The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
Published by Tor Publishing Group
Age Group: Adult
Format: Novella
Genres and Categories: Asian Authors, Royalty Characters, Monsters, Mythological Creatures, Undead, Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Fairytales, Gothic Fantasy, Various Magic, Dark Forest
My Rating:
Published on: 27th February 2024
Pages: 160
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A world-weary woman races against the clock to survive a deadly forest in this dark, otherworldly fairytale from Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author Premee Mohamed.

At the northern edge of a land ruled by a merciless 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.

One day is all Veris is afforded. One misstep will cost everything

This book was provided for free by Edelweiss and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

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Full disclosure, this was not a book that I requested and was sent to me by the publisher on Edelweiss. It sounded interesting, and I decided to give it a try; however, I wasn’t aware that it was a novella until I had finished it. I’m mentioning both of these facts as I feel they do affect my review of this book.

Lured in by the cover and the promise of a forbidden forest filled with unknown dangers, I have to admit that The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed was an interesting and thought-provoking read.

Veris is the only woman who has ever ventured into the north forest and returned alive. When the children of the Tyrant, the man who rules with fear and oppression, go missing, she is given an ultimatum: return to the forest and find them, or her family will die. Unlike the children of the village, the Tyrant’s children have grown up sheltered and unaware of the dangers of the north forest. The chances of even finding them alive are slim, but Veris has to at least try.

Mohamed creates a haunting visual as Veris journeys through the otherworldly forest, a place that constantly changes as it tries to prevent her from finding the two children. Information about Veris and her world is woven through the journey, and it works with the dark world that Mohamed has built. 

While I enjoyed The Butcher of the Forest, I didn’t feel that the story was concluded at the end of the book. Part of this could be attributed to my not realising this was a novella while reading it; however, I think that it’s also the way it ended. A few days before picking up The Butcher of the Forest, I read a review for another novella by Mohamed, where the reviewer mentioned that the novella had the feeling of a prequel. Incidentally, it turned out that it was a prequel, and a full novel is out later this year. I have no idea if that is the case for this novella, obviously, it just has that feeling to me.

This especially comes from The Butcher of the Forest not feeling like it is telling Veris’ story, despite being from her perspective and telling her journey. For me, it feels as though we’re being shown the impact that one person can have on someone’s early life. But at the same time, I almost feel as though that is Mohamed’s point. In another story, Veris would have a bit part to play. She wouldn’t be the hero; she would be one of many minor characters who were part of the main character’s backstory.

As I said, this is a thought-provoking read. I just like my stories to have a more satisfying ending, and if they leave me hanging with more questions, they are about the story or world-building, not whether the story has been completed. I’ve only read short stories by Mohamed before now, so I don’t know whether this is her style or just the style used in this novella.

About Premee Mohamed

Premee Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is an Assistant Editor at the short fiction audio venue Escape Pod and the author of the 'Beneath the Rising' series of novels as well as several novellas. Her short fiction has appeared in many venues and she can be found on Twitter at @premeesaurus and on her website at www.premeemohamed.com.

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