[Review] The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

[silversea]

Title: The Butcher of the Forest
Author: Premee Mohamed
Genre: Fantasy

A spooky novella featuring a middle-aged woman, Veris Thorn, who was the only one to come in and out the north forest, a strange wild forest with its own rules. When the conquering lord of the lands loses his children to the forest, he forces Veris to go in the forest and save his children. If she fails, her village would be killed.

Review: The novella is gorgeously written, with a great spooky atmosphere from the very beginning to the ending. The stakes are high, with Veris responsible for the tyrant's two children and her family and village's survival, and the pacing never forgets that. I often have issues with novellas' writing, usually the story is just too short or too long for the format's length, but I found this to be just right. Relying on many well known tropes such as a forbidden magical forest, a ruthless and brutal tyrant ruler, the trickery and cruelty of fae creatures, Mohamed cuts down on unnecessary exposition.

Veris is a fairly well written and likeable protagonist. She's brave, clever, and resourceful enough to survive the north forest, cynical and world-wearied by her age and life experience, but still kind. She is no fool, and she isn't emboldened by her previous experience. Her mysterious past gradually unravels throughout the story, as the forest demands more and more from her.

The two children has less screentime, but despite the limitations, I still liked their characters just fine. Alone in a foreign land with a cruel man as their father, they have no one but each other to rely on. Their protective sibling relationship was nice.

( Spoilers )

I would not describe this as full on horror, but it has just enough of a creepy atmosphere to keep you on your toes the whole time. The forest, with their strange creatures and their unknown laws, is unnerving enough. Though the creatures are never explicitly named as fae, this is what I'd expect from a fae horror story.

I enjoyed this novella, and would recommend to anyone looking for a spooky but not too frightening read, perfect for getting in the Halloween mood!