A sensuous and strange horror novella full of creeping dread and delicious gore, twisting mermaid myths into something sharp, dangerous, and hungry, for fans of Christina Henry, Carmen Maria Machado and Eric LaRocca.
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.
Li
10/01/2024
Probably more enticing for people that aren't already familiar with horror. The plot just reads as juvenile to me, and the prose feels like someone just discovered what adjectives and simile are. If you enjoy a lot of meandering, edgy fairytale retellings and are new to horror/find gore interesting by itself this might be for you, but it certainly wasn't for me.