Grimm Mistresses was published by Angelic Knight Press (an imprint of Ragnarok Publications) in February 2015. Grimm Mistresses is an anthology of five stories written by Mercedes M. Yardley, Allison M. Dickson, S. R. Cambridge, C. W. LaSart and Stacey Turner.
Information about the authors:
Mercedes M. Yardley is a dark fantastic who wears red lipstick and poisonous flowers in her hair. She writes short stories, novellas, and novels. Her latest release is Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy, from Ragnarok Publications. Mercedes lives and works in Sin City, and you can reach her at www.mercedesyardley.com.
Allison M. Dickson is the author of the visceral bestseller Strings, as well as the dystopian epic, The Last Supper, which received a starred review in Publishers weekly. She also has published nearly two dozen short stories, which have appeared in anthologies like the Wrapped series from Sekhmet Press, and magazines such as Apex. Readers can also catch her independently-produced Colt Coltrane series, featuring a detective and his robot sidekick in 1940s Los Angeles.
S. R. Cambridge is a lawyer and writer living in Toronto, Ontario. Apart from her fiction, her biggest claim to fame is losing on Jeopardy! You can also read her work in Ragnarok Publications' anthology Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries and Rogues, and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/SRCambridge.
A lifelong fan of all things horror, C. W. LaSart resides in Watertown, South Dakota with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets. Her stories have been published by Cemetery Dance Publications, Dark Moon Digest, Eirelander Press and many others. She is a member of the Horror Writer's Association and also a member of the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee. For more information on her writing, go to CWLasart.com.
Stacey Turner lives in West Central Illinois. Three wonderful, adult children call her “Mom,” and two beautiful little boys call her “Mimi” (Grandma). She is owned by cats. She spends her days writing and editing, but still finds time to review books & interview authors, as well as blog about her absolutely ridiculous family and other adventures. You can find her Author blog at www.staceyturner-authorspot.blogspot.com or follow her on twitter: @Spot_Speaks or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStaceyTurner. To contact her about editing, you can email her at princess.spot@gmail.com. She enjoys editing because she's bossy. And also because she revels in helping an author polish their work. She has edited several anthologies, including the upcoming No Place like Home: Tales from a Fractured Future and the more recent Fairly Wicked Tales, as well as many novels & novellas for a variety of authors. She has been published in several anthologies and online magazines. When not working, she enjoys photographing cemeteries, playing “what if,” and discussing the imminent zombie apocalypse. She does not enjoy scarecrows, creepy dolls, birds (of any sort), snakes, clowns, or garden gnomes.
Information about Grimm Mistresses:
Remember the Grimm Brothers? Those dark fairy tales that made you leave the light on long before Disney went and sanitized them? Well, we do! Now the MISTRESSES GRIMM take back the night, five female authors who will leave you shuddering deliciously. Get ready to leave the lights on again with four pieces of short fiction bringing the Grimm Brothers' tales into the present. Be advised: these aren't your children's fairy tales!
A REVIEW OF GRIMM MISTRESSES
We have always been captivated by dark fairy tales and dark bedtime stories. The fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm are among the best and darkest fairy tales ever written, especially in their original and uncensored form. They're well-known and respected fairy tales that have quite a lot of darkness and style in them.
What is it that makes us admire these old fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm? Is it the captivating darkness of the stories? Or is it the threatening atmosphere of them? Or is it something else altogether? No matter what makes us admire and love them, they're classic fairy tales and we have come to love them. Some of us have even written our own modern versions of them.
In this anthology five talented female authors show their admiration and love to these old fairy tales. Mercedes M. Yardley, Allison M. Dickson, S. R. Cambridge, C. W. LaSart and Stacey Turner have written their own amazing dark fantasy and horror flavoured fairy tales based on them. Their modern visions of these old fairy tales will seduce the readers with deliciously macabre happenings, chilling atmosphere and originality.
Grimm Mistresses contains the following stories:
- Little Dead Red by Mercedes M. Yardley
- Nectar by Allison M. Dickson
- The Leopard's Pelt by S. R. Cambridge
- Hazing Cinderella by C. W. LaSart
- The Night Air by Stacey Turner
Because these stories contain plenty of adult material and shocking scenes, a word of warning may be in order: These stories are not fairy tales for children! They're dark and twisted stories for adults.
Here's a bit more information these stories and my thoughts about them:
Little Dead Red by Mercedes M. Yardley:
- This story is an amazing version of Little Red Riding Hood.
- This is a beautifully written story about Marie and how her life changes. It's a story of murder and a mother's quest for vengeance.
- The author has a wonderfully literary writing style and she writes well about Marie's feelings for her daughter. What Marie has to go through is both grim and shocking.
- An excellent story.
Nectar by Allison M. Dickson:
- A brilliant story about two men who go on a blind date with two women. Suddenly something goes wrong and the men find themselves in trouble.
- I'm not exactly sure which of the old fairy tales has been a source of inspiration to this story, but I think it may have been Hansel and Gretel, because this story has a few elements that can be found in Hansel and Gretel. It's possible to categorize this story as a bizarre and twisted version of Hansel and Gretel.
- A powerful story that is difficult to forget.
The Leopard's Pelt by S. R. Cambridge:
- In this well written story Henry Lowery, Gunner's Mate, is on a deserted island. He meets a leopard and makes a deal with the animal.
- It's interesting that the events in this story take place around World War II, because not many this kind of stories take place during WWII.
- The author writes well about Henry's life and what happens to him.
- A satisfying and well written story.
Hazing Cinderella by C. W. LaSart:
- This story is an interesting and surprisingly violent take on the Cinderella fairy tale.
- The author writes fluently and shockingly about what happens when teenage girls try to haze Katie, because Katie is not a normal kind of a teenager.
- I loved this story, because it was a fantastically twisted version of Cinderella full of raw and untamed power. This story reminded me a bit of Stephen King's Carrie.
- An excellent and wonderfully twisted story.
The Night Air by Stacey Turner:
- In this mesmerizing story a family has moved to live in a new area, because the parents want to raise their children in a safe place. One day the mother finds a graveyard and is puzzled by what she has found.
- It takes a bit of time to figure out which fairy tale this story is based on, but everything will be revealed at the end (the ending is worth waiting for).
- A captivating and well written story.
These five diverse stories are excellent stories that will fascinate and shock you. The authors have written original stories based on old fairy tales and have made sure that their stories differ from other new dark fantasy and horror stories.
There's enough dark happenings, surprises, sex and violence in these stories to please many horror readers and fans of dark fantasy. I was personally very pleased and satisfied with these dark stories, because I've always loved this kind of dark stories (there's something in this kind of stories that stimulates my imagination).
It's possible that it may take a while for some readers to warm up to these stories, but I can guarantee that once you warm up to them, you'll enjoy reading them. I can mention that it's been a while since I've been this excited about this kind of an anthology, because these five stories form a unique and unforgettable reading experience for adult readers who love the darker side of speculative fiction. There's something wonderfully chilling and unsettling in these stories that will satisfy many horror fans.
I was amazed at how original, diverse and beautifully written these stories were. Each author had come up with an original and unique story and paid attention to the atmosphere and details, which is great.
I give this anthology full five stars on the scale from one to five stars, because I was impressed by all the stories. I read these stories over a course of five days, because I wanted to enjoy each story separately from the others. When I had finished reading them, I re-read them in one sitting, because I wanted to see how it felt to read them again. When I had re-read them, I couldn't help but be impressed by them, because they were excellent stories.
In my opinion Mercedes M. Yardley, Allison M. Dickson, S. R. Cambridge, C. W. LaSart and Stacey Turner are authors to watch. I'm already familiar with Mercedes M. Yardley, because I've read a couple of novels written by her, but I'm not familiar with the other authors, so I'm tempted to take a look at what they have written.
I could write a lot more about these stories, but I think I've already praised them enough, so it's time to write the final words of this review.
If you're a fan of fairy tales, dark fantasy, horror and good storytelling, you should take a look at Grimm Mistresses, because it contains good and well written stories. It's one of the best anthologies of its kind and deserves to be read by readers who appreciate dark stories. Grimm Mistresses may not be to everyone's liking because of its dark and twisted contents, but it's perfect escapism for dark fantasy and horror readers.
My final words are:
This dark fairy tale anthology is an excellent anthology for dark fantasy and horror readers!