Marquise's Reviews > Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga

This is the second anthology of Baba Yaga retellings I've read in my life, and my favourite because of the number of stories, the quality output, and above all the diversity of interpretations of the tale's plot and characterisations of the eponymous witch from Slavic mythology.

The Baba Yaga you'll encounter in this collection, or rather the Baba Yagas, is both traditional and atypical, ancient and modern, Slavic and of other ethnicities, lives both in Russia and outside. Sometimes, she's young and other times she's old as dirt. Sometimes she is pretty and other times has revolting looks. Sometimes she's heroic and subversive, and other times she's villainous and oppressive. Sometimes she's on her own in the world, born of some mysterious magical miasma, and other times she has a family, sisters, and yes, a love, too.

I'm just astounded at the variety and colourfulness of interpretations! Of course, with 23 stories by as many authors, it was to happen. But not a guarantee, because anthologies suffer from inconsistent quality: the diamonds are right there side by side with the pebbles, and sometimes there's more pebbles overall. Not in this anthology, all authors were completely new to me and, I'm guessing, some are newcomers to writing, but whoever was in charge of editorial duties deserves a nod for their efforts. I can't think of a story I didn't like, though naturally there were some I absolutely loved above the rest.

Those stories, the best in my view, were:

OF MOONLIGHT AND MOSS by Sara Tantlinger
5 stars
Very atypical in its choice of heroine, because instead of Vasilisa as is the norm in the original folktales, it's her sister, Daria, who gets to tell it all. The twist at the end was unexpected, but also left me feeling that this story needed to be longer. You can imagine what will come afterwards for Daria and Baba Yaga, but you still wish to read it, especially because of how promising her future looks. Could the author expand this or post a sequel? I hope.

WATER LIKE BROKEN GLASS by Carina Bissett
5 stars
In the other anthology of Baba Yaga stories, there was also a retelling set in WWII just like this story by Bissett, which made me pause and check if it was the same. It isn't. And the plotline is also different, with a different standpoint, and, to me, much more original and intriguing. But also far more tragic and dark. The story isn't narrated by Baba Yaga either, but by a rusalka. And I can't say more without spoiling it big time.
The ending, though! I'm starting to sense a pattern of abrupt endings and endings that beg for a continuation, and honestly this story merits a full novel far more than any others in the collection that also have this potential.

HERALD THE KNIGHT by Mercedes M. Yardley
5 stars
My most favourite and the bestest of 'em all! Why? Baba Yaga falls in love in this one. Enough said. The short story is perfect as is, to me, and I'm pretty happy with it as is.

The rest of the stories also have something to offer, some are very unique, like the story told from the POV of Baba Yaga's house. Yes, the wandering house tells its side of the story, too. And there's also retellings that aren't "pure" Baba Yaga tales but have mixed in other fairy tales, so you'll be noticing drops of "Hänsel and Gretel," for example. There's even a story where the Baba Yaga is a nice old lady that speaks with a Southern US accent. Some authors have chosen fun settings, as I had mentioned, and that's paid off nicely, but you won't be missing traditional Slavic settings because they're here as well. Some did need a few editorial corrections, like when an author doesn't use the feminine version of names in Russian ("Babushka Ivanov"? She should be Ivanova) and other little rough edges to smooth out before release.

I give 4 stars for the entire anthology, and 5 stars to the three stories I singled out. I'd recommend this to all those craving Eastern European retellings, with a heads up that a lot of the stories are in the Horror genre, in case you're not into that.

Thank you to Black Spot Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.