FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would agree that none of the content seemed gratuitous which is why I had no issues with it.

As for Cinderella's stepsisters? That was true to the original story as recorded by the Brothers Grimm where both sisters mutilated their feet trying to fit into the glass slipper. The original story has little to do with modernized versions and probably even less to do with the Disney abomination.Want to give your children or grandchildren nightmares? Read them the original versions of the Grimm Brothers' tales.

I'm not surprised it's based on the Grimm Brothers' version of the tale, but the way they present it is less horrifying to me somehow.

My favorite is The Tortoise and the Hare. They bet a bottle of schnapps on the race, then the hare literally runs itself to death after it loses. I first read that during one of my German classes during college.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Or the original Sleeping Beauty.

Oh yeah, especially how she woke up:

Spoiler:

One of the babies she had, thanks to the king repeatedly raping her, sucked the enchanted splinter out of her finger.

The non-consensual kiss just isn't a big deal in comparison.

[isarl]

Both of the following currently on sale for $2 from Kobo & Amazon (US & Canada).
Both novels are winners of the Hugo and the Nebula Awards.

The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon

[JSWolf]

The huge holes (large enough to drive a double-decker bus into) in the story of Cinderella are thus...

1. When the clock stuck midnight, the shoe left behind should have vanished.
2. It's highly unlikely that no other woman has the same shoe size.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The huge holes (large enough to drive a double-decker bus into) in the story of Sleeping Beauty are thus...

1. When the clock stuck midnight, the shoe left behind should have vanished.
2. It's highly unlikely that no other woman has the same shoe size.

1. You mean Cinderella
2. You're overlooking magic. It was a magic glass slipper.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The huge holes (large enough to drive a double-decker bus into) in the story of Sleeping Beauty are thus...

1. When the clock stuck midnight, the shoe left behind should have vanished.
2. It's highly unlikely that no other woman has the same shoe size.

Perhaps. However, if she suffered from corns, hammertoes, blisters, bunions and calluses, claw and mallet toes, ingrown toenails, toenail fungus, and athlete's foot, then she would be very easy to identify. This could be easily resolved by visiting the local podiatrist. If she lived in a small village without a practicing podiatrist, then all the prince would have to do is listen to local gossip circulating around the village about how difficult it is to wear shoes.

Such issues, I might add, would negate any effects of magic. This fact is well known to anyone versed in magical properties.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

1. You mean Cinderella
2. You're overlooking magic. It was a magic glass slipper.

1.) Mostly Cinderella, but never Sleeping Beauty.

2) Likely deliberately arranged by the fairy / fairy-godmother / dead mother or whatever. What's the point in magically getting her to the Ball if that's the end? Maybe fur or glass beads, something she was able to dance in and certainly magic must have been involved for it to fit no-one else.

It's not a plot hole because somehow the Prince has to meet Ash-maiden/Cinders/Cinderella again. I do like Pratchett's version in Witches Abroad.

Now, Harry Potter; those are stories with plot holes deliberately filled with magic that the story doesn't need. Real plot holes are amazing rare on old Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Myth and Legend (defining thing of those compared to Fantasy is usually from oral tradition, so the post 16th C. author (if there is one) is typically an editor or collector.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's not a plot hole because somehow the Prince has to meet Ash-maiden/Cinders/Cinderella again. I do like Pratchett's version in Witches Abroad.

Exactly, the tale is mainly about how Cinderella's fairy godmother is rescuing her from her awful life by getting her hooked up with the prince. Having the carriage and dress vanish at midnight added mystery, hooking the prince even more than cleaned-up Cinderella did on her own. The slipper not disappearing was part of her plan.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

All this Piers Anthony talk triggers an old memory of the SFBC (science fiction book club).

I cycled memberships in that thing many times back in the 80s I guess it was. Think I’d get like 6 hardcover books for about $10 total, then have to buy one more for maybe $10 shipped. Very very vague memories of where these books are now, or how many of them I actually read. I’m more a deal collector than a book collector or reader I must admit. But anyway, the Xanth books were often in my purchases back then, but I think I quickly tired of his style.

I too was a SFBC member. Once or twice I forgot to send the card back in. The most notable time was when I received Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. I was lazy and didn't return it. It kind of sat there on my shelf, as at first glance, it didn't quite appeal.

But one day, having been to the library near where I worked, I found the first edition/first printing on the library book sale shelf. I'd been buying some of the fantasy/scifi genre books for a $1.00, and turning them around on eBay to help fund my reading habit. The sale shelf often had first edition, first printing copies that looked almost unread and I always figured I could read them or upgrade my library if they didn't sell.

Well, when I searched for Game of Thrones, I was seeing prices that surprised me! Like $75 and up. You'd think that would make me get busy and sell the book. Nope, it just made me want to READ the book! But, I read the book club copy, keeping the first edition in dust jacket very pristine.

And I liked it! So then, I just decided to keep the true first edition, and sell the SFBC book club copy, LOL! It is still on my shelves.

[salty-horse]

The Big Book of Classic Fantasy edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer is $5 worldwide (Amazon.com, Kobo US
Table of contents

Unearth the enchanting origins of fantasy fiction with a collection of tales as vast as the tallest tower and as mysterious as the dark depths of the forest.

Fantasy stories have always been with us. They illuminate the odd and the uncanny, the wondrous and the fantastic: all the things we know are lurking just out of sight—on the other side of the looking-glass, beyond the music of the impossibly haunting violin, through the twisted trees of the ancient woods. Other worlds, talking animals, fairies, goblins, demons, tricksters, and mystics: these are the elements that populate a rich literary tradition that spans the globe. A work composed both of careful scholarship and fantastic fun, The Big Book of Classic Fantasy is essential reading for anyone who’s never forgotten the stories that first inspired feelings of astonishment and wonder.

INCLUDING:

*Stories by pillars of the genre like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Shelley, Christina Rossetti, L. Frank Baum, Robert E. Howard, and J. R. R. Tolkien
*Fantastical offerings from literary giants including Edith Wharton, Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, Vladimir Nabokov, Hermann Hesse, and W.E.B. Du Bois
*Rare treasures from Asian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Native American traditions
*New translations, including fourteen stories never before in English

PLUS:

*Beautifully Bizarre Creatures! *Strange New Worlds Just Beyond the Garden Path!
*Fairy Folk and Their Dark Mischief! *Seriously Be Careful—Do Not Trust Those Fairies!

[maddz]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Big Book of Classic Fantasy edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer is $5 worldwide (Amazon.com, Kobo US
Table of contents

Not available as an ebook on either Amazon.co.uk nor Kobo UK.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Big Book of Classic Fantasy edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer is $5 worldwide (Amazon.com, Kobo US
Table of contents

That is indeed a big book! I don't know if I necessarily want a 2000-page/50 hour compendium of something as generic as just "fantasy" without slightly more context.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

That is indeed a big book! I don't know if I necessarily want a 2000-page/50 hour compendium of something as generic as just "fantasy" without slightly more context.

Amazon's description is useful, it's a mix of old and new:

Spoiler:

A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 WORLD FANTASY AWARD

Unearth the enchanting origins of fantasy fiction with a collection of tales as vast as the tallest tower and as mysterious as the dark depths of the forest.

Fantasy stories have always been with us. They illuminate the odd and the uncanny, the wondrous and the fantastic: all the things we know are lurking just out of sight—on the other side of the looking-glass, beyond the music of the impossibly haunting violin, through the twisted trees of the ancient woods. Other worlds, talking animals, fairies, goblins, demons, tricksters, and mystics: these are the elements that populate a rich literary tradition that spans the globe. A work composed both of careful scholarship and fantastic fun, The Big Book of Classic Fantasy is essential reading for anyone who’s never forgotten the stories that first inspired feelings of astonishment and wonder.

INCLUDING:

• Stories by pillars of the genre like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Shelley, Christina Rossetti, L. Frank Baum, Robert E. Howard, and J. R. R. Tolkien
• Fantastical offerings from literary giants including Edith Wharton, Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, Vladimir Nabokov, Hermann Hesse, and W.E.B. Du Bois
• Rare treasures from Asian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Native American traditions
• New translations, including fourteen stories never before in English

PLUS:

• Beautifully Bizarre Creatures!
• Strange New Worlds Just Beyond the Garden Path!
• Fairy Folk and Their Dark Mischief!
• Seriously Be Careful—Do Not Trust Those Fairies!

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by maddz

Not available as an ebook on either Amazon.co.uk nor Kobo UK.

Sorry, I looked in the US, and Kobo's "Worldwide" which means "anything not covered by the other specific territories we list"

[salty-horse]

Forgot to mention that many of the stories in the Classic Fantasy collection are in the public domain, published between 1808 and 1940, so you're not missing much if you take this as a recommendation list.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

That is indeed a big book! I don't know if I necessarily want a 2000-page/50 hour compendium of something as generic as just "fantasy" without slightly more context.

Then you must absolutely and wholeheartedly, with a mind both decisive and unwavering, stay clear of this book: [Not on sale, I might add]:

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-weird