"A wonderful, gloomy and welcome addition to the Aesopic corpus. The stories have been re-written in a spiky, contemporary style... The content of these pessimistic stories is thought-provoking but what makes the collection absolutely delightful is the vigor and originality of Carlo Gébler's writing. The illustrations by Gavin Weston are likewise magnificent."

This repackaging of [Aesop's] fables by Carlo Gébler and illustrator Gavin Weston is a reminder that adult minds were originally the target of this litany of pocket-sized parables ... There is very much a feeling here of the ancient sound-tracking the alarmingly present. ??

Scary new versions of ancient morality tales, Aesop's Fables, with stings in all their tails [...] are full of adult wisdom, human misfortune and bitter experiences, which, because they happen to other people, are hilarious.

Intended for adult readers, this new compilation of these ancient fables from writer Gébler (The Wing Orderly's Tales) and illustrator Weston (Harmattan) is relentlessly dark and biting, with many tales revealing hard truths uncannily apposite to the inequalities of today's world. Retelling the fables in modern vernacular, Gébler organizes the 190 myths into chapters dealing with particular human foibles and frailties, concentrating on the imbalance between the powerful and the powerless, and the ways in which greed, selfishness, and pride harm both the innocent bystander and the guilty party. Perhaps the most affecting and relatable entries are those dealing with the random cruelty of fate, often represented by the malicious fancies of supernatural agents, and Gébler packs an emotional gut-punch into each spare, succinct paragraph including these points.?VERDICT?While there's little comfort to be found in these tales that ruthlessly dissect human nature, this anthology is not without its charms, especially as found in the whimsical illustrations and witty, honest prose.