Fairies threaten the world of artifice and technology, forcing the royal family to solve a riddle to stop their world from irrevocable change; a dishonest merchant uses automatons as vessels for his secrets and lies; a woman discovers the secret of three princesses whose shoes get scuffed while they sleep. These and so many other steampunk and gaslamp fairy tales await within the pages of Clockwork, Curses and Coal.
Retellings of Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pea, Pinocchio, The Twelve Dancing Princesses and more are all showcased alongside some original fairy tale-like stories. Featuring stories by Melissa Bobe, Adam Brekenridge, Beth Cato, MLD Curelas, Joseph Halden, Reese Hogan, Diana Hurlburt, Christina Johnson, Alethea Kontis, Lex T. Lindsay, Wendy Nikel, Brian Trent, Laura VanArendonk Baugh and Sarah Van Goethem.
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“The technological flights of fancy are always intriguing, and fairy tale lovers will enjoy deducing the inspiration for each tale. Readers will not be disappointed.“
Clockwork, Curses, and Coal accomplished something pretty special. For the first time in all of my years of reading, I adored every single story in an anthology.
Rhonda Parrish is, in my estimation, THE curator par excellence of mystical, magical, other-worldly short fiction. And here is yet more proof – her collection of fourteen stories is incredible, irresistible, clever, imaginative, and (sometimes) outright terrifying. There’s not a false note or a flat affect, only a new-to-me genre and a lingering itch to read more, more, MORE!
