A Thread of Silk

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
YAYYYYYYYY. I am turning 27 officially, and we are practically snowed in. My guy is coming over today and we will be making pizza and my friends and I will be dressed up. We meant to go out dancing in portland tonight but our car will not make it on the roads, so instead, we are staying in.



This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Title: A Thread of Silk
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

This is a Japanese tale that weaves together the present and past; and is one of the longer stories in the book. A woman seeks revenge in the Heian Era (my favorite era of Japan) against a man of her family who has attempted to slay her brother and has destroyed her lands in the process. She admonishes the God of War to help her in her conquest, and he gives her a sideways gift for not asking the right questions. She also attracts a Goddess who is much more dangerous and whom gives her a gift that is also a downright curse.

I must say. The main male antagonist in this is the most goth japanese character i've come across ever. Tall dark and handsome, swathed in dark colors, emotional. Elegant, poetic, chivalrous. It is hard not to like him. 

Very soon you come to see the workings of the Goddess and why indeed hers was not a blessing.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

The Tiger Fortune Princess

This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Do you know why I like compilations/anthologies? I like them because they include a veriety of stories (sometimes united by a common theme) and I do not have to expect that I will be sitting here reading twenty stories that are exactly the same. Its a lovely feeling.


Title: The Tiger Fortune Princess
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

This tale takes place in China, and begins with the Chinese Empress Meiying. As far as empresses in stories go, she is the same. Being beautiful, wise, and compliant. 

She follows tradition to a T, and does everything correctly when she finds herself with child. Enter the "angry fairy" trope. This comes in the form of soothsayer who is casting the future baby's horoscope. The soothsayer gets interrupted by an outside force and because she is now annoyed, changes the fortune to a curse. The Empress Meiying allows this, because fate, and  does her damnedest to keep the curse from happening. 

"Your daughter will die unborn

unless she rides the dragon's tail.

If she survives the dragon,

she will be devoured before she meets her husband,

and without a son in law,

her father will die of unhappiness."

Meiying does her best to make sure that while allowing the curse room, does not allow it to happen, while allowing its course to run. She does everything in her power to make this go smoothly including living as a peasant in the countryside alone with the baby.

This was a very good story, had a very "sleeping beauty" feel to it.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

The Tanuki-Kettle

This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Title: The Tanuki-Kettle
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

The Tanuki-Kettle is a lighthearted Japanese based tale, very short; about a Tanuki (raccoon-dog) that likes to chase chickens and meddle in the affairs of his savior: a tea girl named Hisa. Usually Tanuki are only tricksters, here he brings her luck and good fortune.

I cannot wait to see what else this book has in store for me. I think I might do illustrations for at least this story, as I would rather like to illustrate a tanuki-kettle. 

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1

Daughter of Botu

This is the first of a bunch of short stories in an anthology, I will be writing separate reviews on each of these tales as I read them.
This is one of my favorites. I first read this story in a copy of Realms of Fantasy magazine (which was disbanded a few years ago, so the only place to find those is on ebay as back issues. Once they're gone, they're gone. Which is quite unfortunate due to them being a high quality fantasy magazine.) that I had received in a swag bag at the Faerieworlds Festival when it was still in Eugene, OR. It took for frigging EVER to track down this exact story, but I finally was able to. (I cannot wait to see what the other stories are like!)

Thus, I received this book as a Christmas present this year. AWESOME.

Story: Daughter of Botu
Book Title: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice.
Author: Eugie Foster

You will be seeing this book cover each time I review a story in this collection. Just FYI so that you aren't concerned that you're about to read the same post as last time.

Daughter of Botu is absolutely magical. It is harsh, it is gritty. It is about Rabbits. It is about shapeshifting. It is about remembering who you are, and  knowing where you came from.

This is the story of An-ying. A young female rabbit who belongs to a warren of rabbits who have had multitudes of bad luck. Poison, trouble with foxes, hunters, and severe drought. 

The last thing she expected was for her fate to take over (though her grandmother knew exactly what was in store.)

Four words: Rabbit... Human... love story.

It's soooooo good you guys. If you like stories that deal with shapeshifters you will love this one; to have a rabbit be the shifter is a complete breath of fresh air after being swamped with werewolves and vampires for years. Prey animals are not normally seen as having shifting abilities in modern shape shifter stories. It is wonderful.

Word to the wise: You're probably going to learn a few chinese words. Foster does a great job of seamlessly blending the english and chinese terms so that they are easily understood without a glossary. I think it also a breath of fresh air that she gave traditional names instead of automatically naming characters Caucasian names. 

Check out this book!

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1