Scan barcode
pacifickat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What did I just read?? Also, it was wonderful.
"I recall once, there was an astronomer in my husband's court, who extolled the poetry of the universe, how numinous we were despite the mucus and the blood we shed. 'Stardust,' he'd said, inebriated with his own doctrine. 'We are made of stardust.' Or maybe of primordial elements, such as the ocean, and the dark, and the killing flame, and love."
For one, this is a story about stories.
The narrative takes the shape of a dark mashup of
It is also a commentary on how the stories humans tell themselves shape their beliefs and behaviors, sometimes leading to their own suffering and ruin, even as those same stories are defended as sacrosanct. Sometimes horrors in this upside-down world mask themselves in holiness. The true enemies, the charlatans wielding power, want people to believe that evil is found elsewhere, and to fear the outsider rather than questioning the darkness in their own midst, in their own systems of belief.
"Man mistakes his own experiences as the canvas on which all truths are drawn. He is rarely correct in his respect."
"There is a reason The Hunt is central to so many narratives. For all that humanity professes to delighting in its own sophistication, it longs for simplicity, for when the world can be deboned into binaries. Darkness and light. Death and life. Hunter and hunted."
This is also most definitely a horror story.
While the prose is a mesmerizing, undulating, hauntingly beautiful (unless big words bother you) thing, the plot beneath is feral and eviscerating.
This is also a haunting love story.
"I wonder sometimes if this consciousness is the same, if I am the same. Or, if I am a mere fabrication strung together by circumstances."
"There is nothing wrong with being a monster."
"You always know the right things to say."
The story reminds me more than a bit of This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: the sumptuous use of language, the poetic cadence of the narrative, the distinct natures and voices of the main characters, and
"[...] Eternity is a worthless bauble without their conversation. [...] I will love them to the death of days."
Conclusion
I really enjoyed the telling of this tale. As one Barnes & Noble reviewer put it, "For someone who simply loves words, this novella was practically a playground [...]."
However, the weirdness of the plot and sheer quantity of strange vocabulary and odd phrasing employed throughout made me wonder if the author may have been aided by AI in their writing process. I saw online that she has utilized AI in the past for visual character studies, but it made me wonder if she also used it to create this written work. It is a weird world we live in where this might even be a question a reader would think to ask -- but there it is, sitting in the back of my mind even as I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
In the absence of further evidence, I am going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and offer up 5 stars. This kind of story is totally my jam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Murder, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Cannibalism, Gore, and Slavery
Moderate: Xenophobia, Vomit, and Animal death
allyareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I'm currently on a horror kick and this book has me obsessed. I haven't stopped thinking about it and already desperately want to reread it. I feel like it may be a story you get something different with each read.
Please I implore you, take your time when reading this. The atmosphere, characters and actually all of the writing is handled with so much deliberate care. Even the most violent or gory scenes (i.e. most of the book) are written so beautifully and delicately. No doubt heavy on the purple prose, but I found once I was in I was in (I also read an Ebook version and we love a quick hold-down thesaurus check).
I’ve always hated the story of the Little Mermaid and this does a fantastic job of exploring the dark suspicions, the various myths and the cyclical nature of storytelling. Getting to hear the story from the monster/victim in their own truth was perfect.
I’m livid it was so short, even with the original short story attached. It may be controversial but I think I might have enjoyed reading the short story before.
But as someone who works as a bookseller, I know it will be divisive. I can tell some people will love this wholeheartedly and others are going to fucking hate it. So I can't recommend this to everyone.
If you don’t like books heavy on vibes, body horror and with big pretentious words, this ain’t your book.
Recommend to fans of tv series Hannibal, the dark elves from the Magicians, dark fairy tale retellings and the people who cheer on the monsters.
If anyone has any simliar books,GIMME! I would love some suggestions please.
Please I implore you, take your time when reading this. The atmosphere, characters and actually all of the writing is handled with so much deliberate care. Even the most violent or gory scenes (i.e. most of the book) are written so beautifully and delicately. No doubt heavy on the purple prose, but I found once I was in I was in (I also read an Ebook version and we love a quick hold-down thesaurus check).
I’ve always hated the story of the Little Mermaid and this does a fantastic job of exploring the dark suspicions, the various myths and the cyclical nature of storytelling. Getting to hear the story from the monster/victim in their own truth was perfect.
I’m livid it was so short, even with the original short story attached. It may be controversial but I think I might have enjoyed reading the short story before.
But as someone who works as a bookseller, I know it will be divisive. I can tell some people will love this wholeheartedly and others are going to fucking hate it. So I can't recommend this to everyone.
If you don’t like books heavy on vibes, body horror and with big pretentious words, this ain’t your book.
Recommend to fans of tv series Hannibal, the dark elves from the Magicians, dark fairy tale retellings and the people who cheer on the monsters.
If anyone has any simliar books,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Cannibalism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
cwerber's review
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: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
Seriously, look at my warnings. This isn't for the faint of heart.maddognews's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The book was incredibly good but very gory. There were also topics that felt that the author didn’t stop to develop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
booksthatburn's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is technically the story of a plague doctor and a mermaid, a description which does not do nearly enough to imply how cool and weird this book is. The main character is not nameless, but her name is explicitly one that cannot be pronounced by humans, and so neither does the story render it in a form I could repeat. It deals with cycles of abuse, a religious cult, deprogramming, reclaiming agency, and the need to rescue someone in a bad situation like the one you yourself previously escaped. It’s also about a group of children worshiping a trio of surgeons who claim that death is not murder because they’ll be brought back to life. The children become more and more distorted, changing into a strange collection of remnants in the hands of those who would use and abuse them under claim of immortality.
Khaw's style has clearly developed more since HAMMERS ON BONE (also excellent), and this is less of a romp than THE ALL-CONSUMING WORLD. It has their willingness to just let a story be bleak without being depressing, finding hope interwoven with death, plus a strange interlude into cult deprogramming. It is specifically a follow up to one of the stories from the collection BREAKABLE THINGS, called "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice". That story is included in the back of THE SALT GROWS HEAVY for anyone who needs a refresher.
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is a truly excellent piece of horror. I’m very glad I read it. I hope you like it too.
Khaw's style has clearly developed more since HAMMERS ON BONE (also excellent), and this is less of a romp than THE ALL-CONSUMING WORLD. It has their willingness to just let a story be bleak without being depressing, finding hope interwoven with death, plus a strange interlude into cult deprogramming. It is specifically a follow up to one of the stories from the collection BREAKABLE THINGS, called "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice". That story is included in the back of THE SALT GROWS HEAVY for anyone who needs a refresher.
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is a truly excellent piece of horror. I’m very glad I read it. I hope you like it too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, Body horror, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Vomit, Confinement, and Animal death
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage
"And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" - Graphic CW for blood, gore, death. Moderate CW for toxic relationship, confinement, pregnancy, miscarriage, violence, cannibalism.wrensreadingroom's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Kidnapping, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Medical trauma
msradiosilence's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Torture, and Toxic relationship
regans's review
dark
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Death, Torture, Body horror, Medical trauma, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Miscarriage
mermaidsherbet's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Medical content, Child death, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Miscarriage, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
'The Salt Grows Heavy' by Cassandra Khaw is a retelling/continuation of the classic Little Mermaid story but with a focus on horror.
The story follows a mermaid who has recently been freed from the clutches of her husband and set out into the world with a plague doctor as her companion. When they come across a group of children playing a horrific game, they are pulled into the workings of a small community that will reveal more about each of their past experiences.
Khaw writes in a decadent, evocative voice that drips off the page. This is definitely a novella that is steeped in language and I know that probably won't be to everyone's taste. It was definitely to mine. Their word usage and descriptions brought me directly into the story, especially moments of body horror. It's important to go into this book knowing that it is full of gore with lots of body horror and a touch of close to cannibalism. Through their reworking of the classic Little Mermaid tale, Khaw explores the horrors behind being forced to give up a part of yourself and how to regain that later in life. I've had hit or miss experiences with Khaw's writing in the past but this is definitely a hit.
The story follows a mermaid who has recently been freed from the clutches of her husband and set out into the world with a plague doctor as her companion. When they come across a group of children playing a horrific game, they are pulled into the workings of a small community that will reveal more about each of their past experiences.
Khaw writes in a decadent, evocative voice that drips off the page. This is definitely a novella that is steeped in language and I know that probably won't be to everyone's taste. It was definitely to mine. Their word usage and descriptions brought me directly into the story, especially moments of body horror. It's important to go into this book knowing that it is full of gore with lots of body horror and a touch of close to cannibalism. Through their reworking of the classic Little Mermaid tale, Khaw explores the horrors behind being forced to give up a part of yourself and how to regain that later in life. I've had hit or miss experiences with Khaw's writing in the past but this is definitely a hit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, and Child death
More...