Meet Robin Goodfellow as you’ve never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s fairy tales.
Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They’ve dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis.
Fae covers a vast swath of the fairy story spectrum, making the old new and exploring lush settings with beautiful prose and complex characters. Enjoy the familiar feeling of a good old-fashioned fairy tale alongside urban fantasy and horror with a fae twist.
With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and all new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson, Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.
Buy it now
“Each story a little fantastical and a little dark. Enjoyed my enchanted read thoroughly, late at night when I should have been sleeping.”
“This was a well-selected collection of stories about the Fae, and it made me restless and twitchy in the best way possible–the way I always feel when I’m reading about the Fae, which means the authors collected here got it right.”
“While I am a huge fairy tale fan the stories I prefer usually don’t include actual fairies. But if tales of fairies were all like the stories in Rhonda Parrish’s collection, Fae, I would soon change my mind. This anthology includes seventeen stories featuring a selkie, an each-uisge (water horse), a hob, and many other kinds of fairies. The stories are varied, ranging from the traditional to the modern, even including other worlds.
There are so many terrific stories in this collection it’s hard to pick my favorite–but I can. It’s The Queen of Lakes by L.S. Johnson, the creepy, sensual story of a frustrated young woman, kept from an education by her parents and a society which gives women little value, tempted by an each-uisge. I just can’t get that one out of my mind–and I’m not trying all that hard.
Other favorites are Ten Ways to Self-Sabotage, Only Some of Which Relate to Fairies by Sara Puls, and Solomon’s Friend by Kristina Wojtaszek. Ten Ways to Self-Sabotage features a young woman who is floundering and hapless to recognize good things when they appear. Solomon’s Friend is a heartrending love letter to the mother of a special boy who just happens to see world in a different way than most people. I cried most of the way through it.
But the list just goes on and on. This is one of the most consistently well-written anthologies I have ever read. These fairies are a far cry from the Disneyfied variety. They may be beautiful and magical, but they can also be wild, cruel, and not at all to be trusted. Or they may be kind and honorable if treated with kindness in return. So think twice about making a bargain, and be careful what you wish for. Unless you wish for a spellbinding read. Then read Fae and your wish is granted.”
