The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Titan
Published – Out Now
Price – £12.99 hardback £7.99 Kindle eBook
A merciless tyrant forces an ordinary woman to rescue his children from a malevolent magical wood in this eerie, twisted fable. A world of uncanny creatures, deadly beauty, and unthinkable violence beckons...
At the northern edge of a valley conquered by a ruthless foreign tyrant lies a wild forest ruled by dangerous magic. The local people know never to enter―for no one who strays into the north woods is ever seen again. No one, that is, except Veris Thorn.
When the children of the Tyrant vanish into the woods, Veris is summoned to rescue them. Veris knows she has only one day before the creatures in the wood claim the children for their own. If she fails, the Tyrant will destroy everything she loves.
If she is to succeed, Veris must evade traps and trickery, ancient monsters and false friends, and the haunting memory of her last journey into the woods.
Time is running short. One misstep will cost everything.
The forest is a staple setting for stories. Many a folk tale warns us of getting lost in those woods. It speaks to the days when forests could cover the land. There is a depth and weirdness to an true forest that speaks to something wilder than we in our cosy cities will really grasp anymore. More recently in fantasy RJ Barker with the Gods of Wyrdwood and Jen Williams with Talonsister have played with the concept of the mysterious wood on the borders. Now Premee Mohamed in the eerie and unsettling fantasy novella The Butcher of the Forest creates an adult tale that feels like the kind of tale you would not wish to tell children at night unless you want to create nightmares.
Varis is summoned unwillingly to the castle and brought before the ruler of the land; the man for whom all lives hang in the balance – the one they call The Tyrant. His two children have vanished in the night and after torturing all those who may know something no one knows where they are but the evidence points towards the North Woods. A place where no one who gets in too deep is ever seen again. But Varis did rescue a child (although a price was paid). Varis is commanded to find the Tyrant’s two children – failure will see not just her own life ended but her entire village will be destroyed. Varis prepares to go into the mysterious Elmever. The wood that is far more than a wood that hides within the North Woods – a place where reality is not what you think; where danger lurks in many forms and time is running out.
Two children lost I the woods is of the most classic of story shapes but Mohamed as is customary deliver a much more remarkable story. The key is that this is a story where threats lurk everywhere ands that makes the adult reader very quickly get wary of what each scene may be hiding in plain sight. While Varis is our main character, we know it is not just two kid’s lives at stake but Varis’ entire world. These are a conquered people who know already that merely speaking out of turn can get you executed – to be held in any way responsible for the death of the Tyrant’s heirs will result in annihilation. The Tyrant we meet is a traditional villain and Mohamed makes us feel his razor-sharp desire for death is lurking just under the surface.
Then with Varis we have a middle-aged woman who is not skilled in mighty magic but knows just enough about the Elmever woods to navigate it and potentially release children. She’s not snarky or a fighter but she is demonstrating compassion and caring for others – not just her own village but she doesn’t want two children who are not in her eyes responsible for their father’s actions. That Varis is prepared to do this and see the kids as kids really makes her quite a sympathetic character. Mohamed throws in elements of folklore – some will feel familiar – the power of three, magical bargains, the dangers of eating food and games with high prices but in this wood, nothing is a fairy tale but instead a disturbing dark fantasy tale.
The key attraction of the story though is the Elmever. This feels less enchanted wood and more a nightmarish portal world hiding within plain sight. Full of traps from corridors in the air, fruit looking too good to be true and various denizens who are not to be trusted. The forest is filled with various creatures Mohamed describes in biological detail – quite gruesomely! These creatures and some more sentient ones make us feel that Varis and her quarry are not in our world anymore but someone else’s and they do not play by our rules and are always looking for a chance to ensnare the unwary. There are a series of chilling scenes in the final sections of the book where hopes are raised and shattered again and again; and a higher and higher price is required of Varis that she has to ask if it is worth it. The finale is both gut-wrenching and returns to the idea of compassion and perhaps empathy that while no one wins outright there is just enough hope to possibly hint at some future light.
The Butcher of the Forest is a beautifully told dark weird folk tale that feels incredibly old and yet very modern with a lead character we cheer on and yet also are fearful of the final price she may have to pay. Premee Mohamed continues to be an author delivering constantly high-quality story across all the genres and this is no exception at all. Strongly recommended!
