Once Upon a Parsec: The Book of Alien Fairy Tales

by David Gullen (Editor), Adrian Tchaikovsky, Paul Di Filippo

Have you ever wondered what the fairy tales of alien cultures are like? For hundreds of years scholars and writers have collected and retold folk and fairy stories from around our world. They are not alone. On distant planets alien chroniclers have done the same. For just as our world is steeped in legends and half-remembered truths of the mystic and the magical, so are theirs.

Now, for the first time, we can share some of these tales with you…

1. Introduction – David Gullen
2. The Little People – Una McCormack
3. Lost in the Rewilding – Paul Di Filippo
4. Goblin Autumn – Adrian Tchaikovksy
5. Myths of Sisyphus – Allen Ashley
6. The Land of Grunts and Squeaks – Chris Beckett
7. The Blood Rose – Susan Oke
8. Starfish – Liz Williams
9. The Raveller’s Tale – Neil Williamson
10. The Tiny Traveller – Aliya Whiteley
11. The Tale of Suyenye the Wise, the Ay, and the People of the Shining Land – Gaie Sebold
12. Wanderlust – Kim Lakin-Smith
13. Pale Sister – Jaine Fenn
14. Alpha42 and the Space Hermits – Stephen Oram
15. The Teller and the Starborn – Peter Sutton
16. The Winternet – Ian Whates
17. The Awakening – Bryony Pearce
18. About the Authors

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2019

About the author

My latest novel, The Girl from a Thousand Fathoms, was published in early 2020. Other books includes Third Instar from Eibonvale Press, and my alternative-present-day SF novel Shopocalypse. I’ve edited three anthologies, including Once Upon a Parsec:The Book of Alien Fairy Tales.
I’ve sold over 40 short stories to various magazines and anthologies. My short story, Warm Gun, won the BFS Short Story Competition in 2016 and other work has been short-listed for the James White Award and placed in the Aeon Award.
I’m also a past judge for the Arthur C. Clarke and James White Awards, and the current Chair of the Milford SF Conference.
I was born in Africa, baptised by King Neptune, and raised in England. I live in South London with the fantasy writer Gaie Sebold behind several tree ferns.

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a collection of fairy tales told by non-human cultures, in some of which humans are the villains. Some good stuff here, most memorable being the very first story, "The Little People" by Una McCormack, and my personal favourite, "The Land of Grunts and Squeaks", by Chris Beckett, in which a formerly telepathic race loses that power and has to learn to communicate with sounds.

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

While I did enjoy many of the stories in Once Upon a Parsec, I'm afraid this collection falls short when it comes to a captivating hook in each story, which made engagement difficult. I doubt I will remember many of these after moving on to future reads.

[Caroline Mersey]

Read for BFS Short Fiction Anthology Award category.

[Jonas Lindeløv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the 17 short stories, I really liked three and many were OK. They are not all about aliens and not all fairytale-like, so the title is a bit of a stretch.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Full disclosure: I received this book in exchange for an honest review**
A collection of short stories, science fiction, and fantasy that are supposed to reflect fairytales from alien cultures.

All anthologies are a mixed bag of hit or miss stories, but overall I did enjoy most of them. However, I am not sure I can say it succeeded in its goal as only a couple of the stories felt like fairytales to me.
The three stories that, to me felt the most like fairytales were "The Land of Grunts and Squeaks" by Chris Beckett, "The Ravellers Tale" by Neil Williamson, and "The Tiny Traveler" by Aliya Whiteley.

A story that effected me strongly, perhaps the most out of all of the stories was "The Blood Rose" by Susan Oke. I can't say why fully without giving spoilers so all I will say is, it made me uncomfortable, angry, and unhappy with the ending...and I think those were the reasons it has stayed in my mind long after reading it and the reason it is such a successful story. I kind of regret reading it, but I'm also glad that I did.
Not many stories make me feel this way.

I would recommend this collection for anyone looking for stories that are different from most anthologies, and I am hoping to read more from many of these authors.

[Cheryl Montgomery-Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I received an ARC of this book, I have made an independent decision to post this review. There are 16 alien "fairy tales" in this volume. I loved reading this book and some were standout stories!