Myth and Magic

July 20, 2015
This collection of short, reimagined fairytales, compiled by prolific erotica editors Radclyffe (Taking Fire) and Seaman (Women of the Dark Streets), gives same-sex couples their stylized happy endings, but often relies heavily on overused tropes of the twisted tales genre, with a net effect more contrived than fresh. Gender-shifted romances like Barbara Davies's "The Princess and the Frog" fall flat; the campiness in J. Leigh Bailey's Cheshire Catâinspired "A Hero in Hot Pink Boots" at least provides sparkle. The strongest stories reach into the editors' smut heritage: Sasha Payne's Goldie, picking up his bears in a local bar, and Veronica Wilde's dominatrix Snow Queen offer queer sizzle enhanced by the transmutation of children's stories into something decidedly adult. Considering that the pieces are mostly original to this collection, the choices of source material are timid and repetitive, with two Jack and the Beanstalks, two Red Riding Hoods, two wicked stepmother hookups, and no obscure or non-European inspirations.