Review of Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019) — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This collection of 18 stories was my first introduction to the subgenres of dieselpunk and decopunk. Parrish in her editorial introduction defines diesel- and decopunk in opposition to steampunk (the characteristic difference between them being time-period), but this approach only works for a reader who already has a comfortable grasp on steampunk — something I’m not sure I yet have. What makes a story “-punk”? I wasn’t sure before I started reading, and I’m not sure I had any better an idea by the time I was done.
Does this mean I felt the anthology failed? No. As a collection of interesting stories with a strong fairy-tale influence (stronger in some stories than others, but overall the inspiration was obvious), overall I enjoyed reading it. I think that there is a lot of “scope for the imagination”, as Anne Shirley would say, in setting stories in the 1915-1945 era, and further that the World Wars, with important roles that Germany played in both, provide a unique perspective on retellings of what are ultimately very German fairy tales. (Not that all the fairy-tale inspirations in the book come from Grimm, but the Grimms’ tales lend themselves well to transposition of setting in this way). That being said, I did feel that the quality of the stories was uneven — some more successful than others in both plot and presentation. Were any of them bad? No. Was the entire collection outstanding? Alas, no also.
As usual, we’ll review each story individually, and link each back here when the review is posted:
- “Circles and Salt” by Sara Cleto
- “Salvage” by A. A. Medina
- “The Loch” by Zannier Alejandra
- “Evening Chorus” by Lizz Donnelly
- “To Go West” by Laura VanArendonk Baugh
- “Bonne Chance Confidential” by Jack Bates
- “늑대 – The Neugdae” by Juliet Harper
- “The Rescue of Tresses Malone” by Alena Van Arendonk
- “Daughters of Earth and Air” by Robert E. Vardeman
- “Easy as Eating Pie” by Amanda C. Davis
- “Accidents are Not Possible” by Sarah Van Goethem
- “A Princess, a Spy, and a Dwarf Walked into a Bar Full of Nazis” by Patrick Bollivar
- “Steel Dragons of a Luminous Sky” by Brian Trent
- “Ramps and Rocket” by Alicia K Anderson
- “As The Spindle Burns” by Nellie K. Neves
- “Make This Water No Deeper” by Blake Jessop
- “One Hundred Years” by Jennifer R. Donohue
- “Things Forgotten on the Cliffs of Avevig” by Wendy Nikel
SFF Reviews 
[…] Review of Sara Cleto, “Circles in Salt” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 4-14 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of A. A. Medina, “Salvage” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 15-19 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Zannier Alejandra, “The Loch” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 20-41 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Lizz Donnelly, “Evening Chorus” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 42-51 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Laura VanArendonk Baugh, “To Go West” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 52-76 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Jack Bates, “Bonne Chance Confidential” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 77-100 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Juliet Harper, “늑대 – The Neugdae” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 101-108 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Alena Van Arendonk, “The Rescue of Tresses Malone” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 109-131 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Robert E. Vardeman, “Daughters of Earth and Air” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 132-149 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Amanda C. Davis, “Easy As Eating Pie” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 150-159 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Sarah Van Goethem, “Accidents Are Not Possible” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 160-183 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Patrick Bollivar, “A Princess, a Spy, and a Dwarf Walked Into a Bar Full of Nazis” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 184-200 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Brian Trent, “Steel Dragons of a Luminous Sky” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 201-219 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Alicia K. Anderson, “Ramps and Rockets” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 220-233 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Nellie K. Neves, “As the Spindle Burns” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 234-256 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Blake Jessop, “Make This Water No Deeper” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 257-274 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Jennifer R. Donohue, “One Hundred Years” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 275-287 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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[…] Review of Wendy Nikel, “Things Forgotten On the Cliffs of Avevig” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 288-292 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.) […]
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