Hardcover, 128 pages
Published May 12, 2023 by Titan Books.
Myths are full of lies. This is not one of them.
Fleeing the downfall of an empire, a mermaid and her plague doctor companion escape into the eerie shadows of a wintery forest.
Amongst the bark and snow they are drawn into ancient games for ageless children – a murderous hunt of blood and sacrifice – deep in the woods, where three who call themselves ‘saints’ rule over them all like gods.
Trapped in a feverish nightmare of masked monsters, stitches and surgeons, and needle teeth, the mermaid must embrace all of her cruelty and hungers to free the children.
I loved this and I needed to sit with it a while after I finished, before starting my next book. It's a body-horror/fairytale/love story between a 'mermaid' on land and her (plague) doctor, as they intervene in a morbid cult run by three false saints. It's like nothing I've read before (okay, maybe it's a bit T. Kingfisher-y - a good thing) and it's really beautifully written.
