Pandora's Closet [Paperback]

Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Jean Rabe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2007

Nineteen original tales of the pandora legend-as no one has ever imagine it before.

When Pandora's Box was opened, so the ancient tale goes, all the evils that would beset humanity were released into the world. When the box was all but empty, the only thing that remained was hope. Now some of fantasy's finest writers have taken on the task of opening Pandora's closet. It is naturally chock full of an assortment of items, including a ring that can bring its wearer infinite health, a special helmet found in the most unlikely of places, a mysterious box that holds a legendary piece of cloth, and a red hoodie that transforms a woman's world. These stories are of items claimed by people, but only at their own peril. After indulging in these stories, readers will certainly look at their own closets in a whole new light.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When Pandora's box was opened, all the evils of the world escaped. Only hope was left. The lady also had a closet, it seems, filled with strange shoes, jewelry, and garments, some useful, some beautiful, and others best not touched. Nineteen writers give us stories about some of the items stored in it, such as the Rhinegold, the accursed gold ring that generates wealth (Timothy Zahn's "The Ring"); Dorothy Gale's (i.e., the Wicked Witch of the East's) ruby slippers (Louise Marley's "Technicolor"); a direly inspirational outer garment (Joe Masdon's "Jack's Mantle"); and 16 other magical items of adornment—and the costs of wearing them. Of generally high quality, the stories are most impressive for their variety. They do, however, rather induce the urge to clean one's closet and squelch the impulse to browse garage sales. Murray, Frieda

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: DAW (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756404371
• ISBN-13: 978-0756404376
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's in Your Closet?, December 30, 2007

By 

Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pandora's Closet (Paperback)

Pandora's Closet is an interesting theme anthology that explores clothing and accessories which have some significance or enchantment that changes the fate of the possessor. The stories range from the probable to the fantastic, and together they weave an eclectic, yet marvelous tapestry of tales. It is a very evenly made anthology in that there seems to be stories for everyone's tastes. "Jack's Mantle" by Joe Madson is so blood chilling I had goose bumps for over an hour, and "The Travails of Princess Stephen" by Jane Lindskold is a modern fairy tale that soft and sweet. "What Quig Found" by Chris Pierson had me smiling and cheering out loud, and turned out to be my favorite story of the book.

A complete list of the stories is: **The Ring by Timothy Zahn **What Quig Found by Chris Pierson **Technicolor by Louise Marley **Loin Cloth by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moestra **Seamless by Michael A. Stackpole **Ancestral Armor by John Helphers **The Opposite of Solid by Linda P. Baker **The Travails of Princess Stephen by Jane Lindskold **The Lady in Red by A.M. Strout **Another Exciting Adventure of Lightning Merriemouse-Jones: A Touching Ghost Story by Belle Holder and Nancy Holder **Revolution: Number 9 by Judi Rohrig **Curosry Review by Donald J, Bingle **Jack's Mantle by Joe Madson **Irrestible by Yvonne Coats **Seebohm's Cap by Peter Schweighofer **Cake and Candy by Kelly Swails **A Clean Getaway by Keith R.A. DeCandido **Off the Rack by Elizabeth A. Vaughn **The Red Shoes by Sarah Zettle

All in all, the quality of the stories is consistently good with only a few, short exceptions. The stories keep you turning pages without knowing if your story will be chilling, sweet, funny, or thoughtful. Many prominent items and accessories throughout history make appearances here, from the Mantle of Don Quixote to Dorothy's famous red shoes just to name a few. Even the `ordinary' items in the stories will have you looking at your thrift store finds and hand-me-downs in a whole new light.

Over all, this is a well done anthology and it would make the perfect addition to your short story collection, or a great vacation book to take along on a trip.

Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pandora's Closet Review, September 1, 2009

By 

Unagi Sushi "anniegoose" (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pandora's Closet (Paperback)

I LOVE this book! In fact, it is in the reading room [our bathroom] at the moment, and I have just finished it for the second, third, or fourth time.

Pandora's Closet is a collection of short stories that are very interesting, to say the least. The book is sub-titled '19 brand-new stories that take the Pandora legend to a whole new level.' Each of the stories is written by a different fantasy writer.

Two of my favourites are 'Technicolor' by Louise Marley, which is a re-telling, of a sorts, of The Wizard of Oz's Dorothy. I would say more about this one, but I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. You'll just have to get the book and read it!

My other favourite story is 'The Travails of Princess Stephen' by Jane Lindskold and is about an extraordinary wedding dress.

The book is a delight, which is why I keep going back to it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hits and Misses in this Collection, December 10, 2009

By 

Steven Woodcock "Ferretman" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pandora's Closet (Paperback)

A big fan of fantasy and science fiction collections, I definitely found this one to be a bit mixed. There are a bunch of stories here--20 I think--but I found them very uneven. I found myself skipping approximately every other one in search of something that worked better for me. Of course that's a strength of this particular format--in any collection it's easy to move on to the next one if a given story doesn't work for you.

Recommended for the completist or if you're a fan of this particular subject, but otherwise a limited interest item.