Gaiman's work, be it these almost fairy-tale like tales, his Sandman series or his children's work, is almost always peppered with some very dark edges, which is what makes them so appealing to me. These two stories were no exception.As a cat lover, I really enjoyed "The Price". As a child, we had outdoor cats who would come home with horrible wounds but I always assumed they were from other common beasties. This story was an imaginative look at the source of one brave kitties injuries.
As "The Daughter of Owls" went along, I turned the pages with a feeling of dread not wanting to see illustrated what I knew was inevitable. Fortunately, the nastier bits were left to the imagination (which might even be worse for someone like me!). After reading the story, I found the back blurb disturbing to say the least. It says "the strange girl inspires tragedy when word of her uncanny beauty spreads to the neighboring villagers". Tragedy isn't exactly the word I would've chosen if I'd written the blurb (unless, of course, you were writing it from the girls' POV). This was a moody little tale of justice that was tastefully illustrated.
A definite recommend for fans of dark fairy tales.
