M's Reviews > Black Thorn, White Rose

Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling assemble a second collection of darker fairy tales within the pages of Black Thorn, White Rose. A variant of Rumpelstiltskin begins the volume under the title "Stronger Than Time," which sees the old spinster tricked into gaining a young apprentice. The legend of a sleeping beauty gets a 19th century update - and a hilarious romantic comedy twist - during "Somnus's Fair Maid." The titular "Frog King, or Iron Henry" is fighting amnesia over his current predicament, while a 3-foot tall frog looking to entice a maiden during a shower is the plot of the science fiction offering "Near-Beauty." Despite his appearance and appetite, the protagonist of "Ogre" is actually a fairly useful movie set aide; by contrast, the running gingerbread man from "Can't Catch Me" is surviving digestion after a series of violent altercations. "Journeybread Recipe" is a quick deconstruction of fairy tales into a set of cooking steps. Love drives "The Brown Bear of Norway" through a series of letters and missed opportunities, as "The Goose Girl" sets up a bait-and-switch for an arranged marriage that does not end well for anyone involved. The flame of a dying love is reignited thanks to a mystical cloak during "Tattercoats," love is lost in the ghetto as a young woman becomes "Granny Rumple," and the backwater musical stylings of "The Sawing Boys" prevent a town from getting snookered. The entertaining "Godson" finds himself a benefactor in Death himself, and the dark "Ashputtle" spins a twisted tale of a wandering killer with the face of a sweet old schoolteacher. "Silver and Gold" is a poetical take on the Red Riding Hood legend, "Sweet Bruising Skin" turns the princess/pea fable into a devilish story of Frankenstein-like horror, and "The Black Swan" finds a young princess capable of transforming much more than her mannerisms. The collection is quite adepts at switching genres and styles, yet manages to hold attentions by means of dark humor and fast-paced tales. Black Thorn, White Rose is a reminder to look beyond the petals to find the more entertaining objects beneath.