After the murder of her husband and the fall of his empire, a mermaid and her plague doctor companion escape into the wilderness. Deep in the woods, they stumble across a village where children hunt each other for sport, sacrificing one of their own at the behest of three surgeons they call “the saints.” These saints play god with their magic, harvesting the best bits of the children for themselves and piecing the sacrifices back together again.
To save the children from their fates, the plague doctor must confront their past, and the mermaid must embrace the darkest parts of her true nature.
Dark bleatings, my lovely tribe! I’m taking a look at Cassandra Khaw’s novella today, courtesy of The Abominable Book Club (thanks guys!). My TBR was over 100 books long by the time I got this, but it jumped up the queue because the cover was just irresistible! And what did I find when I delved in?…. A mermaid!
You know, I so rarely get to see a mermaid in horror, and I loved the depiction here. After disaster strikes, a mermaid and her plague doctor pal flee onto land and come across a village. Something is really f***y in this village.
For me, there were ups and downs to this book. Honestly, it’s not one of my favourites of the year and it’s for one reason: character. Take this with a pinch of salt because many people (quite rightly) are raving about this story. My main concern in any story is character, it’s basically all I care about. The characters were formed and fleshed out really well, but for some reason, I just couldn’t connect with them. It all felt a bit cold, which I actually do think is the point, but for my own preferences, something was missing for me.
However, the variety in the characters themselves was glorious, as was the setting and the concept. The whole thing gave me chills. It was nightmare fuel, really. With every page I read, I felt the need for a hot drink and a blanket, and also sometimes a warm hug. Khaw knows how to paint a picture. Also, the writing is beautiful, truly. A little too poetic for my tastes, but saying that, I was pretty jealous of the skill in Khaw’s style, because I’m incapable of it. Khaw also isn’t afraid to go dark, which I absolutely love in a horror tale! Don’t get me wrong, I like a sunny ending sometimes, but what I really enjoy is when a writer embraces things that are truly upsetting.
I…. don’t know what that says about me.
Anyway, I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy mythological creatures and historical fiction thrown into their horror! If you’d like to check out the book or author, there are some links below for you:
Happy Goat Horror 
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