#BookReview Setting the perfect tone for this collection of twenty-three tales of Baba Yaga is the spell-poem by Stephanie M. Wytovich that opens it. The stories that follow are traditional and modern, set in Slavic forests or a swamp in the American Deep South. Two of the stories are interesting variations on our Hansel and Gretel tale, another is told by the Baba Yaga's hut on chicken legs, and in one Baba Yaga falls in love.
The Baba Yagas vary too, they are ancient and young, beautiful and ugly, cruel and compassionate, but she is always a powerful figure who is closely connected to the natural world.
Into the Forest was edited by Lindy Ryan with an introduction by Christina Henry, and the stories are by women fantasy and horror writers who bring a welcome feminist sensibility to many of them. There are some very strong selections, but the collection does have a few weaker choices.
A couple of the stories are bursting the seams of a short story and could be developed into novels. The perfect kind of eerie anthology to cozy up with through the dark, cold months. #reading#books@bookstodon
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