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A review by mahitdzmare
The Deepwater Bride and Other Stories by Tamsyn Muir
4.0
a lot of proto locked tomb ideas are here and it’s a very engaging short read. you can rly see muir’s thorough prose, but also her humor, cultural references, and ability to slid into horror a second later.
The House That Made the Sixteen Loops of Time : 3/5 stars. Kinda repetitive but creative nonetheless. Liked the strong soulmate bond present between the characters.
The Magician's Apprentice (tw for grooming) : 5/5 stars. Probably my favorite, a very dark, twisted horror piece. If I had a nickel every time tamsyn muir wrote a powerful wizard named john who’s just some guy but it turns out he’s super fucked up, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but weird it’s happened twice. The grooming content warning isn’t for anything pedophilic, john is never anything but a paternal teacher to his teenage apprentice cherry, who he clearly wants to steer clear of developing a lolita complex towards him, but it’s for the very stomach-turning ending.
Chew (tw for sexual assault) : 4/5 stars. wonder what’s up with tamsyn writing stories abt dead women coming back to life and cannibalism.
The Deepwater Bride : 5/5 stars. Another favorite. you know that toxic yet homoerotic friendship you had with a girl in middle school? yeah this is for you except with cosmic horror. definitely very similar in tone to Gideon the Ninth and the upcoming Nona the Ninth (which I already have read).
Union : 4/5 stars. Reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson’s work, specifically The Lottery, super fucked up horror.
The Woman In The Hill : 3/5 stars. Not as strong as the others, the depiction of Māori as uncivilized brutes was kinda jarring compared to the previous story Union, still a very creepy vibe.
The House That Made the Sixteen Loops of Time : 3/5 stars. Kinda repetitive but creative nonetheless. Liked the strong soulmate bond present between the characters.
The Magician's Apprentice (tw for grooming) : 5/5 stars. Probably my favorite, a very dark, twisted horror piece. If I had a nickel every time tamsyn muir wrote a powerful wizard named john who’s just some guy but it turns out he’s super fucked up, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but weird it’s happened twice. The grooming content warning isn’t for anything pedophilic, john is never anything but a paternal teacher to his teenage apprentice cherry, who he clearly wants to steer clear of developing a lolita complex towards him, but it’s for the very stomach-turning ending.
Chew (tw for sexual assault) : 4/5 stars. wonder what’s up with tamsyn writing stories abt dead women coming back to life and cannibalism.
The Deepwater Bride : 5/5 stars. Another favorite. you know that toxic yet homoerotic friendship you had with a girl in middle school? yeah this is for you except with cosmic horror. definitely very similar in tone to Gideon the Ninth and the upcoming Nona the Ninth (which I already have read).
Union : 4/5 stars. Reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson’s work, specifically The Lottery, super fucked up horror.
The Woman In The Hill : 3/5 stars. Not as strong as the others, the depiction of Māori as uncivilized brutes was kinda jarring compared to the previous story Union, still a very creepy vibe.