(mini) Book Review – Gaslight and Grimm

Book: Gaslight and Grimm. Edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Diana Bastine
Release Date: May 29th 2016
Genre: Steampunk/Fairytales
Rating: 3,5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

Once Upon a Time…

…ageless tales were told from one generation to the next, filled with both wonders and warnings. Tales of handsome princes and wicked queens, of good-hearted folk and evil stepmothers. Tales of danger and caution and magic…classics that still echo in our hearts and memories even to this day, told from old, cherished books or from memory at Grandma’s knee.

Oh yes, tales have been told…but never quite like these. Journey with us through the pages of Gaslight and Grimm to discover timeless truths through lenses polished in the age of steam.

Review

Gaslight and Grimm drew my attention through the cover but mainly because of the added line to the title: Steampunk Faerie Tales. Retellings of Faerie Tales are rather popular nowadays and it is certainly not the first anthology of short story retellings I have read. However the addition of steampunk just sounded very interesting, and I was curious to see how each author twisted that into their own tale.

While I did not enjoy each story as much as others, all have a clear steampunk touch and take elements from various fairy tales. While there are so many retellings already there are some creative ideas in these stories which was great to see. They all took such a different approach. From a giant killer to a mer-folk as fairy godmother. I was also pleased to see that while some more well known fairy tales were used, like Cinderella, lesser known fairy tales also were used. Some I didn’t even know about. On occasion I missed a touch of background, explanation and magic in some of these stories that lessened the impact for some of them.

Stand out stories to me were The (Steamy) Tale of Cinderella, A Cat Among the Gears and The Giant Killer. These three stand out to me through their characters and humor.  Certainly having a look at these specific authors.