Cursed - An anthology of Dark Fairy Tales edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

I would like to thank Lydia from Titan for an advance copy of this novel in echange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Titan

Published – Out Now

Price - £7.99 paperback £4.68 Kindle eBook

All the better to read you with.

It’s a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone – not just those of us with unpopular step-parents…

Here you’ll find unique twists in curses, from fairy tale classics to brand new hexes of the modern world – expect new monsters and mythologies as well as twists on well-loved fables. Stories to shock and stories of warning, stories of monsters and stories of magic…

Occasionally we all think we have an astounding run of bad luck – be it late for work; breaking our favourite coffee mug or perhaps living in the 2016-current timeline and finding ourselves stuck in our own home (ahem). If you do believe in the concept of fate then that suggests the bad comes with the good. In fairy tales the tradition is to warn us as children of the perils of the world outside -avoid the deep woods, don’t trust strangers or even stranger objects and always obey your parents - if not you’ll end up cursed and suffer a terrible fate. The stories have evolved with the times and now in the wonderful collection Cursed from Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane we get a fantastic array of authors producing their own cautionary tales for the twenty-first century.

In this collection of eighteen tales I particularly enjoyed

As Red As Blood, As White As Snow by Christina Henry – to give you an immediate flavour of these how these tales will be told this is a very strong opening with a very very different spin on Snow White as her father becomes bewitched into obeying the mysterious Prince Charming. Henry manages to create a fantastically plausible revision of the tale and as the story progresses, we see they have melded another old tale in the story. It gets deliciously dark and also much improves the agency of the original female characters - wonderful stuff.

Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman – a leap into our world and time where a young boy finds a brick bridge and has to negotiate a troll that wants to eat him. I liked how our narrator loses our sympathy as we see him grow into a selfish and isolated young man while this troll stays constant to a simple aim - just trying to eat him. By the end exactly who was the monster is for the reader to judge. As always with Gaiman a bewitching blend of modern with the weird fantastical world running right across it.

At That Age by Catriona Ward – A young isolated teenager gets captivated by two strange twins that arrive in his class. They offer a glimpse of a life with parties and excitement while he has a grieving mother back home to try and keep alive. This story is firmly in the horror side of the collection and the story gets darker and weirder reminding us that falling into a bad crowd can have many nasty consequences. Loved it!

Listen by Jen Williams – This is a really unusual tale that starts small and gets fantastically epic. Erren is a bard who has a simple curse and wherever she goes chaos will swiftly follow. It’s a story of dark justice and revenge but also creates its own unique mythology. One I don’t want to say much more about but one you should really read just for the approach used– one of my favourites.

Henry and The Snakewood Box by M R Carey – a dark comedy looking at the power and consequences of wishes. Our narrator is a demonically possessed box who thinks in Henry that he has found the perfect innocent fool to destroy the world with – the small-print of wishes is not well known. Great idea about how good wishes are actually powered and also that humanity often can break through even the worst intentions of others.

Skin by James Brogden – this feels much more a cautionary horror tale. A vain man makes a spiteful comment to woman on a date and ends up cursed to see all his imperfections. But this goes straight to body horror and gets quite viscerally disturbing. An unnerving tale of unintended consequences from the words we use.

Fairy Werewolf Vs Vampire Zombie by Charlie Jane Anders– as well as the best title in the collection this story is probably my absolute favourite with such a disarming laid back story of monsters and mythical creatures told via a working class bar owner who works in a magical capacity. It creates this refreshingly modern side street mythology for various creatures and has a neat sense of humour and action as well.

New Wine by Angela Slatter – another close-run favourite is this modern tale where we meet Valerie acting as a in house carer for a rich man’s son. A few years ago, Valerie’s daughter went missing and was never found so that her life disintegrated until a former schoolfriend got her this role. But everyone is hiding something from each other. More a mystery but tense and as always with Slatter the emotional states of the characters shine through.

Hated by Christopher Fowler – this is a very interesting spin on a curse. A man apparently loved by everyone starts to be hated. Has he changed or have people finally seen through him? Interesting look at how male dominance and ego can open all the doors but only to a point and it has a wicked ending!

The Merrie Dancers by Alison Littlewood – here two very good stories for the price of one get told. A haunting tale from the Scottish islands of the mysterious trow people and the price they exact on their victims while a sweet old lady makes friends with her new neighbour. You start to puzzle ou why these tales are connected, and it uses one of the classic curses too…

Again by Tim Lebbon – this tale looks at can curses lead to good things? We meet a woman who keeps coming back to life in other bodies after falling out with a magician. What really worked for me was the loving relationship that starts to form with one of her closest friends as one aged and one revisited at key periods through her life. Tender and hopeful despite the cruelty of the curse.

As you can see a fine collection of tales by some of the best names in fantasy. As always with collections from Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane a high level of quality and some really interesting spins on the theme. In the current climate short stories are a great way to get back into reading and these tales will take you away from it all with gasps or delight, laughter or horror. Well worth tracking down!