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gaeliloveweiss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
james1star's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a very strange novella and whilst I didn’t wholly enjoy it, it was an experience to say the lease. We’re following a mute mermaid and a (possibly) non-binary plague doctor in the aftermath of the her daughters having eaten everyone in the kingdom. Together they travel thought the forest, coming into contact with a group of boys who they go back with and the situation is basically a cult where these ‘saints’ are practicing some sadist games.
The characters were fine and I did enjoy spending time with them and how things developed, the love story sideplot was, for me, better then the actual plot. The discussion around women’s place and what they have to do to submit to men and society at times is portrayed well enough too. I also like the incision of an androgynous character and Khaw doesn’t really focus on this aspect, we’re just getting to know them and their past. The writing is also very beautiful, it flows well and keeps you engaged. But also it’s very gruesome and disgusting at times too, which somehow read pleasantly - it’s super strange. That being said, it did feel a bit pretentious at times and like Khaw was showing off which make some parts of the plot a little confusing.
I think I will keep this for a future reread to see if I could get more out of it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Cannibalism
Minor: Murder
ivorybug's review against another edition
dark
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
witcheep's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Fire/Fire injury
laurareads87's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
"Mermaid. A word that demonstrates the ineptitude of human language, and the species' predisposition for ingantalizing the unknown. ... [P]alatability is prized over accuracy. It is easier to market a nymph than a viperfish."
The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror/fantasy novella of a murderous mermaid and a gender non-conforming plague doctor travelling through a near-dead kingdom, each with a traumatic past to contend with. Very well written, though it's hard to say 'beautifully written' when the subject matter is, very often, viscera. Heed the content warnings on this one - not for the faint of heart.
Content warnings: graphic gore & body horror throughout. Cannibalism is on page & described in detail. Blood, death, deaths of children, murder, violence, medical content, medical experimentation, misogyny, sexism, abuse, spousal abuse, rape (not on-page or described in any detail), kidnapping, mass murder, cult violence / religiously motivated abuse.
The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror/fantasy novella of a murderous mermaid and a gender non-conforming plague doctor travelling through a near-dead kingdom, each with a traumatic past to contend with. Very well written, though it's hard to say 'beautifully written' when the subject matter is, very often, viscera. Heed the content warnings on this one - not for the faint of heart.
Content warnings: graphic gore & body horror throughout. Cannibalism is on page & described in detail. Blood, death, deaths of children, murder, violence, medical content, medical experimentation, misogyny, sexism, abuse, spousal abuse, rape (not on-page or described in any detail), kidnapping, mass murder, cult violence / religiously motivated abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
themorrigan43's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a novella, it's very fast and it is very gory. A strange adaptation of The Little Mermaid story, mixed with some Frankenstein.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pregnancy
moodreader89's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I think it definitely should come with trigger warnings —that’s on me though for not checking.
It was very descriptive, there is a lot of body horror, like…a lot. I definitely found myself shocked and gagging while reading; while the characters and world are fascinating and I might be interested in more about it, I don’t think the character development was enough to make me care as much as I could have? It is a beautifully poetic, grisly—also in a poetic and purposeful way, story though.
It was very descriptive, there is a lot of body horror, like…a lot. I definitely found myself shocked and gagging while reading; while the characters and world are fascinating and I might be interested in more about it, I don’t think the character development was enough to make me care as much as I could have? It is a beautifully poetic, grisly—also in a poetic and purposeful way, story though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, and Murder
kileyjojo's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
If you're expecting this to be a horror retelling of The Little Mermaid, it's nothing like that. This book is a short novel about the aftermath of what would have been that story. That doesn't make it bad, but it's something to note if that's what you are looking for in a book.
I go back and forth on how I feel about this book. The pace is extremely fast and the story flies by but I don't think that's a bad choice. It could have been fleshed out more but I think it gets the job done. That being said, you're thrown right into the midst of the story and are given practically no background on the characters or what they are encountering. This does prevent the feeling of the book being padded but it also makes it harder to connect to the characters.
The vocabulary used in this book is very advanced. I found myself skipping every other word because I didn't know the meaning of them. This, in combination with the fast pace, makes the book confusing. When the scenes aren't clearly spelled out, it's hard to understand what is happening and how the characters got from point A to point B. For example,there is a portion of the book where the mermaid is dissected on a table. Two sentences go by and she's whole again and running through the woods. The dialogue and the story are so hard to comprehend that I feel like I missed an entire chapter .
If you enjoy horror, gore, and just going with the flow, you would like this book. I don't think the author is a bad writer. I think the book is falsely advertised in where the story goes and that the vocabulary makes the already short book feel even shorter. There are great messages in the book and the characters are unique and interesting. I just wish we got to see more of them. The page count really hinders the character development. The story feels completed but feels like something is missing.
I go back and forth on how I feel about this book. The pace is extremely fast and the story flies by but I don't think that's a bad choice. It could have been fleshed out more but I think it gets the job done. That being said, you're thrown right into the midst of the story and are given practically no background on the characters or what they are encountering. This does prevent the feeling of the book being padded but it also makes it harder to connect to the characters.
The vocabulary used in this book is very advanced. I found myself skipping every other word because I didn't know the meaning of them. This, in combination with the fast pace, makes the book confusing. When the scenes aren't clearly spelled out, it's hard to understand what is happening and how the characters got from point A to point B. For example,
If you enjoy horror, gore, and just going with the flow, you would like this book. I don't think the author is a bad writer. I think the book is falsely advertised in where the story goes and that the vocabulary makes the already short book feel even shorter. There are great messages in the book and the characters are unique and interesting. I just wish we got to see more of them. The page count really hinders the character development. The story feels completed but feels like something is missing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Medical content, and Cannibalism
cwerber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Holy shit, y'all.
This novelette is something else and I mean that in the best way possible. It will turn your notion of the little mermaid story upside down.
This novelette is something else and I mean that in the best way possible. It will turn your notion of the little mermaid story upside down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
Seriously, look at my warnings. This isn't for the faint of heart.chilivanilli28's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder