New Book Alert: Just A World Away: A Collection of Modern Folk Tales Edited by John Tannhauser; Folk and Fairy Tales For The 21st Century

 

New Book Alert: Just A World Away: A Collection of Modern Folk Tales Edited by John Tannhauser; Folk and Fairy Tales For The 21st Century 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Who doesn't love a good folk or fairy tale, especially one that illustrates the beliefs, characters, fears, and magic of a certain area? The type of story that is just as much about the people reading and hearing it as it is about the people that are inside the story.

That's what John Tannhauser accomplished when he edited and gathered ten short stories by various fantasy authors for Just a World Away: A Collection of Modern Folk Tales.

While many folk tale collections are modern adaptations of older stories, this set is made up of new and unique stories created from the minds of the authors themselves. Yes, some characters and tropes are familiar but the spin in which the authors take is all theirs and is reflected in the cultures in which they are set.

All of the stories are winners but the best are:

“Tales of Fuji” by Voima Oy (United States)

A favorite trope in folktales is the magical animal. Sometimes they talk and dispense some worldly advice and sometimes they provide good luck to a warm hearted but unfortunate soul.

In this case, the animal is a bobtail tabby cat named Fuji. Well actually, Fuji is an immortal spirit currently taking the form of a ghost cat and comes to help a boy named Michio.

This is a beautiful dream-like story that is reminiscent of an anime short film or Japanese folktale. Fuji brings luck to Michio and the people around him by her own presence and those of other spirits. At first, Michio’s father is convinced that she is a demon but after a talk in his dreams where Fuji predicts that Michio will have a large loving family and the town will achieve success, the father relents.

This is a gentle heart warming story about the love between humans and animals and the importance of having and believing in one’s dreams. 

“A Genie's Tale” by Lani Davies (United Kingdom)

From a folktale inspired by Japanese folklore to one inspired by Arabian Nights. Davies’ contribution is a love story between a male djinn, Asem and a human woman, Safiya and what happens when a female djinn, Naria, becomes obsessed with Asem and wants to get rid of the competition.

This romantic adventure gives some interesting insights towards djinn lore like they are creatures of fire and air and part of the Court of Iblis. The backstory gives them more depth than being funny or sexy wish granters in a lamp. They are well written and some of the most interesting characters in the story.

Another brilliant attribute that this story has is that it captures multiple viewpoints. Asem is the primary first person narrator but we also get narration from Safiya and other characters. This captures the Arabian Nights story within a story narrative with the stories being told by Scheherazade leading to tales about characters like Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba, then parts of those stories are told by other characters. The pieces of the narratives work together to tell one whole tale. 

The multiple narrative also gives equal opportunity to Asem and Safiya. Both characters get to tell separate adventures in which they had to display courage, cleverness, and love to be together again. While there are plenty of male characters in Arabian lore, some of the female characters have adventures of their own like Morgiana, Badoura, Dalilah and her daughter, Zaynib, and of course, Scheherazade herself. “A Genie's Tale” reminds us that male and female characters play their parts in folklore and have their own stories to tell.

“Bear With It” by C.S. Voll (South Africa)

One of the favorite tropes in fairy tales is metamorphosis, particularly humans into animals. Sometimes they are cursed to remain an animal until someone does something for them and they change back. Other times they don't and embrace their bestial side.

Mateus is curious about the strange inhabitants of a nearby castle. Why are there so many inhuman cries coming from there? Why doesn't anyone ever see anyone go in and out? Why have villagers like Mateus’ father disappeared? Why has the village been cursed ever since their arrival? Mateus goes to the castle to meet its inhabitants: a golden haired woman named Frida and two bears, Bumbles and Gleams.

This variation of “Goldilocks and The Three Bears” makes a family out of the bears and the one-time intruder. The bears often fight trolls which pester Mateus’ village as well. It is an interesting take to the original fairy tale and Beast Man stories that depicts the benefits of the animal in which the characters inhabit such as superior strength and a pack (or sleuth since they are bears) mentality for each other and those that they look after. This also explains why Frida is so devoted to them. 

The human to beast transformation is treated less like a curse and more like a blessing, one that Mateus ultimately partakes in and embraces the closer he gets to Frida and her family. He sees a devoted loyal family and protectors that he wants to be a part of.

“The Voice on the Water” by Lila (Ireland)

There are often spirits of the elements that are part of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. This story goes one better. It personifies a river itself. 

Tara, the river, falls in love with William, a young lonely blind man. They have many long talks and build a connection. 

This is a strange romance but it fits as the two bond with each other. Their conversations play off each other rather well and how each fills a need. Tara finds someone who will defend her and protect her from being abused and polluted. William finds someone to see and really listen to him. 

“Voice on the Water” develops a literal spiritual connection between humanity and nature. There is a certain sadness and poetic melancholy as though William and Tara are taking a chance on love that could never realistically be and could end because of the selfishness of the humans around them that could destroy everything that Tara is. It's one of those folktales that the Reader knows is destined for a sad ending. The only immortality that they receive is to live on through their story.

“All in a Name” by John Tannhauser (Australia)

Similar to “Tales of Fuji,” this story has a Japanese setting but it is less gentle and more ghostly and dark.

Hiro gets lost in the snow and he is rescued by a mysterious beautiful woman who won't tell him her name. 

There is something sinister as she leads him through the cold snowy landscape. She tells him very little and even though she saved Hiro from near death, it is unclear whether there is an ulterior motive.

She appears to be a magical spirit who tells him that if he remains by the lantern light, he will remain warm. She also knows about him and his sick grandmother. These details add to the overall unease that she demonstrates in this story. That she isn't human becomes clear but whether she means to help or harm him remains to be seen.

There is a great moment in which Hiro learns her name. Names are important in folklore stories (think Rumplestiltskin). A name can empower or defeat a character. To know a name brings that being or thing to life and allows one to overpower or free them. When Hiro learns his rescuer's name, he is able to see beyond her mysterious exterior and see something human and alive within her. It connects them by bringing her to his level as an equal.

Just a World Away captures the beauty of folktales reminding the Readers that there is another world than the physical one around us. There is another world of magic, old ways, fantastic creatures, and heroes that show courage, strength, and wisdom.

New Book Alert: Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard; Fantastic Fantasy About Sisterhood and Elemental Magic

New Book Alert: Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard; Fantastic Fantasy About Sisterhood and Elemental Magic

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: We are all familiar with the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. They are used in both science and magic. Many characters in fiction such as the X Men's Storm or the characters in the animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender and it's spinoff, The Legend of Korra, have the ability to harness them for power. Some Pagans use them as conduits for spells and believe the elements represent certain goals or traits that a person has. When the four elements are balanced, they create harmony in the earth, but if one gets too powerful dangerous things are bound to happen.

Courtney Shepard's fantasy novel, Unbalanced is about that premise. It begins in the Middle Ages (don't all fantasies) in Spain en media torture as a sinister character called The Master interrogates a village about the location of four young girls. These aren't just any young girls as we learn when they confront the Master. Each one controls the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. After the girls defeat him, they disappear and the Master vows that if he doesn't find them, then his descendants will.

Fast forward to 1988 and a woman named Emma is giving birth to quadruplet daughters when five mysterious hooded figures appear at her bedside. As soon as the babies pop out, four of the figures take the babies away to be raised elsewhere while the fifth insists they will be cared for.

Now in modern day, the four babies are all grown and are well aware of their tremendous power, but unaware that they have sisters who also have similar powers. Asha is a freedom fighter in Central America who has the power of fire. Ivy is a veterinarian in Vancouver who controls earth including plants and rocks. Mere is a surfer catching and controlling the waves in Australia. Meanwhile, Avia is a flutist currently touring Hong Kong and has the power of air.

Besides their abilities, the women also had guardians whom they called “Father” whoever (like priests) that were either killed or disappeared. They also are being stalked by dangerous people and have the feeling that they are not alone and that they are sharing each other's pain.

Unbalanced is a fun exciting modern fantasy filled with suspenseful and magical moments. The four sisters are great protagonists, especially after they meet and show off their awesome abilities.
The four women embody their element in their personalities. Asha is firey and passionate and often blazes with a bad temper. Ivy is the practical, stable more grounded leader of the quartet. Mere is the most emotional, intuitive, and sensitive sister. Avia is the more rational, intelligent, sometimes seemingly emotionless one. The four sisters are memorable characters whether alone or together.


They are united when the Master’s current descendants find and chase after them. The sisters encounter four brothers who work for the latest Master (called the Grand Master because there are two younger Masters), Clay, Cole, Rio, and Aron who also control respectively Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. The brothers and sisters unite when the Grand Master's real motives are revealed as well as the close connections that the sisters have to one of the younger Masters and the family that has spent centuries stalking them.


While the four sisters are brilliantly written, their new equally powerful potential love interests are not near as identifiable. They are mostly interchangeable in their encounters with the sisters and each other. The only one that stands out is Clay, a sensitive doctor who in the first few chapters guards a captive and naturally irate Asha. Clay is drawn to Asha's beauty and spirit and helps her escape. Cole, Rio, and Aron have some nice romantic moments with Ivy, Avia, and Mere especially when the guys and gals are sent two by two on missions and they get to mutually save each other and defend themselves from enemies.

However, the men don't have as many identifiable idiosyncrasies that make them stand out like Mere's Guns N’Roses T-shirt, Asha's marksman skills, Ivy’s garden, or Avia's swank Zurich villa that tell us more about them. The sisters are unique not only in their abilities but in those traits and interests that make them individuals.

Of course with the brothers that might be the point. The sisters were raised separately to be individualistic while the men were raised together in an almost military-like fashion that eschewed independent thought and action. The men were raised to be a unit using and suppressing their powers, but the women were not. Ironically, that's what makes the four sisters stronger more identifiable characters.

At first, each woman acts like someone that exists within her own element and that's how they live and operate. Their reliance on only their element causes trouble. In the opening chapters, Asha burns down a whole village and has memories of several people she caught on fire because of her temper. Besides controlling the air around her, Avia has the creepy ability of removing the oxygen from someone's lungs. Both Mere and Ivy have accidentally caused floods and earthquakes.

The four sisters are powerful, but when they live only within their element, only that element reigns and it is overpowering. The Grand Master and his minions want the sisters killed or separated because he fears not their separate power, but how much stronger they are together.

Together, Ivy, Avia, Mere, and Asha balance each other out and are able to channel their abilities in tandem.
That is also probably why Shepard chose not to pair the same element characters with each other instead Asha with Clay and Ivy with Cole (Fire and Earth), and Avia with Rio and Mere with Aron (Air and Water). Too much of the same element can be destructive but two different elements recognizes each other's strengths and limitations.

What the Grand Master and his ilk fear is the balance and strength the sisters bring. Separately, they are weakened by the excess of their elements, but together they are a team that balances each other and their environment.