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The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures
Long ago, in a land where imagination meets the darkest nightmares, they built the asylum. Surrounded by a forest of thorns, it holds the most twisted minds in the fairy tale kingdom: a terrible collection of evil creatures and forgotten souls. Imprisoned within its walls, they are doomed to spend forever after telling their tales… and serving as a warning to others.
Now, you are invited to accompany Blood Red Riding Hood into the depths of this strange place – where you will meet its even stranger inhabitants. But be warned: walls this thick were built to withstand the darkest magic… so once you’re inside, you might just find yourself living horribly ever after… and wishing you were indeed in a land far, far away.
Now, you are invited to accompany Blood Red Riding Hood into the depths of this strange place – where you will meet its even stranger inhabitants. But be warned: walls this thick were built to withstand the darkest magic… so once you’re inside, you might just find yourself living horribly ever after… and wishing you were indeed in a land far, far away.
- GenresFantasyFairy Tales
52 pages, ebook
First published June 27, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 9, 2015
What if the characters in fairy tales don't live happily ever after. What if they are so traumatised by their adventure that they need to be institutionalised and treated. This is the premise of this read and one that puts an new twist on fairy tales.
Little Red Riding Hood is accused of murdering her grandmother however she is adamant that a wolf is responsible, no one believes her and she is carted off to the fairy tale asylum. The asylum is run by Dr Grimm who hands out some harsh treatment to 'cure her', we also find out more about the other inhabitants of the asylum as Gregory cleverly weaves in other fairy tale characters and the real end to their stories.
This had such a great premise, I really enjoyed the darker take on popular fairy tales. This is a fairly short read and is broken up into chapters depicting not only the story of LRRH but also her companions; Thumbeana and Thread Bear and also notes on other asylum patients from Dr Grimms notebook.
Whilst the premise was good the execution unfortunately was not. The stories didn't flow very well and there were numerous missing words, missing letters from words, lack of punctuation and poor sentence structure. There were times when I thought chapters in the book had been cut off, due to sentences finishing abruptly with no full stop and sentences not making sense. I really felt the editing with this really let it down which is a shame as it's quite engaging.
This is a far cry from the authors excellent 'A Christmas Horror Story' and whilst it's dark and gruesome in parts it lacks the flow and characterisation of the other novella.
Little Red Riding Hood is accused of murdering her grandmother however she is adamant that a wolf is responsible, no one believes her and she is carted off to the fairy tale asylum. The asylum is run by Dr Grimm who hands out some harsh treatment to 'cure her', we also find out more about the other inhabitants of the asylum as Gregory cleverly weaves in other fairy tale characters and the real end to their stories.
This had such a great premise, I really enjoyed the darker take on popular fairy tales. This is a fairly short read and is broken up into chapters depicting not only the story of LRRH but also her companions; Thumbeana and Thread Bear and also notes on other asylum patients from Dr Grimms notebook.
Whilst the premise was good the execution unfortunately was not. The stories didn't flow very well and there were numerous missing words, missing letters from words, lack of punctuation and poor sentence structure. There were times when I thought chapters in the book had been cut off, due to sentences finishing abruptly with no full stop and sentences not making sense. I really felt the editing with this really let it down which is a shame as it's quite engaging.
This is a far cry from the authors excellent 'A Christmas Horror Story' and whilst it's dark and gruesome in parts it lacks the flow and characterisation of the other novella.
August 4, 2014
1.5 stars
ARC provided by Carina UK through Netgalley
Missing commas, missing words, and missing sense... maybe they're keeping the insane fairy tales company?
What in the blazes happened with this?
You know how, in some stories, you can't help noticing that the authors don't have an actual plot, so they just focus on filling pages with endless, useless words, joined by a parade of never ending adjectives?
Verbose, that's what we call them, right?
On the other hand there are times when we feel like we are reading pages that have been ripped of a phone book... a scary and dark phone book, as turned out to be the case for this story.
The writing was that basic :/
Okay... this is the second book in a row to which I give a one and half star.
I may be turning mellow with my old age :/ because other people would probably give it a star, if that much.
Let's call things as they really are: This is a novella, and even so, a poorly developed one.
My conscience is battling with me, forcing me to admit that I gave my previous read 1.5 stars, and that in terms of writing quality that one, was unquestionably better than this!
The only reason this even gets this rating is that it, at times, did manage to be original and creepy as hell! Too bad those moments were just too few.
And this had an original concept!
So why wasn't it developed? I am sincerely flabbergasted about it! Was this edited?
If so, the author should definitely ask for his money back.
Let's talk about how it begins...
The introduction to the "major" fairy tale creatures that we will be reading about was just too poor, character wise. It was just your basic fairy tales stereotypes. Especially with the first character: Red Riding Hood.
The creepiness factor was not enough to keep me reading the story, especially not with the headache that the writing was giving me.
There were some original points that I appreciated, _ the asylum per se, the guards_ but the writing was so basic! There were so many missing words, and the characters were so undeveloped, than honestly reading this became a chore.
Here, I'll leave you with some examples:
"To be poor abandon children in the forest, left to the whims of the nearby witch in her gingerbread house (pg. 8)
What?!
"She felt so at home here, the other children of the village thought her strange and sneered when they saw her go by" (pg 11)
Did you mean to say: She felt so at home here, despite the fact that the other children found her strange, and sneered at her, whenever they saw her go by. (??)
I can ignore a certain amount of things in arcs. I am not that of a literary snob.
There will always be some grammatical mistakes in texts that are going to be ignored.
Hey, I make them all the time! But this was just too much! And if I excuse the occasional error, I don't want to have anything with stories that don't seem to have been edited...
"Ever since her father had succumbed to a wasting infection the previous year, her mother’s wits were lost to everlasting grief; the girl had found refuge in solitude"
wow...
"The girl losing her father and her grandma a son gave strength to the other."
Headache.
ARC provided by Carina UK through Netgalley
Missing commas, missing words, and missing sense... maybe they're keeping the insane fairy tales company?
What in the blazes happened with this?
You know how, in some stories, you can't help noticing that the authors don't have an actual plot, so they just focus on filling pages with endless, useless words, joined by a parade of never ending adjectives?
Verbose, that's what we call them, right?
On the other hand there are times when we feel like we are reading pages that have been ripped of a phone book... a scary and dark phone book, as turned out to be the case for this story.
The writing was that basic :/
Okay... this is the second book in a row to which I give a one and half star.
I may be turning mellow with my old age :/ because other people would probably give it a star, if that much.
Let's call things as they really are: This is a novella, and even so, a poorly developed one.
My conscience is battling with me, forcing me to admit that I gave my previous read 1.5 stars, and that in terms of writing quality that one, was unquestionably better than this!
The only reason this even gets this rating is that it, at times, did manage to be original and creepy as hell! Too bad those moments were just too few.
And this had an original concept!
So why wasn't it developed? I am sincerely flabbergasted about it! Was this edited?
If so, the author should definitely ask for his money back.
Let's talk about how it begins...
The introduction to the "major" fairy tale creatures that we will be reading about was just too poor, character wise. It was just your basic fairy tales stereotypes. Especially with the first character: Red Riding Hood.
The creepiness factor was not enough to keep me reading the story, especially not with the headache that the writing was giving me.
There were some original points that I appreciated, _ the asylum per se, the guards_ but the writing was so basic! There were so many missing words, and the characters were so undeveloped, than honestly reading this became a chore.
Here, I'll leave you with some examples:
"To be poor abandon children in the forest, left to the whims of the nearby witch in her gingerbread house (pg. 8)
What?!
"She felt so at home here, the other children of the village thought her strange and sneered when they saw her go by" (pg 11)
Did you mean to say: She felt so at home here, despite the fact that the other children found her strange, and sneered at her, whenever they saw her go by. (??)
I can ignore a certain amount of things in arcs. I am not that of a literary snob.
There will always be some grammatical mistakes in texts that are going to be ignored.
Hey, I make them all the time! But this was just too much! And if I excuse the occasional error, I don't want to have anything with stories that don't seem to have been edited...
"Ever since her father had succumbed to a wasting infection the previous year, her mother’s wits were lost to everlasting grief; the girl had found refuge in solitude"
wow...
"The girl losing her father and her grandma a son gave strength to the other."
Headache.
January 19, 2018
2.5 stars.
I love fairy tale re-tellings. The genre is one of my favorite things to read. Therefore, when I saw The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures, I knew I had to read it. The title drew me in right away, and made me want to know more about it. The book also has an absolutely stunning cover. Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying the book. It was extremely disappointing.
The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures had a great premise, but the book itself failed to deliver. I think my main problem with this book was that it needed an editor so badly. The way it was formatted had the story out of order. It would skip back and forth between scenes, and I had no idea what the heck was going on. When I was reading it, I could tell it wasn't done on purpose. It just wasn't edited. It was almost like someone copied and pasted parts of the story in the wrong place on purpose. It made everything so confusing. Just when I thought I was starting to understand the story, it would happen again, and I'd be more confused than ever. Sentences would cut off in the middle, without ever being finished. The book was also full of punctuation mistakes, and run on sentences that never seem to end.
There were a couple things I did enjoy about the book, even though it was so confusing. I loved how dark and twisted the storylines were. It created a completely different take on the fairy tales everyone knows and loves, along with some that I had never heard of. I will never look at teddy bears the same way again, or allow them into my house. They kind of creep me out now. I loved the fresh take on the classics. It got me interested in the characters. I also liked how quirky the characters were. I loved the mini stories about Snow White, and Cinderella.
I was sad that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. However, I think in the hands of a different, more through editor, this could have easily been a four or five-star read. I'm hoping that one day the book does get another editor. If it does, I would gladly be willing to give it another try. I'm also hoping that one day the author write a book about the side characters, whose backstory was only covered in a couple sentences. I would love to learn what happened to them after all of the things that happened at the end of the book. I will definitely be trying some of the author's other books to see if they are edited better because I did enjoy his writing style.
I love fairy tale re-tellings. The genre is one of my favorite things to read. Therefore, when I saw The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures, I knew I had to read it. The title drew me in right away, and made me want to know more about it. The book also has an absolutely stunning cover. Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying the book. It was extremely disappointing.
The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures had a great premise, but the book itself failed to deliver. I think my main problem with this book was that it needed an editor so badly. The way it was formatted had the story out of order. It would skip back and forth between scenes, and I had no idea what the heck was going on. When I was reading it, I could tell it wasn't done on purpose. It just wasn't edited. It was almost like someone copied and pasted parts of the story in the wrong place on purpose. It made everything so confusing. Just when I thought I was starting to understand the story, it would happen again, and I'd be more confused than ever. Sentences would cut off in the middle, without ever being finished. The book was also full of punctuation mistakes, and run on sentences that never seem to end.
There were a couple things I did enjoy about the book, even though it was so confusing. I loved how dark and twisted the storylines were. It created a completely different take on the fairy tales everyone knows and loves, along with some that I had never heard of. I will never look at teddy bears the same way again, or allow them into my house. They kind of creep me out now. I loved the fresh take on the classics. It got me interested in the characters. I also liked how quirky the characters were. I loved the mini stories about Snow White, and Cinderella.
I was sad that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. However, I think in the hands of a different, more through editor, this could have easily been a four or five-star read. I'm hoping that one day the book does get another editor. If it does, I would gladly be willing to give it another try. I'm also hoping that one day the author write a book about the side characters, whose backstory was only covered in a couple sentences. I would love to learn what happened to them after all of the things that happened at the end of the book. I will definitely be trying some of the author's other books to see if they are edited better because I did enjoy his writing style.
May 2, 2021
An attempt at a very dark take on the children fairy tales. Disjointed.
June 28, 2014
The Asylum For Fairy-Tale Creatures....how could I not review it after reading that title?! I've gotta say, if the title alone doesn't draw you in, the uniqueness of the book and how original it is, will. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting really, I knew it was gonna be interesting, but I was still surprised!
When you really think about it, and you think about the ORIGINAL Grimm stories it makes perfect sense that our favourite fairy-tale characters would have been majorly fucked up by their experiences, and I never really thought about it from this perspective before I read this book and I'm kinda mind blown right now. While Blood Red Riding Hood is the main character, we get to see some other characters and hear their stories too.
Now, you really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, as the saying goes, and in this case that is incredibly true. Look at the cover. Look how cute and harmless it looks with it's nice bluey green colour, and it's drawing of Red behind bars and a couple thorny branches. You're looking at it, reading the blurb and thinking "okay so it's gonna be a bit out there, but it's gonna be a romp right?" WRONG.
I'm giving everyone fair warning right now, this book is kinda like a collection of "If Fairy-Tales Where Horror Movies". Y'all won't be watching Beauty and The Beast in the same way ever again. Literally, these stories have blood splattered all over them and are DARK, with a nice melancholy overtone.
SO. I was kinda expecting a dark aspect, but mostly romping humour, the horror element and the fact it was darker than I was expecting took me by surprise, and I'm still not really sure why, there where clues after all, but I was pleasantly surprised, not gonna lie.
I enjoyed the writing style, Gregory has a rich storytelling ability and as I said, it has a great melancholy feel to it. I really loved how each chapter is in a different style, it shook things up a bit, kept you on your toes, and was a source of intrigue. Slaughter and terror one moment, then aaawww teddy bear the next, with madness abounding. The creepy horror was brilliant, seriously it was! I even managed to creep myself out as wimpy as that sounds!
One of the enjoyable things about the book is all the references to everything fairy-tale you can think of, Grimm's stories, fables, nursery rhymes and so on. Seriously you sit there like "Wait.....OMG I KNOW YOU! You sly dog!" Literally looking for the references and finding them and having a little smirk at how it's been slotted in, is great fun! Kind of like watching the show Once Upon A Time in the first season and trying to work out who's who and picking up on all the clues. I said kind of, not exactly, remember.
I really wouldn't read this in the dark, alone, before bed if I where you. I made that mistake and I seriously, the way the narrative is done, how it sounds and comes out, creeeeepppyyyyy. The narrator is kind of like me when I'm watching Game of Thrones, fully delighting in the horror, mayhem and blood. The threads of menace, and sinisterness (it's a word okay) are expertly threaded in to the narrative, it's truly a perfect horror story. The storytelling is as I said, rich, but also kind of otherworldly, I want to say Gothic because of the Victorian vibes, and there's palpable tension throughout.
Despite how mildly creeped out you can get reading it, you can't put it down, you want to keep reading, the flow and pace are perfect, the author doesn't over do anything from the explanation/description/background to the tone of the book.
The Asylum for Fairy-Tale Creatures is a charmingly surprising blend of fairy-tale, horror, fantasy and action, I can't say I've ever read anything like it before, I was creeped out, but I loved every minute of it. It may just be my new favourite book! It's truly an incredible read, that sounds kind of wacky when you first read about it, but once you've read it...it makes perfect sense!
When you really think about it, and you think about the ORIGINAL Grimm stories it makes perfect sense that our favourite fairy-tale characters would have been majorly fucked up by their experiences, and I never really thought about it from this perspective before I read this book and I'm kinda mind blown right now. While Blood Red Riding Hood is the main character, we get to see some other characters and hear their stories too.
Now, you really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, as the saying goes, and in this case that is incredibly true. Look at the cover. Look how cute and harmless it looks with it's nice bluey green colour, and it's drawing of Red behind bars and a couple thorny branches. You're looking at it, reading the blurb and thinking "okay so it's gonna be a bit out there, but it's gonna be a romp right?" WRONG.
I'm giving everyone fair warning right now, this book is kinda like a collection of "If Fairy-Tales Where Horror Movies". Y'all won't be watching Beauty and The Beast in the same way ever again. Literally, these stories have blood splattered all over them and are DARK, with a nice melancholy overtone.
SO. I was kinda expecting a dark aspect, but mostly romping humour, the horror element and the fact it was darker than I was expecting took me by surprise, and I'm still not really sure why, there where clues after all, but I was pleasantly surprised, not gonna lie.
I enjoyed the writing style, Gregory has a rich storytelling ability and as I said, it has a great melancholy feel to it. I really loved how each chapter is in a different style, it shook things up a bit, kept you on your toes, and was a source of intrigue. Slaughter and terror one moment, then aaawww teddy bear the next, with madness abounding. The creepy horror was brilliant, seriously it was! I even managed to creep myself out as wimpy as that sounds!
One of the enjoyable things about the book is all the references to everything fairy-tale you can think of, Grimm's stories, fables, nursery rhymes and so on. Seriously you sit there like "Wait.....OMG I KNOW YOU! You sly dog!" Literally looking for the references and finding them and having a little smirk at how it's been slotted in, is great fun! Kind of like watching the show Once Upon A Time in the first season and trying to work out who's who and picking up on all the clues. I said kind of, not exactly, remember.
I really wouldn't read this in the dark, alone, before bed if I where you. I made that mistake and I seriously, the way the narrative is done, how it sounds and comes out, creeeeepppyyyyy. The narrator is kind of like me when I'm watching Game of Thrones, fully delighting in the horror, mayhem and blood. The threads of menace, and sinisterness (it's a word okay) are expertly threaded in to the narrative, it's truly a perfect horror story. The storytelling is as I said, rich, but also kind of otherworldly, I want to say Gothic because of the Victorian vibes, and there's palpable tension throughout.
Despite how mildly creeped out you can get reading it, you can't put it down, you want to keep reading, the flow and pace are perfect, the author doesn't over do anything from the explanation/description/background to the tone of the book.
The Asylum for Fairy-Tale Creatures is a charmingly surprising blend of fairy-tale, horror, fantasy and action, I can't say I've ever read anything like it before, I was creeped out, but I loved every minute of it. It may just be my new favourite book! It's truly an incredible read, that sounds kind of wacky when you first read about it, but once you've read it...it makes perfect sense!
October 24, 2014
I enjoy fairytale retellings, especially when they're morbid and twisted, but this left a lot to be desired.
April 17, 2019
Twisted but kinda cool perspective on what happens after the fairytale. Fun for a quick one hour read
July 29, 2016
Vivid, Rich and Twisted
The hook here is that it is likely that most of the Grimm Fairy Tales heroes and heroines would have been driven mad by their experiences. Using a dark and forbidding asylum as his starting point the author retells the Grimm tales from the points of view of the damaged psyches of the Grimm characters, one secure padded room at a time. Red Riding Hood is the central character and eventually the story becomes just her story.
The cover art suggests that this will be a clever but mild romp. Wrong. The book can be a gruesome, blood spattered walk through the darker elements of the Grimm tales, initially told in a rich, melancholy and overwrought style reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe's unnamed narrator approaching and describing the House of Usher, (and I mean that in a good way.)
Actually,the book covers a lot of ground and each early chapter is in a slightly different style. In chapter one we meet Red Riding Hood and experience the terror of finding her grandmother slaughtered by the Wolf and of herself being attacked. But then in chapter two we have a tender story of a child haunted and comforted by her animated toy teddy bear. Then there is Thumbeana as a patch work Frankenstein child. And so it goes - horrific madness and then the gentle crumbling of sanity and then bellowing madness again.
MILD SPOILER ALERT. Eventually we focus on Red Riding Hood in the asylum. She insists there was a wolf, but everyone assumes that is a lie intended to cover up her own murder of her grandmother. At this point the book takes off in another direction. The creepy horror is toned down in favor of something more like an innocent prisoner tale, but the story is loaded with sly, witty, and knowledgeable references to every Grimm, Mother Goose, and other fable, fairy tale, or rhyme character you can remember. They are all inmates at the asylum and they and their "case histories" all make cameo appearances. (Just for good measure then are a number of bracing and edgy jokes at the expense of psychiatry.)
This book has a slightly formal, Victorian feel. It is sometimes arch and sometimes very delicate in a creeping, sinister sort of way. Many chapters feel like they are being narrated in a whisper by an unbalanced mind. In all of them, this oddly compelling and yet repellent narrator appears to delight in horror and mayhem. This is the ultimate in anti-bedtime-story.
This is a very hard trick to pull off. Creating an undercurrent of menace and suggesting terrible thrills requires a very delicate and restrained touch, where every word and phrase has to contribute to maintaining the ethereal and eldritch tone. There are points at which the narrative reads more like snatches of free verse, but the author never indulges in florid or purple lines and manages consistently to maintain the tension and otherworldliness of the story-telling. And, once we get to Red in the asylum there is great drive to the narrative, as well as a satisfying climax.
So, this was a very satisfying combination of fairy tale, fantasy action, horror story, elegant writing and clever wordplay, and Grimm reinterpretation that was entertaining and, in some hard to define way, fun.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
The hook here is that it is likely that most of the Grimm Fairy Tales heroes and heroines would have been driven mad by their experiences. Using a dark and forbidding asylum as his starting point the author retells the Grimm tales from the points of view of the damaged psyches of the Grimm characters, one secure padded room at a time. Red Riding Hood is the central character and eventually the story becomes just her story.
The cover art suggests that this will be a clever but mild romp. Wrong. The book can be a gruesome, blood spattered walk through the darker elements of the Grimm tales, initially told in a rich, melancholy and overwrought style reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe's unnamed narrator approaching and describing the House of Usher, (and I mean that in a good way.)
Actually,the book covers a lot of ground and each early chapter is in a slightly different style. In chapter one we meet Red Riding Hood and experience the terror of finding her grandmother slaughtered by the Wolf and of herself being attacked. But then in chapter two we have a tender story of a child haunted and comforted by her animated toy teddy bear. Then there is Thumbeana as a patch work Frankenstein child. And so it goes - horrific madness and then the gentle crumbling of sanity and then bellowing madness again.
MILD SPOILER ALERT. Eventually we focus on Red Riding Hood in the asylum. She insists there was a wolf, but everyone assumes that is a lie intended to cover up her own murder of her grandmother. At this point the book takes off in another direction. The creepy horror is toned down in favor of something more like an innocent prisoner tale, but the story is loaded with sly, witty, and knowledgeable references to every Grimm, Mother Goose, and other fable, fairy tale, or rhyme character you can remember. They are all inmates at the asylum and they and their "case histories" all make cameo appearances. (Just for good measure then are a number of bracing and edgy jokes at the expense of psychiatry.)
This book has a slightly formal, Victorian feel. It is sometimes arch and sometimes very delicate in a creeping, sinister sort of way. Many chapters feel like they are being narrated in a whisper by an unbalanced mind. In all of them, this oddly compelling and yet repellent narrator appears to delight in horror and mayhem. This is the ultimate in anti-bedtime-story.
This is a very hard trick to pull off. Creating an undercurrent of menace and suggesting terrible thrills requires a very delicate and restrained touch, where every word and phrase has to contribute to maintaining the ethereal and eldritch tone. There are points at which the narrative reads more like snatches of free verse, but the author never indulges in florid or purple lines and manages consistently to maintain the tension and otherworldliness of the story-telling. And, once we get to Red in the asylum there is great drive to the narrative, as well as a satisfying climax.
So, this was a very satisfying combination of fairy tale, fantasy action, horror story, elegant writing and clever wordplay, and Grimm reinterpretation that was entertaining and, in some hard to define way, fun.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
March 13, 2016
The Asylum for Fairy-tales Creatures is an surprising book which can only charm the readers by his originality. Sabastian Gregory is an author whom I don't know at all and with this novel make me want to read others of his books. When Blood Red Riding Hood becomes insane and is sent to asylum, nevertheless the teddy bears take life and that the large malicious Wolf hides under any appearance, the nightmares take the aspect of the most inoffensive stories!!
Blood Red Riding Hood is the main character of this story, although there are several others characters which tell their story, it's her that is in the center of all the troubles which will appear. At first she was only a normal young girl, courageous and loving, the violent and bloody death of her grandmother will totally change her, making her pass for insane to the everyone's eyes. Result, she is found locked up in an asylum where Doctor Grimm tries to cure her with electric shocks and other not-conventional solutions.
We obviously discovers other stories which appear under a new day, like The Story of the Three Bears, Rapunzel or the Beauty and the Beast, which are really original. I enormously appreciated the idea of completely revisited the fairy tales like some horror's movies, with trash scenes per moments, with monsters where they are not expected and the fact to recognize some characters thanks to certain hints. All our childhood's tales passed here, more than one broken myth and we won't look at a Disney never again in the same way…
This small jewel which combines at the same time horror, fantasy and fairy tale is released today and it's a true surprise. The blurb is rather intriguing, thanks to its dark and unhealthy universe. No moment we expect that such things can arrive to certain characters, nor that others are also frightening. To read and enjoy without moderation!
Blood Red Riding Hood is the main character of this story, although there are several others characters which tell their story, it's her that is in the center of all the troubles which will appear. At first she was only a normal young girl, courageous and loving, the violent and bloody death of her grandmother will totally change her, making her pass for insane to the everyone's eyes. Result, she is found locked up in an asylum where Doctor Grimm tries to cure her with electric shocks and other not-conventional solutions.
We obviously discovers other stories which appear under a new day, like The Story of the Three Bears, Rapunzel or the Beauty and the Beast, which are really original. I enormously appreciated the idea of completely revisited the fairy tales like some horror's movies, with trash scenes per moments, with monsters where they are not expected and the fact to recognize some characters thanks to certain hints. All our childhood's tales passed here, more than one broken myth and we won't look at a Disney never again in the same way…
This small jewel which combines at the same time horror, fantasy and fairy tale is released today and it's a true surprise. The blurb is rather intriguing, thanks to its dark and unhealthy universe. No moment we expect that such things can arrive to certain characters, nor that others are also frightening. To read and enjoy without moderation!
December 3, 2015
For this review and more check out my blog
A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest reivew
Sometimes I like to read something a bit dark and horrific. I like to be spooked, to be made to feel eerily uncomfortable. I like it when the hairs creep up on the back on my neck and I start to look at the darker corners of my room a little more closely. That was what I was in the mood for when I picked up The Asylum For Fairy Tale Creatures by Sebastian Gregory. It was a book that promised all of the above, that promised a dark twist on the classic fairy tales from my youth. The book delivered on some of those promises. It was grim and full of horror, in parts gross and in others creepy. But unfortunately somewhere along the road the execution of this book failed and instead of being terrified I ended up a bit bored.
I really liked the idea of this story, of taking fairy tales and turning them into horror. Sebastian Gregory did a good job of making this book dark and scary, just like I wanted. However, there were issues with the writing, a few too many mistakes to ignore. I won't judge too harshly because my copy of this book is an advances readers copy that maybe had formatting errors or hadn't been double checked yet. I just hope the mistakes didn't make it into the final copy of the book.
The main problem for this book is its lack of structure and flow. It jumped around a lot and I was never very certain if this was one story, a collection of stories or something in-between. Either way the style didn't fit with me and the lack of flow or direction ended up boring me a little and I struggled through it.
There are some nice ideas in this book and patches of great horror writing but it didn't come together into a coherent package.
July 22, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
The Asylum for Fairytale Creatures had an intriguing premise. Blood Red Riding Hood supposedly murdered her grandmother, and is taken to an asylum for fairytale creatures. She’s not the only one there though; there’s also a possessed teddybear, and Thumbeana. There are other characters as well, which in nothing resemble the Disney versions. These characters are insane or possessed, and they’re much darker than their Disney counterparts, and more reminiscent of the original fairytales.
While the premise was intriguing, and drew me to the story in the first place, I was dissapointed by the execution of the story. The writing was lyrical and descriptive, and it didn’t seem to fit the story at times. The pacing was too slow in some parts, and too fast in other parts. I couldn’t stay focused because the story felt disjointed, and I didn’t feel invested in the characters at all.
Based on the reviews, a lot of people seemed to like this book, and I agree the premise was good, so it probably just didn’t work for me. Overall, the story was dissapointing for me.
The Asylum for Fairytale Creatures had an intriguing premise. Blood Red Riding Hood supposedly murdered her grandmother, and is taken to an asylum for fairytale creatures. She’s not the only one there though; there’s also a possessed teddybear, and Thumbeana. There are other characters as well, which in nothing resemble the Disney versions. These characters are insane or possessed, and they’re much darker than their Disney counterparts, and more reminiscent of the original fairytales.
While the premise was intriguing, and drew me to the story in the first place, I was dissapointed by the execution of the story. The writing was lyrical and descriptive, and it didn’t seem to fit the story at times. The pacing was too slow in some parts, and too fast in other parts. I couldn’t stay focused because the story felt disjointed, and I didn’t feel invested in the characters at all.
Based on the reviews, a lot of people seemed to like this book, and I agree the premise was good, so it probably just didn’t work for me. Overall, the story was dissapointing for me.
June 26, 2014
ARC provided by NetGalley:
So I'm not quite sure where to start with this one. It was exactly what I was expecting and then some. It's weird, twisted, creepy, morbid, and dark. And that's what makes it such a fun read. The premise is that many of our favorite familiar fairy tale characters are actually insane and have been committed to an asylum that's run by, who else, Dr. Grimm. This is a pretty short story but the descriptions of the crazy characters mostly make up for that. There's Red Riding Hood who is suspected of killing her grandmother. There's Pinocchio who stabbed Geppetto with his long wooden nose. And on and on and on. My personal favorite is Snow White who we're led to believe is actually suffering from seven multiple personalities. Again, my only complaint about this book is that it was a bit too short and left me wanting more delicious insanity. As an aside, don't make the mistake of thinking this one's okay for youngsters. It's dark and deranged, just like the original Grimm stories were meant to be.
So I'm not quite sure where to start with this one. It was exactly what I was expecting and then some. It's weird, twisted, creepy, morbid, and dark. And that's what makes it such a fun read. The premise is that many of our favorite familiar fairy tale characters are actually insane and have been committed to an asylum that's run by, who else, Dr. Grimm. This is a pretty short story but the descriptions of the crazy characters mostly make up for that. There's Red Riding Hood who is suspected of killing her grandmother. There's Pinocchio who stabbed Geppetto with his long wooden nose. And on and on and on. My personal favorite is Snow White who we're led to believe is actually suffering from seven multiple personalities. Again, my only complaint about this book is that it was a bit too short and left me wanting more delicious insanity. As an aside, don't make the mistake of thinking this one's okay for youngsters. It's dark and deranged, just like the original Grimm stories were meant to be.
August 25, 2014
Not just another fairy-tale retelling, this novella puts an original spin on the genre. Although, at the start, it appears to be an anthology, the stories of how the characters ended up incarcerated soon intertwine into an entertaining and compelling single plot line. Much of the appeal lies in reading how different fairy-tales can be subverted into psychiatric studies. The stories are morbid and creepy rather than frightening, which was slightly disappointing as I like my Gothic horror to give me a serious chill. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, though, with enough cameos from other fairy-tale celebrity inmates to keep the reader engaged. I found the writing style uneven - perfectly paced and worded in the exposition of each story, creating a suitably macabre atmosphere, but clunky and lacking momentum in the action sequences. Otherwise recommended for anyone who wants a short, memorable and unique take on traditional tales.
November 16, 2014
What a mess. With the fantastic title and interesting premise, my major feeling after reading this was disappointment. There was just enough good writing to highlight the bad, and just enough detail to make me realize what was missing. This doesn't exactly read like a book, or even a collection of short stories. Instead, it seemed more like a summary or an outline for a larger work. Editing mistakes (or rather, lapses) abound, and the whole result is quite amateurish.
January 12, 2016
Though from the summary of the book one might think that this book is devine trust me its not.
Strip from the faity tales the whole magic think(the fairy godmother that turned the pumkin into a carriage for example)and what do you have?A girl that goes to the prince's prom wearing sticks and mud. And then she calls the birds to poke out the eyes of all that made fun of her. Yeah yeah that sounds interesting but this book could be devine. But its mediocre. I had high hopes...
Strip from the faity tales the whole magic think(the fairy godmother that turned the pumkin into a carriage for example)and what do you have?A girl that goes to the prince's prom wearing sticks and mud. And then she calls the birds to poke out the eyes of all that made fun of her. Yeah yeah that sounds interesting but this book could be devine. But its mediocre. I had high hopes...
June 27, 2014
I enjoyed the writing style, it's not like most of what you see. It has more of an old time feel to it, like if we understood the rhythm and beauty of Olde English. That's how this translates in my mind.
I enjoyed the take on the fairytales and their characters. The Beast was a nifty use of artistic license!
I enjoyed the take on the fairytales and their characters. The Beast was a nifty use of artistic license!
June 30, 2014
I really liked this crazy , morbid twist on favorite fairy tales.The writing was fluid and actually read like a fairy tale. Ever wonder what happens to some of your favorite fairy tale characters after the story ends. Read this creepy twist on well known tales and find out. I really enjoyed this , quite a different book.
August 13, 2014
I received this from NetGalley for preview.
I like a good, dark fairy tale. I like reworked fairy tales. But even that was not enough to help me like this story. The writing was shaky, at best, and even after all the major characters were introduced, I was still not interested in the tale. It just wasn't compelling to me.
I like a good, dark fairy tale. I like reworked fairy tales. But even that was not enough to help me like this story. The writing was shaky, at best, and even after all the major characters were introduced, I was still not interested in the tale. It just wasn't compelling to me.
February 15, 2016
Loved this. Dark alternative versions of fairy tales dont read this with any expectation of happy or cheerful endings but a great read. I genuinely dont see why this got such low reviews?
March 5, 2018
All bark and no bite
As soon as I saw the cover and title of this book I was intrigued. I love re-imagined fairy tales and the blub sounded great but from start to finish this read like a hot mess. It was as if the author had randomly jotted down a load of rough scenes and slapped them together in a random fashion and as a result, it was at times incredibly confusing.
With a bit more time, care and thought, this could have been something special, but as it stands it doesn't inspire me to pick up anything else by this author.
As soon as I saw the cover and title of this book I was intrigued. I love re-imagined fairy tales and the blub sounded great but from start to finish this read like a hot mess. It was as if the author had randomly jotted down a load of rough scenes and slapped them together in a random fashion and as a result, it was at times incredibly confusing.
With a bit more time, care and thought, this could have been something special, but as it stands it doesn't inspire me to pick up anything else by this author.
September 15, 2018
Confused
Seemed a bit confused about who the audience should bee. At times, the writing is quite simplistic, at times filled with horror. This is not a tale for middle school or yong teen readers.
Seemed a bit confused about who the audience should bee. At times, the writing is quite simplistic, at times filled with horror. This is not a tale for middle school or yong teen readers.
May 26, 2017
::..Reviewed for Red's Midnight Readers..::
Review to follow shortly...
Review to follow shortly...
September 14, 2020
great premise but could have been done much better.
April 13, 2015
This novella is super short and super creepy.
The Asylum For Fairy Tale Creatures takes the already pretty dark Grimms’ fairy tales and twists them even more, making them so horrific it’s no wonder the characters go mad. The main story being told is that of the traumatic experiences of Blood Red Riding Hood and her companions and their subsequent incarceration into an asylum with other fairy tale characters. This journey is used as a thread, weaving together several other tales, those of the asylum’s other fairy tale inmates and employees (though it’s hard to tell which is which at times), making this sort of a short story collection as well.
Despite the cheery cover, this book is not for the faint of heart or the easily squicked out – it gets pretty dark. How dark does it get, you wonder? Well, to give a particularly gruesome example, someone is murdered and skinned (though the murder and skinning take place off the page), and someone else wears that skin. Also, there’s a child made out of body parts collected from dismembered children who plays a pretty big role in the story. And yet, for how creepy it sounds, the writer someone manages to make it humorous and kind of, well, cute? (That little patched together child I mentioned is actually a really adorable little girl) Which only makes the whole thing more disturbing.
Uniquely creepy and disturbing, The Asylum For Fairy Tale Creatures is not for everyone, but I actually found myself liking it. If you like Grimms’ fairy tale retelling, the scarier and darker the better, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.
*I received a copy of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
The Asylum For Fairy Tale Creatures takes the already pretty dark Grimms’ fairy tales and twists them even more, making them so horrific it’s no wonder the characters go mad. The main story being told is that of the traumatic experiences of Blood Red Riding Hood and her companions and their subsequent incarceration into an asylum with other fairy tale characters. This journey is used as a thread, weaving together several other tales, those of the asylum’s other fairy tale inmates and employees (though it’s hard to tell which is which at times), making this sort of a short story collection as well.
Despite the cheery cover, this book is not for the faint of heart or the easily squicked out – it gets pretty dark. How dark does it get, you wonder? Well, to give a particularly gruesome example, someone is murdered and skinned (though the murder and skinning take place off the page), and someone else wears that skin. Also, there’s a child made out of body parts collected from dismembered children who plays a pretty big role in the story. And yet, for how creepy it sounds, the writer someone manages to make it humorous and kind of, well, cute? (That little patched together child I mentioned is actually a really adorable little girl) Which only makes the whole thing more disturbing.
Uniquely creepy and disturbing, The Asylum For Fairy Tale Creatures is not for everyone, but I actually found myself liking it. If you like Grimms’ fairy tale retelling, the scarier and darker the better, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.
*I received a copy of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
October 2, 2014
As a fan of fairytales and renditions, and of course everything insane and mental institutions - how on earth could I pass up the opportunity to read this book . Everything from the title and cover picture to the blurb screamed an awesome and funny yet intriguing book and readers this book was totally cool. The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures starts off with the introduction in each sort-of short story with a fairy tale creature and how they ended up being carted off to the mental asylum from the three blind mice who became serial killers after running around and chopping the toes off farmer's wives to Cinderella who ended up so delusional and in her head that she actually believed she was wearing a beautiful dress instead of smelly old rubbish to Little Red Riding Hood who was convinced by the Doctor's and those around her that she had made up the wolf and in fact she really was the one to kill her Grandmother. The creatures are then carted off to the Asylum where they meet the Dr. Grimm and read as they plan their escape from the Asylum as they aren't "really" crazy just misunderstood - right ? Nope , wrong - this book isn't called The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures for nothing. This book is also one that I could really see being made into either a TV series or a Movie.
July 10, 2014
'The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures' is a creepy asylum in the woods for woe-begotten folks and creatures that are the products of fairy tales. Taking the darkness of the Brothers Grimm and taking it even darker, this was an interesting look at known fairy tales.
Blood Red Riding Hood sees a wolf where her grandmother should be. Thumbeana is a doll and it's not her fault, but she should still be locked away because of the way she was made. Thread Bear is a stuffed toy that has seen sadness. There are others. All locked away so their madness can't infect the world. There are snapshot looks at Rapunzel, Beauty and Cinderella.
I wasn't sure what I was going to be reading when I requested this, but I hoped for something creepy and gothic. Sebastian Gregory's style in writing this is spot on. It's horrific, but still has the feel of classic fairy tales. I really enjoyed it.
I was given a review copy of this ebook by Carina UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this delightfully creepy ebook.
Blood Red Riding Hood sees a wolf where her grandmother should be. Thumbeana is a doll and it's not her fault, but she should still be locked away because of the way she was made. Thread Bear is a stuffed toy that has seen sadness. There are others. All locked away so their madness can't infect the world. There are snapshot looks at Rapunzel, Beauty and Cinderella.
I wasn't sure what I was going to be reading when I requested this, but I hoped for something creepy and gothic. Sebastian Gregory's style in writing this is spot on. It's horrific, but still has the feel of classic fairy tales. I really enjoyed it.
I was given a review copy of this ebook by Carina UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this delightfully creepy ebook.
July 29, 2015
more blood and twisted...
kali ini lebih banyak cerpennya. red riding hood pergi ke rumah neneknya, dan di sana ada serigala yang pake kulit neneknya dan bisa bicara. red melihat neneknya sudah dikuliti dan melemparkan panci berisi rebusan mendidih ke si serigala. red berlari pulang ke desanya, tapi penduduk desa tidak percaya ceritanya dan memanggil petugas asylum untuk membawa red. petugas menjemput dengan kereta, di dalamnya ada empat kurungan, satu kosong. Satu berisi gadis aneh yang sepertinya gabungan dari bagian2 tubuh yang berbeda bernama Tumbeana, satu lagi ada teddy bear yang bisa gerak dan bicara seperti manusia. pemimpin asylum ternyata adalah doktor Grimm. di sana sudah ada Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Pipe Piper, masing2 dengan kisah twisted yang aneh2. Ternyata si serigala ini mengejar Red sampai ke asylum.
cerita2 fairy talesnya bener2 aneh, beast yang ternyata vampir, si serigala yang ternyata werewolf, snow white yang punya kepribadian ganda...
kali ini lebih banyak cerpennya. red riding hood pergi ke rumah neneknya, dan di sana ada serigala yang pake kulit neneknya dan bisa bicara. red melihat neneknya sudah dikuliti dan melemparkan panci berisi rebusan mendidih ke si serigala. red berlari pulang ke desanya, tapi penduduk desa tidak percaya ceritanya dan memanggil petugas asylum untuk membawa red. petugas menjemput dengan kereta, di dalamnya ada empat kurungan, satu kosong. Satu berisi gadis aneh yang sepertinya gabungan dari bagian2 tubuh yang berbeda bernama Tumbeana, satu lagi ada teddy bear yang bisa gerak dan bicara seperti manusia. pemimpin asylum ternyata adalah doktor Grimm. di sana sudah ada Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Pipe Piper, masing2 dengan kisah twisted yang aneh2. Ternyata si serigala ini mengejar Red sampai ke asylum.
cerita2 fairy talesnya bener2 aneh, beast yang ternyata vampir, si serigala yang ternyata werewolf, snow white yang punya kepribadian ganda...
July 1, 2014
Dark & Twisted
I rarely read short story collections. I find that many authors seriously underestimate the skill needed to craft a masterful short story as the short form is very unforgiving.
Sebastian Gregory does not have that problem.
Each story in this little collection is dark, twisted, and exquisitely crafted. Each story is a perfect little nightmare, guaranteed to give chills. Harking back to the days when fairy tales were tales told to adults, often in the dark in front of a crackling fire, Gregory's tales are most definitely NOT for children.
While I truly loved each tale, my favorite little morsel was Thumbeana. Both grotesque and compelling, it's horror at its finest. I finished the story with a loud and admiring expletive I can't put in a review.
This is a collection I'll return to time and again. (Note: while a collection, the stories are connected and do circle back in the end.)
5 highly deserved stars!
I rarely read short story collections. I find that many authors seriously underestimate the skill needed to craft a masterful short story as the short form is very unforgiving.
Sebastian Gregory does not have that problem.
Each story in this little collection is dark, twisted, and exquisitely crafted. Each story is a perfect little nightmare, guaranteed to give chills. Harking back to the days when fairy tales were tales told to adults, often in the dark in front of a crackling fire, Gregory's tales are most definitely NOT for children.
While I truly loved each tale, my favorite little morsel was Thumbeana. Both grotesque and compelling, it's horror at its finest. I finished the story with a loud and admiring expletive I can't put in a review.
This is a collection I'll return to time and again. (Note: while a collection, the stories are connected and do circle back in the end.)
5 highly deserved stars!
September 23, 2014
Every now and then you come across a book that blows you away, this is one of those books. I loved the concept and when I started reading, I soon realised that the prose matched the story, as did the storyline.
It reminded me of a scarier Angela Carter with a combination of a traditional fairy tale and a ghost story that you’d hear sat round a camp fire.
From a writer’s perspective, there were a few errors here and there, although this was because I had an ARC rather than the finished article. The POV was not what I’d normally go for, but it worked well here and didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. It was dark, gross and frightening (3 of my favourite things) There was even one line in there that made me go cold!
The front cover is great and very attractive – with the right marketing force behind it this could do really well for the author.
Overall, I’d give this book 5 out 5 stars – you have to read it, just do it in daylight!
It reminded me of a scarier Angela Carter with a combination of a traditional fairy tale and a ghost story that you’d hear sat round a camp fire.
From a writer’s perspective, there were a few errors here and there, although this was because I had an ARC rather than the finished article. The POV was not what I’d normally go for, but it worked well here and didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. It was dark, gross and frightening (3 of my favourite things) There was even one line in there that made me go cold!
The front cover is great and very attractive – with the right marketing force behind it this could do really well for the author.
Overall, I’d give this book 5 out 5 stars – you have to read it, just do it in daylight!
March 9, 2015
I'm not sure how anyone above a fourth grade reading level could rate this book above three stars, and that would be very generous. This was the biggest mess of a book that I've ever read. There was so much potential for a great story here, but the author failed epically. It reads like a hurriedly written first draft, full of grammatical errors (missing even basic punctuation), missing words, and unfinished thoughts. The transitions were almost inexistent, leaving a giant mess that was, at times, completely incoherent. The author switched between writing styles frequently, as noted in other reviews, but I have a hard time believing that this was intentional. There were some good ideas in here, and a few creepy moments, but there is no excuse for the lack of editing. I want my $2.99 back!!!
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