someone once, long ago, in a childhood dream without a name."
The Wolf and the Woodsman by T. Kingfisher
I loved it. I love the writing in this one and want more like it. Very fun, lots of clever little turns of phrase and interesting asides. "She brutalized flour and butter, she visited wartime atrocities to milk and yeast. She committed acts of crumpet." Ha. Turtle was great. I love that the grandmother was friends with wolves. The woodsman being bad is a common twist by I like how it played out here and the realistic horror of him.
The Dryad’s Shoe by T. Kingfisher
Great Cinderella remake. I love how sensible Hannah was and that she was only interested in her garden. I love that she inadvertently ended up being the fairy godmother to servant Kara, giving her the happy ending with the prince. And that the prince knew Kara by her voice and what they had talked about and not based on the shoe. The titmouse was great. I liked how Hannah's relationship with her stepmother and sisters was shown. Anabel was sweet and I loved the small point about her love of fashion, and Hannah bringing her the third dress, and Anabel immediately starting to dissect how it was made. I like the idea of the two of them living together and starting their own businesses. I loved that little bit with the titmouse being resignedly aghast that Hannah has been "embezzling honey" from her father, ha.
