Swapna Krishna

A pretty interesting collection of stories in and around Arthurian legends. It’s definitely interesting to see what the authors felt most compelled to use as their entry points—a lot of Merlin and Elaine/relationships to Lancelot, and I would say probably not as much on like the Sword in the Stone. I think I found the “present” stories to be the most compelling, though I did love Ausma Zehanat Khan’s “The Once and Future Qadi ” as an opener to the collection. The future ones I sort of struggled with more, though I did enjoy Alexander Chee’s story quite a bit. But overall I think I enjoyed the collection and would recommend it to others.… (meer)

Reading this collection of Arthurian re-tellings makes me want to go back and read the old stories anew! This anthology contains new takes on old tales, modern takes, and even some futuristic takes. Every single story was unique and different, although some were much stronger than others. The stories focus on different characters from the Arthurian legends and played around with them in fun new ways. From a vengeful baseball player to a barista falling in love with Lance to the Lady of Shallot taking illegal memories like drugs in a futuristic city - the span and scope was impressive. About half of the tales failed to draw me in but the ones that I loved, I LOVED. I only recognized a handful of authors, but that didn't matter to me. Pardon me while I go dig out The Mists of Avalon from under my bed.… (meer)