In school I was one of the students who would ask the smart aleck questions when the teachers would talk about wanting us to be more open with our opinions. I remember one in particular in Film as Art class being along the lines of 'Its all well and good that she's grateful he saved her--but he lives in the woods, eats with his hands, sleeps in the same clothes that he fights in, doesn't wash those clothes nor bathe...how can she even stand to be near him let alone want to kiss him when he must be rank?' when talking about Robin Hood. Thanks to Jean Rabe I have my answer!

This collection is a whimsical look at what it means to be the background support for a hero. Everyone from Heracles to Robin Hood to Oberon gets a showing and the tales often surprised me with the paths they took. The Robin Hood story, Merry Maid by Jean Rabe, for instance tells the tale from Maid Marian's viewpoint and offers insight to her true feelings about the so-called 'Champion of the Poor'. The truth about King Arthur, Guinevere and their PR problems are dished by Laura Resnick in The Quin Court and the martial troubles Odysessus faced when returning home very very late to dinner are given epic verse by Pauline J. Alama in Honey I'm Home.

The range of authors is wide, some I know quite well while others were completely new to me (but didn't impress as often). The stories themselves were often amusing, occasionally sad and a few proved that not every hero is wanted (or needed) and some should stay in stories and movies. Only three stories bored me, or just fell flat for me, but a larger number I read and was amused in the moment, but promptly forgot the story as I moved on. Denise Little, who's done a number of other anthologies for DAW that I have enjoyed, did a fine job of having a diverse cast of writers, but even though the stories stayed centered around the truth behind heroes they felt disjointed otherwise.

A few of the stories probably would have been better if there was more space (Annie Reed's For a Few Lattes More was interesting, but the 'hero' character, the cowboy was underused), but for a quick read and behind the scenes look at heroes this was certainly satisfying. ( )

Enjoyable, told from the point of view of those who have to live with heroes ( )

In essence, this is a collection of fractured fairy tales, or folklore retold and re-imagined with a more feminine twist.

As with any collection of short stories, there's a range of storytelling so you're bound to find one or two you really like and one or two you can't stand, but it all averages out. Most of the stories are humorous in nature, but don't cross the line to utter silliness. I enjoyed it in small doses of snack reading. ( )