Angela Slatter

This short story collection takes us to a variety of places, from contemporary times to Victorian detective era, to classical mythology. I enjoyed seeing how the author took a familiar jumping-off point (say, Alice in Wonderland) and made something unexpected out of it.

The stories tend to be creepy or weird, although I wouldn’t view them as horror. Maybe dark fantasy with a mystery twist? Probably best not to categorise too firmly.

My favourites were “Widows’ Walk” (probably because of the more mature characters) and “Loom” (of course, as it’s based on Homer’s The Odyssey). And I look forward to reading more.… (more)

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
This book contains various scenes and mentions of violence and death. These include a woman being burned alive, poisoning, serial killer murdering pregnant women (off page), mass murder (off page), child death (off page), baby loss (off page, discussed frequently on page), and euthanasia (off page).

There is a scene of attempted sexual assault and references to sexual assault (off page). A plague that happened before the events of the book and resulted in many deaths is discussed multiple times.

Additional scenes include blood, ritual bloodletting, suicidal ideation, and child abuse (sexual).

The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter is set in the same universe as The Path of Thorns, All the Murmuring Bones and some of her short story collections. Each one can be read independently and in any order. In The Briar Book of the Dead, Slatter tells the story of the town of Silverton and the Briar family of witches that have run the town for generations. Using their magic, they have kept their citizens safe and healthy and helped the town prosper.

Ellie Briar is an anomaly in her family. Unlike her cousins, she was born without magic, and it’s a difference she feels throughout her life. Despite her lack of magic, she’s raised to take over as steward, to maintain the admin duties which include one of the most important tasks of all; ensuring that forged letters are sent to the church. She’s determined to prove she can do her job well, despite not having the magical abilities of her cousins, and when their grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie and her cousins are thrust into their roles earlier than expected.

It’s a challenging time for all of them, and things become even more chaotic for Ellie when a knock on the head at her grandmother’s funeral brings with it the ability to see the dead. It appears that the magicless Briar is not so magicless after all, and as the first speaker for the dead in over three hundred years, Ellie is in demand. This is all rather confusing for Ellie because everyone knows that Gilly Briar banished all the ghosts of Silverton… didn’t she?

As she tries to untangle the mysteries of the past, Ellie has the chaos of the present to contend with as well. There is unrest in town as secrets are revealed. Something else is going on in the outlier farms, and people are going missing. Trying to juggle everything along with her new responsibilities as steward and speaker of the dead, Ellie needs to work out who she can trust quickly before something terrible happens.

“Slatter writes witches like none other,” reads the quote on the front of the cover of The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter from author Cassandra Knaw, and I couldn’t agree more. This was another great book from Slatter, and I was glued to every moment. The slower pace works well with the story, drawing out the suspense as she sprinkles mystery and suspense through like a pro. Mixing gothic horror with fantasy and thriller, Slatter has found a winning combination.

What I like about Slatter’s books is that she gives the reader just enough details to work out some or most of what is happening, enough to get the imagination pumping. By the time the big reveal comes around, you’re even more desperate to know what’s happening to see if you guessed right! Or, as was the case for me, to fill in the missing piece of the puzzle I had slowly been piecing together as I read.

The Briar Book of the Dead is a wonderful addition to Slatter’s growing universe, filled with multi-layered characters and rich prose. This deliciously dark and gothic novel is a must-read.

BLOG | REVIEWS | REVIEW SCHEDULE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST |
… (more)

I enjoyed all but one of the twelve chilling tales contained in this collection. They cover a wide range of topics from abduction to zombies. The only things that they have in common is that they are well-written, have strong (but not always nice) women or girls as the central characters and they give new twists to old tropes. Some of the strongest stories focus on vengeance, particularly for offences committed against children.

My favourites were the darker ones:

Some made me smile: 'Sun Falls' and 'The Dead Ones Don't Hurt You'. Some were gothicly creepy: 'Only The Dead And The Moonstruck', 'The Song Of Sighs' and 'The Way Of All Flesh'. My favourites were dark and chilling: 'Cuckoo', 'Home And Hearth', 'The Burning Circus' and 'Winter Children'

To give a flavour of the collection, I've written spoiler-free mini-reviews for each story. Take a look and see if there's something that appeals to you.

Only The Dead And The Moonstruck

A fairytale of the grim cautionary type in which a very young girl lives with her guilt about the secret bargain she made with a monster. Then, the monster returns and she must face it to redeem herself.

The imagery was stark and as cold as starlight. The backstory was revealed entirely by how the girl reacts to the present danger, engaging me with her and slowly revealing the damage her first encounter with the monster had wrought and the guilt she carried for the decision she'd made. The girl is smart and brave and aware but still a young girl, so the boundaries between the magic and the real are hard for her to establish, especially when a real monster has already come calling. This way of looking at the world as somewhere where magic is something as dark and dangerous as a storm or as bright and beautiful as a moonrise made her acceptance of the outcome of the story perfect.

Cuckoo

This was very powerful and very unpleasant. The premise, a first-person account from a body-swapping avenging spirit hunting someone who had taken lives he wasn't entitled to, was original and attention-grabbing. The execution was skilled: slick, fast, unflinching. The content was corrosive, contaminating and depressing. It also felt horribly true.

I loved the opening line of the story:

"The child was dead by the time I found her, but she suited my purposes perfectly."
Slatter, Angela. Winter Children and Other Chilling Tales . Brain Jar Press. Kindle Edition.

I was won over to the vengeful spirit by its reflections rather than its actions. It remembers when evil was different, a black-and-white affair, evil or not evil, rather than a contagion that touches everyone. I loved this expression of regret:

"I miss that—the delineation of great evil from banal nastiness."
Slatter, Angela. Winter Children and Other Chilling Tales . Brain Jar Press. Kindle Edition.

Sadly, I think I'll remember this story for a long time.

The Burning Circus

This was a wonderfully chilling tale of betrayal, ruin and revenge. I loved the calm focus of this story. A single-mindedness so patient it might seem passionless but was really a channel for fury. I had the impression that not all of the main character's memories might be reliable, that her mind had suffered and facts had become fables. Yet she understands the changes she's been through and the price she must extract for it.

Home And Hearth

I love stories like this one where actions can be read as the result of a manifestation of something supernatural or as the distortions of a subconscious quickened by fear and burdened with guilt. The slow unfolding of the source of the guilt and the eventual acceptance of the extent of the guilt and the actions needed to atone for it produce a tale that is both sad and chilling.

Winter Children

Now I know how you make Winter Children. It's a graphic image I won't soon forget. This was a fast, tricky tale where I played Spot The Monster even though I knew I was going to lose. I liked that this was set in an old people's home, with all the details needed to make it convincing, even disarming, and the plot turned out to be bloody and packed with surprises.

Pale Tree House

A short but sinister tale with a manifestation of a spirit of vengeance that made me smile but not in a nice way. This was dressed like a Victorian ghost story but went somewhere the Victorians would not have expected. I approved of the destination. If that makes me a harsh and unforgiving person, I can live with that.

The Red Forest

This one didn't work for me. I think that was mainly because I've never liked or understood the fascination of the supernatural character this story depends on.

The Song Of Sighs

Normally, I'm turned off by any horror story that's headed for Lovecraft country. The whole tentacled God thing leaves me cold. I thought that was where this story was going but the way it was written hooked my curiosity so I stuck with it and found that I was reading a solid Gothic tale with a clever twist and that I'd enjoyed myself.

The Dead Ones Don't Hurt You

This is one of the most original stories I've read in a while. It's certainly the most original zombie short story I've read. It did such a good job of making me smile that didn't notice that we were headed towards the dark until we were deep in shadow. I loved the idea of a zombie story where it was the live folks who seemed most monstrous.

Sun Falls

This is the kind of modern vampire story that I like. One where the vampire doesn't sparkle or suffer from existential angst. One told from the point of view of somebody who serves the vampire, knowing that she's made a deal with the devil but that's it better to have deal with the devil you know than to be a snack for the other things that come out at night.

This story has a desert road trip vibe that looks like it might become an Aussie version of 'Deliverance'. There's a head in a cooler, a woman with a Katana, a vintage Holden with flames, go-faster stripes and fluffy dice and something that may or may not be a magic pool. And there's a twist at the end that made me smile.

The Way Of All Flesh

This is a ghoulish delight, set in rural America some years after everything in the world stopped working. I loved the gentle matter-of-fact way the predatory main character was introduced. giving the story a folksy feel, a fairytale with sharp teeth. O liked the ending best of all. I didn't see it coming but it made me smile when it arrived.

The October Widow

I love this title, now that I know what it means. This was a satisfyingly modern riff on ancient traditions on death and renewal. I liked that, despite its supernatural content, it felt solid and real.… (more)

Well, A.G. Slatter has done it again! After enchanting me with the gorgeous All the Murmuring Bones, she kept me glued to the dark and twisty Path of Thorns. I was fairly sure I would enjoy this one, and I was right!

Asher Todd is a fantastic main character. She is smart, capable, full of secrets... and out for revenge. But she was also wonderfully complex and moving in the morally grey space that I find fits the gothic setting so perfectly. This book also had basically all the elements I love: there is witchcraft (dark one, too), there are ghosts and other creatures of lore, there are family secrets, and there is murder. Lots of murder, actually. I kept turning the pages waiting for all the secrets to come to light, and they were each more delicious than the one before.

The setting was beautifully atmospheric and perfectly gothic. There are some horror elements, but not too much, so I'd define this as creepy more than outright scary. It does get pretty dark though, so be mindful if that's a concern for you. There's also quite a lot of injustice and sexism going around, as well as some abuse and very, very complicated relationships, so again be mindful if that's triggering for you.

The only part I wasn't too sold on was the romance, but it took up such a small part of the story that it actually didn't bother me all that much in the end. The rest of the relationships between the various characters were really masterfully drawn up, as each displayed their complexity to the fullest, as well as the darkness that can hide within. Several themes were running underneath the main storyline and helped to make this so much more than just another gothic fairytale.

Overall, The Path of Thorns is a perfect spooky season read, with its eerie vibes and gothic setting, perfect for lovers of fantasy and dark fairytales.

Content Warnings: this book contains mentions of abuse (domestic and parental), murder, abortion, necromancy, animal cruelty, blood, infidelity.


I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.… (more)