Rating: 
Summary: Five excellent stories, previously hard to get
Review: "The Healer" - First appeared in Terri Windling's _Elsewhere_, volume 2. Set on the Damarian continent. Lily, eldest of a large family, was born voiceless, though she and those who loved her learned to communicate by setting meanings to the birdsong she could whistle. The birds themselves came only to Lily's hands, though, and it was in Lily's presence that fevers broke and animals quieted while giving birth. So Lily apprenticed to Jolin, the healer serving Rhungill and the villages round about, and only one person cared that Lily couldn't talk - Lily herself. So when a chance-met stranger on the road answered Lily's thoughts with mindspeech, seeking an inn thereabouts, Lily brought him to the spare room at Jolin's, where travellers always put up, and hoped he might stay awhile.Sahath, too, is sorely wounded by the lack of something - a mage who lost the greater part of his mage-strength years ago, when it drained away on a battlefield as armies lay dying at his feet. He's been wandering without a destination ever since. Has he found safe harbour at Jolin's? Are Lily and Jolin right to trust him? Can he or Lily find a way to regain what he lost and she never had? "The Stagman" - First appeared in _Elsewhere_, volume 3. Set on the Damarian continent. Ruen grew up in her uncle's unkindly shadow after her parents died, leaving him as her Regent. He kept her isolated, and as uneducated as he dared, longing to take the throne in his own right but not wishing to make a martyr of her with murder. So in the days leading up to Ruen's eighteenth nameday, when she should have come into her queenship, the Regent uses his self-taught magery to create false signs and portents that will give him an excuse to do away with her. Then a *real* portent appears, and the monster he proposes to sacrifice Ruen to turns out to be something unexpected. I'm quite fond of this story, which explores the problem of how a princess would really react who was duty-bound to rule a country that would have seen her murdered by her uncle without a second thought, and duty-bound to marry a 'proper' husband who doesn't really care about her as a person. Ruen is quiet but strong; as Luthe says of her later, when discussing the Regent, "Only a real queen would describe that poison-worm as only 'not entirely honourable.'" "Touk's House" - First appeared in the anthology _Faery!_, edited by Terri Windling. May be set on the Damarian continent, but possibly not. At first, the story may sound like a retelling of Rapunzel, but it isn't. The local leech, who isn't very good, recommends a certain herb to cure the fever of a certain woodcutter's youngest daughter, so the woodcutter tries to steal it from the herb garden of a witch in the forest. When the witch, Maugie, catches him and questions him, she gives him the herb he *really* needs, but at a price: his next daughter is to be brought to her, to be raised as her apprentice. Maugie always wanted a daughter and someone to teach her herb lore to, and Erana is a fine daughter, but she doesn't have Maugie's 'green fingers'. She grows up happy with her adopted family: not only Maugie, but Maugie's son, Touk. Maugie's late husband was a northern troll, so Touk lives alone in and around a pool in the forest rather than in Maugie's own house. (Erana likes to badger him about that.) For Erana's fifteenth birthday, Touk presents her with a stick, to be laid as the first log of his new house, now that he finally not only wants one, but wants to build one. "Buttercups" - Set on the Damarian continent, though no mages, princesses, or dragons appear. The person whose heart is caught in a spell of winter is Pos, an elderly farmer whose heartbreak on the death of his wife many years ago never really healed. His heart finally begins to thaw when one day he meets Coral, whose odd family is new to the village. (Each actually notices the other's horse before noticing the rider - Coral's horse is an unusually fine animal.) But Pos worries about why such a vibrant young woman would take notice of an old grumbler - or rather, if an old grumbler can keep her if he wins her hand in marriage. "A Knot in the Grain" - Set in this world. Annabelle's parents, now that she's the only child left at home, have been plotting their retirement for the last couple of years, with a target of moving to a smaller house upstate by the time she's 16, so she'll have at least two years in her new school. (They got the house for a song: "Not even a song. A sort of warm-up exercise, like Czerny before you tackle the Beethoven sonata." "The Beethoven sonata is what it'll cost us to fix it up." But their family likes challenges, as a rule.) Annabelle takes her time about finding OK things about the move, while nursing her sorrow at leaving all her friends. An excuse to break up with her tiresome old boyfriend was actually one of the OK things. So is the view from her new attic room. While tracing the woodgrain of one of the beams, trying not to cry after getting a letter from her best friend, she finds something her eyes didn't detect: a trapdoor, leading to another attic, with several odd things about it...
Rating: 
Summary: McKinley Should Stick To What She Does Best.
Review: "A Knot in the Grain," was, in a nutshell, rather disappointing. I had never before thought of Robin McKinley as an author of short stories, and my opinion has not yet changed. This collection contains five short stories which are sadly not up to her standard. I just don't think she has what it takes. The stories, to an extent, all have potential. The ideas are fresh and original. McKinley could have expanded on them all, creating novels. The stories had such a broad aura crammed into about 50 pages that it was almost suffocating to read. The only things that redeemed this book was McKinley's talent of prose and the story "Buttercups", which was an absolute gem. Still, it wasn't enough. I think McKinley should just head back to her word processor and write us some more novels!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful simplicity
Review: .... The collection's strength is the brevity and clarity of the stories, echoing the style of the true fairy tale but lending each tale a moral complexity which the transcribers of fairy tales often chose to deliberately overlook. I particularly appreciated the second story (about the Stagman), a bittersweet tale of the conflict between duty and personal inclination. This is a common theme for McKinley; for lengthier treatments of it, see "The Stolen Princess" in _A Door in the Hedge_, or if you are brave read _Deerskin_, a very different tale of a princess who begins in a painfully similar situation. Lest I be thought overly partial, I will add that I did not particularly care for the final story with the modern setting: not only was it jarringly juxtaposed, but the characterization was weaker and the writing less lyrical. It has been McKinley's only published work set in the "real" world. Just as classic fairy tales are often directed at younger readers, not because they lack value but because their style enables them to transmit that value *even* to younger readers, so I would suggest that this book makes an excellent introduction to modern fantasy for young or hesitant readers who are not *quite* ready for lengthier reading. But it should not be overlooked by any reader who appreciates good fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful simplicity
Review: .... The collection's strength is the brevity and clarity of the stories, echoing the style of the true fairy tale but lending each tale a moral complexity which the transcribers of fairy tales often chose to deliberately overlook. I particularly appreciated the second story (about the Stagman), a bittersweet tale of the conflict between duty and personal inclination. This is a common theme for McKinley; for lengthier treatments of it, see "The Stolen Princess" in _A Door in the Hedge_, or if you are brave read _Deerskin_, a very different tale of a princess who begins in a painfully similar situation. Lest I be thought overly partial, I will add that I did not particularly care for the final story with the modern setting: not only was it jarringly juxtaposed, but the characterization was weaker and the writing less lyrical. It has been McKinley's only published work set in the "real" world. Just as classic fairy tales are often directed at younger readers, not because they lack value but because their style enables them to transmit that value *even* to younger readers, so I would suggest that this book makes an excellent introduction to modern fantasy for young or hesitant readers who are not *quite* ready for lengthier reading. But it should not be overlooked by any reader who appreciates good fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: A Knot in the Book
Review: As an ardent fan of McKinley's books, most especially her "A Door in the Hedge," I was eager to buy and read another collection of her original fairy tales. However, "A Knot in the Grain," although good to read, like eating thick honey for a week, lacked in subtle substinence. "The Healer," the story of a mute girl who finds love in a telepathic ex-mage, began in a promising manner - using phrases like, "the creaky place that might once have been his heart," and so on - but ends strangely, with them returning to the village and some sense that a deeper meaning was intended but not, at least by me, realised. "The Stagman," as others have noticed before me, was particularly head-scratch-worthy, dealing with a cruel Regent-uncle, the girl who should be Queen and does not know how, a prince who likes to hunt, and the elusive stagman who, apparently, the Queen leaves her kingdom, husband and four children for...what? Why? HOW? "Touk's House" can be seen as an interesting 'take' on the Rapunzel legend, but ends with the message that kings are rotten and trolls (TROLLS! ) are lovable. Again, the ending is confusing, since the images cast upon us feel as though they ought to be wrought with great significance. "Buttercups" is perhaps the best story, structurally, following the wedding of a farmer to a girl twenty years his junior, and their marital struggles. The last story, from which the title of the book takes its name, is not quite as bad as the previous reviews had led me to believe. The story is a snippet of a modern girl's life, dealing not so much with the knot as with a magical wishing box she finds. However, it's only a snippet of her life and leaves several threads dangling. All in all, fans of McKinley will probably want to buy this book if only for her voice and not as much for her pat plots. "A Knot in the Grain" is not a poor book, it merely isn't her best.
Rating:
Summary: A Knot in the Book
Review: As an ardent fan of McKinley's books, most especially her "A Door in the Hedge," I was eager to buy and read another collection of her original fairy tales. However, "A Knot in the Grain," although good to read, like eating thick honey for a week, lacked in subtle substinence. "The Healer," the story of a mute girl who finds love in a telepathic ex-mage, began in a promising manner - using phrases like, "the creaky place that might once have been his heart," and so on - but ends strangely, with them returning to the village and some sense that a deeper meaning was intended but not, at least by me, realised. "The Stagman," as others have noticed before me, was particularly head-scratch-worthy, dealing with a cruel Regent-uncle, the girl who should be Queen and does not know how, a prince who likes to hunt, and the elusive stagman who, apparently, the Queen leaves her kingdom, husband and four children for...what? Why? HOW? "Touk's House" can be seen as an interesting 'take' on the Rapunzel legend, but ends with the message that kings are rotten and trolls (TROLLS! ) are lovable. Again, the ending is confusing, since the images cast upon us feel as though they ought to be wrought with great significance. "Buttercups" is perhaps the best story, structurally, following the wedding of a farmer to a girl twenty years his junior, and their marital struggles. The last story, from which the title of the book takes its name, is not quite as bad as the previous reviews had led me to believe. The story is a snippet of a modern girl's life, dealing not so much with the knot as with a magical wishing box she finds. However, it's only a snippet of her life and leaves several threads dangling. All in all, fans of McKinley will probably want to buy this book if only for her voice and not as much for her pat plots. "A Knot in the Grain" is not a poor book, it merely isn't her best.
Rating:
Summary: 4/5 were good
Review: I liked all of the stories except for A Knot in the Grain. I think it was wonderful how she interwove 2/4 of the good stories (the Healer and the Stagman) they had intertwining characters that delighted me. Also, i like the fact that both those stories had characters that were connected to some of her other books like The Hero and the Crown, and The Blue Sword. All in all i thought that it was wonderful that she gave more backround and familiarity with characters from her other books. I thought that the REpunzal story was a different way to put things and to show that love comes in all forms and i loved the simplicity and purity of the story. Buttercups was a moving story that is well worthy of any praise and i loved it ( although not as much as the healer). A Knot in the Grain was a surprise however and somewhat dissapointing. It was too distant because it had no backround and wasnt connected to any other stories that i know of. She didn't let you know the characters like usual and the character wasn't strong enough that the distance would allow for it. But if any one wants to read a good story start with the hero and the crown and then move on to the Blue Sword :) they were the best of hers ive read so far (which isnt saying a lot :)
Rating:
Summary: Great reading but not enough!
Review: I love "The Blue Sword" and "Hero and the Crown" so was very anxious to read anything and everything related to Damar that I could find, and this book fit the bill. My only complaint is that the stories are just snippits. Each story felt like it wanted to be it's own full-length book and I would have bougth every one of them!
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Collection that Represents McKinley's Art
Review: I was impressed by Robin McKinley's beautiful stories. I am more pleased by the beauty and composition of words along the way than the plots of these stories. Robin McKinley does create airy, ethereal settings in these tales, but as others have mentioned, they are left a little loose. What matters to me is why McKinley wrote these stories so; hopefully she intended to leave them with strings dangling and not because she "didn't want to write anymore"! I was fond of her retelling of Raphunzel (sp) and "Buttercups". I feel that those two stories were the most enchanting and fulfilling. I enjoy her tales because she can develop such a complex and beautiful plot without bringing in many characters or settings. The one place she chooses to write about seems to represent the whole world. I am now reading her earlier collection of short stories titled "The Door in the Hedge", which seems to be constructed more gracefully. "A Knot in the Grain" really does not deserve negative criticism; McKinley is a notable author who is allowed to experiment with different writing styles. Her "Beauty" is one of my favorite stories. She is able to travel deep into her character's minds and express things as no one else can. I admire her soft but powerful stories - stories that are neither weak or adventurous, ones that reveal just enough so the reader can understand. I think her style carries on into absolutely every piece she creates, and that is a priceless thing.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Collection that Represents McKinley's Art
Review: I was impressed by Robin McKinley's beautiful stories. I am more pleased by the beauty and composition of words along the way than the plots of these stories. Robin McKinley does create airy, ethereal settings in these tales, but as others have mentioned, they are left a little loose. What matters to me is why McKinley wrote these stories so; hopefully she intended to leave them with strings dangling and not because she "didn't want to write anymore"! I was fond of her retelling of Raphunzel (sp) and "Buttercups". I feel that those two stories were the most enchanting and fulfilling. I enjoy her tales because she can develop such a complex and beautiful plot without bringing in many characters or settings. The one place she chooses to write about seems to represent the whole world. I am now reading her earlier collection of short stories titled "The Door in the Hedge", which seems to be constructed more gracefully. "A Knot in the Grain" really does not deserve negative criticism; McKinley is a notable author who is allowed to experiment with different writing styles. Her "Beauty" is one of my favorite stories. She is able to travel deep into her character's minds and express things as no one else can. I admire her soft but powerful stories - stories that are neither weak or adventurous, ones that reveal just enough so the reader can understand. I think her style carries on into absolutely every piece she creates, and that is a priceless thing.
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