At the northern edge of a land ruled by a foreign tyrant lies a wild, forbidden forest ruled by powerful magic. Veris Thorn – the only one to ever enter the forest and survive – is forced to go back inside to retrieve the tyrant's missing children. Inside await traps and trickery, ancient monsters, and hauntings of the past.
Mohamed excels at telling the stories of ordinary people trapped by dark forces, and she infuses these characters with astounding tenderness and compassion. The Butcher of the Forest shows exactly why Mohamed is one of fantasy’s rising stars.
Fast-paced, tense, fantastical and uncanny, The Butcher of the Forest is a perfect mix of horror and fantasy ... It’s Mohamed’s beautiful prose and endearing characters that make this a powerful story.
A precise and atmospheric novella ... Mohamed’s forest is an eerie, alien place, hauntingly atmospheric, and never to be trusted. Mohamed is often elliptical about its dangers and its horrors, her lucid prose conveying more by Veris’s reaction to her encounters than by plain description, though the description is frequently elegant ... The Butcher of the Forest is a compelling and effective story. It has layers, and depth, and feeling.
