Six-Gun Snow White - SFBA Book Club

Paperback, 160 pages

English language

Published Nov. 10, 2015 by Saga Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-4814-4473-6
OCLC Number:: 903511026
ISFDB ID:: 1720807
Goodreads:: 24885610

(1 review)

Six-Gun Snow White is a 2013 fantasy novella by Catherynne M. Valente, retelling the story of Snow White in a mythical version of the Old West. It was published by Subterranean Press.

A New York Times bestselling author offers a brilliant reinvention of one of the best-known fairy tales of all time with Snow White as a gunslinger in the mythical Wild West.

Forget the dark, enchanted forest. Picture instead a masterfully evoked Old West where you are more likely to find coyotes as the seven dwarves. Insert into this scene a plain-spoken, appealing narrator who relates the history of our heroine’s parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. Although her mother’s life ended as hers began, so begins a remarkable tale: equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born …

Six-Gun Snow White is a 2013 fantasy novella by Catherynne M. Valente, retelling the story of Snow White in a mythical version of the Old West. It was published by Subterranean Press.

A New York Times bestselling author offers a brilliant reinvention of one of the best-known fairy tales of all time with Snow White as a gunslinger in the mythical Wild West.

Forget the dark, enchanted forest. Picture instead a masterfully evoked Old West where you are more likely to find coyotes as the seven dwarves. Insert into this scene a plain-spoken, appealing narrator who relates the history of our heroine’s parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. Although her mother’s life ended as hers began, so begins a remarkable tale: equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. Filled with fascinating glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West, this is an utterly enchanting story…at once familiar and entirely new.

4 editions

Lazyreader@bookrastinating.com reviewed Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

So much potential

4 stars

Loved the writing style, sharp, descriptive, and despite speaking in a slangy 1800's vernacular, it didn't feel forced.

This is a novella and I feel like that screwed the pacing up. There were tons of interesting details at the beginning of the story and I got invested in the characters. But as it went on the point of view shifted from first person to third person, and the pace of the story got faster and faster, but not in a measured way leading up to a showdown. In fact things just fizzled out weirdly at the end, like the author lost interest. Loose ends were left dangling.

Four stars just for the cool opening chapters though. I'm going to go see if the author has written any longer works.

Lists

Locus Award for Best Novella