Book Reviews and More: Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man

Tuesday, 20 August 2024

Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man - Cedar Sanderson

Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man

Cedar Sanderson

Stonycroft Publishing

ASIN B006W1CXA6

Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man - Cedar Sanderson

This is the nineteenth volume by Sanderson that I have read. It all started with her piece in the anthology Cracked: An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories, which I had picked up because of being a fan of 2 other contributors. But after reading that first story by Sanderson I knew I had to track down and read more from her pen. And to date, they have all been excellent reads, often leaving you wanting more. I had picked this one while researching for a different review. It is one of many in her back catalogue that I had not read yet. I was intrigued as soon as I saw the cover. The day I picked this up I grabbed two other older volumes from Sanderson. This was the second of the three I have read. It is an excellent and well worth the read.

The description of this volume states:

“A short story retelling the classic tale, where little Red Riding Hood carries a shotgun and the Wolf may not be all bad. It is Grandmother, or as she is known in her native Russian, Babushka, who has the biggest secret of them all…”

Sanderson does an amazing job in this story retelling a tail, I mean tale we all know in one or more formats. There is also mentions and hints at other fairy tales and legends contained within this excellent story.

This story opens with these words:

“Russe swept the hood of her cardinal off her head impatiently. In the windless forest she no longer needed the warmth, and it interfered with her peripheral vision. The ancient design of the cardinal cloak, which lent its name to the bird of the same color, still served her as well as it had the first settlers in this country. She hitched the packbasket she wore underneath it into a more comfortable position, and scanned the open woods for movement. At this time of year, with the ground frozen hard and most of the browse eaten, movement in the trees might well mean a starving wolf-pack. She carried a shotgun, of course, but it would mean little if there were too many of them.”

Her grandmother states about the creature that followed her:

“Babushka shrugged. “He comes and goes. I have rarely spoken to him, but I knew he was there. I leave him a bit of vegetables in the basket at the gate once in a while, and in return he leaves me a piece of venison, or a fish. Like Baba Yaga, he is one best kept at a distance, but a peaceful distance.””

But to find out if he is friend or foe and the long family history in the forest you will need to read this wonderful story. Though to be honest it will leave you wanting more, more of grandma’s story, more of the wolf-man’s story and more of Russe’s story after these events.

Writing short stories is a very different art then writing novels. Sanderson seems to be a master of short stories, novellas, and novels. I have read many of her works under both her name and her alter ego Lilania Begley. This was another of her offerings that took me by surprise and one I absolutely loved. As soon as I finished it I put it back in the ‘to be read’ pile to circle back and read it again. But I have about 2 dozen of her works I have not read and nearly that many contributions to other anthologies, and this is not even counting books or anthologies she has illustrated. So it might take me a while to circle back. That being said, I can easily recommend this story and honestly everything I have read from Sanderson’s masterful pen!

Books by Cedar Sanderson:

Lab Gremlins

Warp Resonance

The Dwarf's Dryad

One-Eyed Dragon

Memories of the Abyss

Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man

The Violet Mouse

Stargazer

The Eternity Symbiote

Plant Life

Sugar Skull