Bluebeard’s seventh wife is the first to survive his wrath, courtesy of ghostly warnings and the timely intervention of her brothers. The village burns her murderous husband, his crimes laid bare and his wealth passed on to her… but even after his death, Bluebeard’s house won’t allow anyone to leave. All wives—living and dead—remain trapped in their husband’s manor, even as the man who terrorised them proves to be less dead than they had hoped.
Haunted by his vengeful ghost, can the wives find a way to break the curse that would bind them in darkness and torment forever?
The protagonist (following the Blue Beard tales) is a young woman who marries a very rich older man. When he leaves the house for a business affair, he tells her she can go anywhere in the house except his private room in the tower. Driven by curiosity about her new husband, she eventually unlocks the door to his tower room. Inside, she finds the corpses of his previous wives. She also is accosted by their ghosts – each bearing the brutal marks of how their husband killed them.
The key to the husband’s tower, now stained with blood, cannot be cleaned. On the husband’s unpredicted return, the new wife gains the assistance of the other wives’ ghosts and the housemaid skilled in witchcraft to finally end the bloody reign of the husband.
Review
The New Wife has strong characters and supernatural elements in a fascinating new re-imagining of the ‘Blue Beard’ fairytale tropes which is masterfully executed by McDermott. A dark fantasy tale that moves at the pace of a supernatural thriller while staying true to the fairytale foundations. An exciting new addition by McDermott to the fairytale retellings that should be highly prized.
Conclusion
A perfect novella for fans of Angela Carter, fairytale retellings, dark fiction and ghost stories. A fabulous blend of fairytale retelling, supernatural thriller and dark fantasy. A highly recommended read!
An angel falls from the sky and crashes to the ground!
Miriael, the Fourteenth Angel of Observance, has been shot down in the thousand-year war between Heaven and Earth. Damaged and helpless, she prays for extinction.
The young tribesman Ferren finds her lying in the grass. She ought to be an enemy, since his people are on the side of the Earth. But seeing her there, unable to fly, his curiosity outweighs every rule and every warning.
Ferren knows almost nothing about the terrifying world he’s grown up in. Now he’s going to learn the truth about the war, the Humen army camp and what military service really means. His unique friendship with Miriael is about to change the course of history.
Ferren is the protagonist, a young boy on the cusp of manhood belonging to one of many scattered tribes of the People. These subservient groups are dependent on the larger organisation called the Humen. When the angel Muriel falls from the sky during open warfare with Heaven – it is Ferren who finds and befriends her.
During the ongoing warfare between the militarised Humen forces and the angels of Heaven, Ferren and Muriel discover nothing is as it seems. The machines used by the Humen forces hold a horrific secret and the robotic soldiers are a darker truth that makes the People question their allegiance to the Humen authority.
Review
Ferren and the Angel is well-written and strongly crafted post-apocalyptic novel. Harland writes powerful characters inhabiting a broken world and deceived by the Humen authority using the scattered tribes to fuel their war with Heaven. Harland shows these elements through Ferren’s and the angel Muriel which confront the grey shades of morality by the contrasting darkness.
Conclusion
An unusual and powerful post-apocalyptic YA novel that’s highly recommended for fans of dystopian fiction, angelology, strong characters and a great coming-of-age read.
Nyx is a very unique goddess. She has the ability to bring sleep or death. Even Zeus feared Nyx because she was older and stronger than him. She is the only goddess he’s ever known to fear.
She is often described as a winged or riding in a chariot across the sky, shrouded in mist with stars and the night unveiling behind her. She resides in the western part of Hades, where she and her daughter Hemera (Day) pass each other at sunrise and sunset.
Nyx is not a personification of evil in Greek mythology. She’s never spoken of having done anything more ‘evil’ than Zeus himself in any mythology. Yet, it is her mysterious and dark nature, that lead her to be viewed more villainous than she is.
In Greek mythology, Nyx married Erebus – the God of darkness. Nyx and Erebus had Hemera (Day) and Aither (Light). Hemera is literally Nyx’s opposite. When Nyx brings the dark veil of the night over the world, she is chased away each morning by Hemera.
Curiously, Nyx also created her own dark spirits including the Fates, Sleep, Death, Strife, and Pain. Other of Nyx’s children include Geras, Moros, Nemesis, the Keres and the Oneiroi.
Nyx appears in many important ancient greek poems. In the fragments of poetry Nyx is the first of all in creation. Before there was anything, there was darkness or ‘night’ and it was here that Nyx came to be. She is often portrayed in symbolism as a moon or stars due to her ending the daytime and bringing the night.
Nyx is considered either be helpful or harmful: she brings sleep and relief, or the opposite- she can bring pain and death.
Welcome to the world of the Cosa Nostradamus, where magic crackles on every corner, and not every person you meet is human….
If you’ve lost something of value, and you can’t go to the police, you need a Retriever. And if that item is magical?
You need Wren Valere. An exceptional thief – with exceptional Talent.
Normally, Wren loves her job. But some clients are worse than others, and some jobs just scream trouble from the start. And with this one, involving a real estate mogul and a stolen spell, she and her business partner Sergei may have gotten into more than can handle alone…
But some secrets shouldn’t stay buried. No matter the cost.
Wren – a self-proclaimed thief with a high level of magical abilities and a distrust of the Mage Council, the organisation she rightfully belongs because of her unique and strong Talent. Wren prefers to work with her partner Sergei who negotiates jobs that require Wren’s particular level of skill and keeps the distance between Wren and her clients.
When a magical-infused protection stone is stolen from a wealthy and commanding businessman, Sergei and Wren take the job to determine how the stone was stolen and steal it back. To this end, Wren and Sergei quickly become embroiled in the dealings of the Mage Council and the mysterious group known as the Silence.
Wren successfully finds and steals back the protection stone but finds a darker side to the magic, how it serves to protect the building and the businessman which makes her question her own morality.
Review
Staying Dead was an intriguing urban fantasy with a mystery at its heart. Gillman creates unique and strong characters which are human and engaging. A solid first novel to a series.
Conclusion
A unique urban fantasy that’s sure to please fans of paranormal, supernatural urban fantasies and dark fantasy. Highly recommended!
The Ankou (Breton), Ankow (Cornish) or Angau (Welsh) from Celtic legend most commonly occurs in Brittany. Here you can still spot the Ankou haunting many of the churches and cathedrals. What is the Ankou? It’s defiant remnant of Pagan influence that had survived hidden among the stone-work of Christian buildings.
The Ankou haunts the graveyard and he is the last soul to die in the village before the stroke of midnight that year. Doomed to stay another year on earth – he acts as guardian of the graveyard – until another soul takes his place the following year.
The Ankou is described as a tall man dressed in black who is very thin or skeletal looking and has white hair kept under a wide brimmed hat. He is carries a scythe and he either pushes a wheelbarrow or rides a rickety cart that squeaks when it moves. The horse-drawn cart may be drawn by two horse – one is emaciated while the other is fat.
The Ankou is both the harbinger of death and also the collector of souls.
The Fear Gorta means Famine Man or Féar Gortach and refers to the Hungry or Famine Grass in Irish folklore.
The Famine or Hungry Man is a skeletal wraith and a harbinger of death. Féar Gortach is a folklore tale of a cursed patch of land where if you tread, you are doomed to die of starvation no matter how much you eat.
From Cork to Kilkenny and Galway to Connemara, tales of people losing their way on short routes across fields and being caught by the Hungry Grass.
A young man walking home on a sunny day, crosses through the field and is found days later, confuse, not knowing where he is and starving. He is taken home but no amount of nursing or food can save him from starving to death. Others are so overwhelmed by the touch of the cursed grass that they die from hunger where they stand. These victims of the Famine are also predatory, seeking others out to drag others onto the grass. The only protection is to carry a crust of bread in your pocket – but even that may not be enough to save you.
The Hungry Grass and the Hungry Man have two origins but the outcome facing either is much the same. Féar Gortach relates to one of the most dreadful eras in Irish history.
The Origins: The Irish Potato Fammine
It has many names: the Irish Great Hunger, The Great Famine and the Irish Potato Famine. The despair, death and devastation suffered in Ireland for almost a decade at the hands of British tyranny. Class discrimination, religious intolerance, enforced labour, deliberate starvation and forced exile were all endured under the dark skies and harsh winter after harsh winter.
British penal laws meant that parliamentary representatives were primarily British nationals and their male descendants were granted landed estates in Ireland. Irish Catholics who had previously had property had it confiscated and were forbidden from owning or leasing land or voting. The penal law was largely repealed before 1830, however Irish Catholics had to settle for leasing land back from the British landowners.
The potato was only introduced into Ireland in the 18th century but it soon became a staple food because of it was hardy enough to survive the Irish weather and it was a cheap product that went far for a family.
Unfortunately, potato crops became infested with an airborne fungus called phytophthorainfestans, also known as potato blight. It soon became a countrywide disaster.
British Corn Laws were still in existence and fixed at an artificially high tariff on imports to protect British corn prices and keep them in control of the market. A petition was put forward for Queen Victoria to repeal the high tax – which did happen – but too late. This, combined with a high level of produce being exported out of Ireland by British landowners and merchants resulted in a food shortage of catastrophic proportions brought Ireland to its knees.
Charles Trevelyan and Black ‘47
Attempts at temporary relief measures were mismanaged and local committees would be unruly and incapable of the organisation required to put these measures in place successfully. Just when it was thought that things couldn’t get any worse, it did,
Charles Trevelyan was assigned the relief effort and he would become one of the most hated men in Irish history. Trevelyan was a civil servant with no compassion, empathy or connection to the Irish people he was tasked to assist.
His methods at creating employment, bringing food to the table and restarting the Irish economy were drawn out, complicated and ultimately, failed. Trevelyan and the British government were operating on the principle that the blight would be short lived and that nature would run its course.
The first year of the potato blight and food shortages was dire, but the Irish kept going with their small import of corn, selling off the little livestock they owned and borrowing money from brutal loaners.
The British Prime Minister Robert Peel had supplied Ireland with its corn imports but following his resignation in 1846, Trevelyan took complete control and cut off Ireland from further imports so the Irish weren’t relying on British support. Despite his procedures to develop a working economy in Ireland had failed.
The collapse of social systems and infrastructure and absence of food, Trevelyan sent soldiers to try to install order. One of the most brutal winters hit Ireland and under Trevelyan half a million Irish were out in the blizzards building roads. Men, women, children – barley clothed, starving and freezing – died where they stood.
1847 become known as ‘Black 47’ – the worst year of the Great Hunger. The population was emaciated and desperately trying to work on Trevelyan’s enterprises for almost no wages or food. Children went without any sustenance as their parents needed whatever food they had to work on road-building.
Disease ravished Ireland and most died from typhus, dysentery and the black fever rather than malnutrition. Finally, all of Trevelyan’s projects were closed down and soup kitchens and charity introduced but far too slowly and on too small a scale. In 1847 the third potato harvest failed.
The Rise of Fear Gorta & Féar Gortach
Death was the common and the dead were tossed into carts and tossed into makeshift graves without so much as a blessing and their souls condemned to Purgatory.
All over Ireland hundreds of mass graves were dug, and these Famine Graveyards as they became known were originally un-consecrated, although in later years many became memorialised and recognised as consecrated ground.
Others remained buried in cold, unhallowed ground and over the top of these mass graves the grass grew sparsely and it was cursed. It was hungry. From this situation, the Hungry Grass and the emaciated figure known as the Hungry Man emerged.
Supernatural origins and Lore
The most common lore behind the Féar Gortach is that is occurs as a result of fairy magic. Found in fields and cursed by the fairies of the Unseelie Court who use dark magic.
Whether as a source of famine or fairy folk, to stand on the Hungry Grass equals death. Slowly, starvation begins and the sufferer descends into madness. They eat and eat but no amount of food will ever satiate their hunger. Ultimately, the victim withers away and dies.
The Fear Gorta, or Hungry Man is not a man at all, but a Fae being. He’s associated with famine because his dreadful skeletal appearance, gaunt and haggard. His sallow skin is stretched thinly over an emaciated body. His clothing is made of tatters and rags and he looks like the walking dead. His appearance during times of great hardship and Famine. The Fear Gorta can be malevolent or benevolent, depending on his mood and the welcome he receives. He is known to call house to house begging and if he is treated kindly, he has the ability to bestow good blessings and wealth on those he deems worthy. Those who are unkind will feel his wrath and suffer abject poverty, famine and death.
There are no certain ways to defend yourself against either the Fear Gorta or Féar Gortach, but there are wardings and protections to carry a crust of bread in your pocket which may protect from the starvation effects of stepping on the Hungry Grass. It is believed that bread crumbs spread on the cursed grass will reverse the curse on those recently afflicted. Ultimately, salting and burning the field will bring closure to the cursed.
The Fear Gorta is a different issue. He is a solitary Fae without a master. There is no protection from his power. Decimation and despair will wake him and his withered, skeletal finger will point to his next victim.
Saturnalia in Aufleur is a time of topsy-turvy revels, of the world turned upside down. The city’s theatres produce an annual display of reversals and surprises. Women can transform into wolves. Even the rats are not what they seem.
Evie has travelled to Aufleur to uncover the city’s sinister secrets… but this newspaper reporter has secrets of her own.
As she befriends the dazzling cabaret performers of the mysterious Vittorina Royale theatre, she falls under the spell of their most charismatic celebrities: songbird Livilla and the Stagemaster Poet. Who is Garnet, and why is everyone so afraid of him? What are the secrets of the Creature Court? Evie thought she wanted to learn the truth, but now she just wants to get out of Aufleur alive.
If you enjoy intrigue, devastating plot twists, LGBT characters and sumptuous detail, you’ll adore this gaslamp fantasy novella inspired by Paris theatre, Ancient Rome and the Roaring 20s.
Review
I recently read prequel novella Cabaret of Monsters (Creature Court, #0.5) by Australian author Tansy Raynar Roberts.
The protagonist Evie is also known as the Storyteller and travels to Aufluer as a reporter the cover the fashionable and famous theatrical scene.
Evie is quickly embraced by the theatrical group run by the mysterious Stagemaster Poet at the Vitoria Royale theatre as the troupe prepares for the famous Aufleur Saturnalia plays. Evie has an ulterior motive for being in the Vitoria Royale as she discovers more about the man Garnet, the strange history of returned songbird Livilia. But Evie can’t help but learn to feel for the members of the troupe and her real reason for being in Aufleur causes internal conflict as she learns more about the Creature Court and its hold over the city.
Final Thoughts
A well-written dark Gaslamp novella set in a 1920s-esque era that is dark, mysterious and dangerous. A truly unique plot and well-crafted characters.
Conclusion
Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy, Gaslamp themes, paranormal and supernatural tales set in an intoxicating 1920s style world.
Though he may be retired, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn hasn’t lost his curiosity or his edge. He’s eager to help Sergeant Jim Chee and his fiancée Bernie Manuelito with their latest case—clearing an innocent kid accused of robbing a trading post.
Billy Tuve claims he received the precious diamond from a strange old man in the canyon. Could it be one of the gems that went missing in an epic plane crash decades earlier? Now that it may have resurfaced, it’s attracted dangerous strangers to the Navajo lands.
Proving Billy’s innocence won’t be easy. Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito must find the remains of a passenger who died in the crash—one of 172 lost souls whose remains were scattered across the magnificent tiered cliffs of the Grand Canyon.
But nature may prove their deadliest adversary. To find the proof they need, the detectives must battle a thunderous monsoon and a killer as they plunge deeper into the dark realm of the Hopi Lord of Death—the guardian of the underworld known as Skeleton Man.
Skeleton Man follows Sergeant Jim Chee and his fiancée Bernie Manuelito as these Navajo tribal police officers investigate Navajo robbery suspect Billy Tuve when he tries to pawn a large diamond from a decade old plane crash over the Grand Canyon. Tuve claims innocence and he received the diamond from a Skeleton Man in the canyons. Sergeant Chee consults retired Lieutenant Jim Leaphorn and the meaning behind the Skeleton Man – a Hopi legendary guardian of The Underworld. Determining if the Skeleton Man Tuve claims he met with and exchanged a knife for a a diamond is crucial to proving his innocence.
The case soon becomes dangerous when private investigators behave unlawfully and a race to recover the decades old remains of a passenger who travelled with diamonds encased and strapped to his wrist during the plane crash. His daughter – unrecognised by the family or company – may finally have her inheritance recognised if she can recover the remains of her father. As the monsoon storms gather above the Grand Canyon and rains threaten to flood the canyon, the answer lies with the mysterious figure of the Skeleton Man.
Final Thoughts
Skeleton Man is a well-written and fascinating historical mystery that combines crime and both Navajo and Hopi folklore and legends alongside a great sense of respect for the canyon landscape and the indigenous peoples who care and guard the land.
Conclusion
A great combination of mystery, history, crime and Navajo and Hopi folklore. A recommended read!
The Amikuk is a monster from Inuit legend that is as deadly on land as it is in the water. They possess a deep hatred for al humans and actively hunt for kayakers in the open waters off the Alaskan coast.
The Amikuk are often described as extremely long but almost human-like in shape. They are covered in thick, slimy dark skin that has the appearance of old leather and long, wide-set, spindly arms with fingers that taper off into sharp points. They’re often seen with two legs but have – on occasion – been seen to have four.
While in the water, the Amikuk is constantly hunting for passing kayaks. It presses itself up against floating sea ice and waits – perfectly still – until the ideal time to attack. Once a victim paddles close enough to the waiting Amikuk, it pushes off the sea ice and positions itself beneath the kayak. Without warning the monster pushes its long arms and legs out from the water to wrap tightly about the vessel before pulling it under the water. Once beneath the water, the Amikuk tries to drown the human kayaker.
Even though the Amikuk is extremely deadly it doesn’t always kill its victim after pulling them into the water. Sometimes people were able to swim back to the sea ice before the Amikuk disengages it’s spindly limbs from the kayak. Even is they escape the Amikuk’s grasp it possesses the ability to burrow into both earth and ice follow, unresting and unrelenting until the person is finally caught by it.
The Amikuk produces a thumping noise moving through the earth that echoes from the main tunnel and into the surrounding area. The vibrations caused by its movement are said to be strong enough to freeze a fleeing victim in their tracks and allows it enough time to burst through the ground/ice below and kill the human above.
While a majority of the legends about the Amikuk depict it as being nothing more than a deadly monster, other legends talk of it being magical as well.
In one story, the Amikuk is said to create a bird-like nest which it protects with extreme devotion even though it contains no eggs or young but a few scraps of magical fur or animal hide. If a human manages to steal the Amikuk’s nest, the scraps of fur inside are able to repair anything broken. It was also believed the furs were capable of creating great riches from nowhere if the nest remains in the possession of the one who stole it.
Another legend of the Amikuk tells of it being able to shape shift into an almost human form. While in this form, it must pull a sled and can only walk in a straight line. If a human were to see an approaching Amikuk in this form, they can sit directly in its path. Since it must only walk in a straight line, it won’t be able to avoid the sitting person and begins to panic. While in this panicked state, the Amikuk offers a gift in order to get the sitter to move, but the sitter shouldn’t accept it. The refusal of the offering causes the Amikuk to become desperate and it will offer a better gift each time the sitter refuses until the final and most valuable gift is offered. On acceptance of this offer, the sitter will move and be extremely wealthy and the Amikuk can continue on its way.
The stereotype of the leprechaun is of lucky charms and pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. But leprechauns are members of the Fairy folk, a type of sidhe and are unusual because leprechauns are almost exclusively always male.
The name leprechaun derives from the Gaelic leith brog “one shoemaker.” The leprechaun is a cobbler and while the other sidhe dance and revel, he is always hard at work. He is depicted wearing one shoe rather than a pair – which may also be a shamanic reference. (References to shoes, especially only one shoe are often oblique references to shamanism. Ancient shamanic dances often performed with one shoe on and one shoe off). The leprechaun works on shoes constantly with time off only for an occasional spree. He is fabulously wealthy but buries his treasure in pots underground. He is a skillful but not always pleasant practical joker. The leprechaun may be invoked for financial aid.
Leprechauns are often compared to clurichauns. Because like leprechauns, clurichauns are often exclusively male. The clurichaun could be the nocturnal form of the leprechaun out after a hard day’s work.
Alternatively, some perceive clurichauns to be leprechauns lacking work ethic. Unlike hardworking, wealth-accumulating leprechauns, clurichauns spend all their time drinking. They are often drunk but retain their good manners unlike the surly leprechaun. Clurichauns come out at night to drink, party and play pranks on people (for example, raiding the pantry).
The only occupation for which the clurichaun displays enthusiasm is as a guardian of liquor cellars. The clurichaun will protect your cellar from thieves and prevent wine from spoiling and bottles from breaking or leaking. Simply request his presence and leave him a sample of whatever you have in stock. Leave such offerings on a regular basis lest he decide to begin serving himself.
You must be logged in to post a comment.