Black Heart, Ivory Bones
This sixth anthology in the adult fairy-tale series by acclaimed editors  Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling presents another diverse collection of stories  and poems loosely based on folklore traditions around the world. Readers  familiar with previous books in the series will recognize the names of many  regular contributors, including Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, Esther Friesner, and  Joyce Carol Oates, as well as works from Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, and  others. Tanith Lee's "Rapunzel" opens the collection with a charmingly simple  reconstruction of that classic fairy tale. Esther Friesner's "Big Hair" takes  the same theme into the present with less cheerful results. Greg Costikyan  considers the fate of an ensorcelled sleeping beauty dug up by archaeologists  centuries later in "And Still She Sleeps," while Jane Yolen's "Snow in Summer"  turns the tables on Snow White's evil stepmother with a deep-dish apple pie and  a fry pan. Scott Bradfield's "Goldilocks Tells All" is especially memorable for  its Jerry Springer-like portrayal of the ultimate dysfunctional family. Leah  Cutter considers the loneliness of living under a curse in her Texas two-step  story "The Red Boots." Severna Park's feminist "The Golem" revives a Jewish  folktale, while Bryn Kanar's haunting "Dreaming Among Men" draws on Native  American legend. Howard Waldrop's "Our Mortal Span" is perhaps the most unique  story here, a surprising blend of black comedy, killer-robot story, and fairy  tale. While on the whole this collection isn't as strong as previous volumes, it  still delivers a fine array of thoughtful writing on some of the best-known--and  yet unknown--stories we love.--Charlene Brusso