A short, quick, and lyrical read that felt to me less like a story and more like a mood. There’s a lot of body horror here, and on one hand, the way it’s all wrapped in long poetic sentences and clever similes makes it more bearable. On the other hand, the prose contains some evocative imagery that got stuck to my mind and will probably keep disturbing me for days on end.

Speaking of prose, while there are a lot of beautiful, vivid sentences here, on the whole I feel like the author overdid it a little. All those lacy figures of speech convey a mood perfectly, but sometimes obfuscate meaning and substance. And there is definitely a lot of substance here, too! I liked the horror rendition of the mermaid myth, the scary cult in taiga, the nods at numerous fairy tales, the Plague Doctor’s wry wit, and that underlying thread of how when monsters and humans co-exist, the lines blur between them and it’s no longer clear who’s the bigger monster. But I do feel that some parts of the story would have more impact if they were delivered a bit more clearly and concisely.

Still, as far as moods go, this was a beautiful one. Also, terrible and disturbing (very good for horror).