The Knight and the Butcherbird and The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow (short story roundup)

 

The Knight and the Butcherbird

Alix E. Harrow

 Nestled deep in the steep hills, valleys, and surrounding woodlands lies Iron Hollow, a rural community beset by demons. Such horrors are common in the outlands, where most folks die young, if they don’t turn into monsters first. But what’s causing these transformations?

 No one has the answer, not even the town’s oral historian, seventeen-year-old Shrike. And when a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest beast to haunt their woods, Shrike has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her—that May is still human, somewhere beneath it all—she can’t prove it.

Determined to keep May safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his demon-hunting hawk through the recesses of the forest. But as they creep through toxic creeks and overgrown kudzu, Shrike realizes the knight has a secret of his own. And he’ll do anything to protect it.

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories | Length: 36 pages | Genre: Dystopian Fairytale/Fantasy  | Source: Kindle Unlimited  | Rating: 2

 Alix E. Harrow is hit or miss for me but so many people have been raving about this one so I had to give it ago. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me.

This one had the potential to be fantastic but it fell a bit flat. The story was okay but there needed to be more world building and backstory. I felt like I walked into an established series rather than a standalone novella. When I read a dystopian story, in this case a dystopian fairytale, I want to know the world it’s set in and how things came to be as they are. Sadly, there was nothing offered but a few tiny crumbs and I wanted to know so much more like why they chose to live in Iron Hollow, where the lifespan is short, instead of a city where the lifespan was longer.

I also struggled with Shrike. I found her selfish and her actions questionable. As for the Knight and his mystery, it was too obvious what he was concealing.

Overall, this was a quick read but left me wanting more. I don’t feel as though it contained enough information to satisfy my curiosity. I feel as though this would have been better as a full-length book rather than just 36 pages. 

The Six Deaths of the Saint

Alix E. Harrow

 

The Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior in this short story of love and loyalty by New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow.

 

Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor. The bards sing her name and her enemies fear it. But the war never ends and the cost keeps rising—how many times will she repeat her own story?

 

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories | Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld | Length: 51 minutes | Genre: Fantasy | Source: Kindle Unlimited | Rating: 3

I was looking for something quick to listen to while cooking and this popped up on KU. I was a little apprehensive to dive into another short from this author but decided to chance it because it sounded intriguing.

Let me start by saying the writing is beautiful and the plot is interesting. The book follows a dying servant girl that’s been saved by the Saint of War so she can fight for a prince over and over again. It had all the right elements of a fantasy with a slight echo of Joan of Arc and unrequited love but fell a little flat.

The theme of the story is this girl discovering that she has agency but it’s bogged down by the repetitiveness. I’m not talking about the fact that she’s stuck in this never ending loop of war but rather that the author uses the same phrases over and over, which bogged down the plot given this was only 51 minutes long. I also wasn’t a fan of the change in perspective as it went from second to first. I understand why the author chose to do that but it gave the plot an off-kilter feel.

While I do feel like this could have been longer and smoother, I do feel as though the short story was complete, which is why I gave it a 3.

Overall, I’m not sure if Harrow’s short stories are for me. I think I’m a reader that wants more than what she gives.

A little sidenote: If you know your Arthurian legends, you’ll get more out of this story.