(Nimue, review) This is a sequel to Hurnungaz by Steven C. Davis - which I reviewed in this post. Best to read these books in order. This is horror drawing on folklore that does not sit neatly in the 'folk horror genre. This is a very dark tak…
This is a sequel to Hurnungaz by Steven C. Davis - which I reviewed in this post. Best to read these books in order.
This is horror drawing on folklore that does not sit neatly in the 'folk horror genre. This is a very dark take on Robin Hood. Trigger warnings for torture and sexual violence. As with the fist book it's not unbearably graphic, but by this stage you are more invested in the characters who suffer and die. Probably best not to read this if you are feeling especially delicate, unless you're trying for catharsis!
Book two builds on the first tale in a number of ways. We get more back stories for the established characters and more sense of their motivations. There's a lot of plotting and a of plotters - everyone has their own agenda, alliances form and falter, plans overlap and conflict. I like this a lot. We're also seeing more characters developing agency and acting on their own behalf. Most especially a number of the women who had small and fairly passive roles in the first book, who in the second book get to act more on their own behalf, which again I really liked. The unfortunate downside is getting invested in characters who do not make it to the end of the book.
What makes these books truly unusual, and appeals to me most, is the plurality in them. This isn't one simple narrative, it is many stories wound together, representing many different lives and intentions. There isn't one Pagan God in the forest, there are multiple deities from different eras. There isn't once source point for the horror, it's not simple. I love the complexity.
Landscapes are complex, and hold within them long and messy histories of human occupation, conquest, violence and change. It bothers me greatly that standard folk horror tends to revolve around a single historical event, or a single idea. It's not what you find on the ground. Steven C Davis' Sherewode has deep and twisted roots, and there are no simple explanations for anything.
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