I absolutely loved this. it was creepy and weird and fun. I especially loved the ending and thought it was a good wrap up. this author is a short story queen

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love Alix E. Harrow's writing, and I wish this was a full novel. There is so much meaning and symbolism packed into these 36 pages, that it reads like a parable the Secretaries would share in this world. I love the discussion about love and how it is truly an undying feeling. This short story rings almost like a warning bell, as the situations the characters face in their day-to-day lives (demon hunting excluded) could be happening in our world, now. The power dynamics were interesting, as well as the differences between those living in the kingdoms vs the outer lands. I would recommend this to anyone who loves Harrow's writing, but also appreciates a story with multiple levels of understanding and interpretation.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story. I was so interested in the world building and really wanted to know more. I’d love to have a longer story with these characters or at the very least in this world. This story kept my attention and kept me wanting to know more. It was both devastating and hopeful. What more could you ask for?

Of course, a novella by Alix E. Harrow would be fleeting, wonderful and heartbreaking. The Knight and the Butcherbird is a courtly tale of knights, in a way, but it is also the story of love in the face of collapse and the beginnings that can be found in the rubble of endings. In short, a knight comes to a village to discover what happens when love makes monsters of us. Harrow packs a lot into 36 pages, and it almost feels like a discredit to her work and say much more than it's an incredible, moving piece that will certainly be among the short stories I'll recommend when people need a break from doorstopper fantasy novels.

**Thank you to the Author & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own.**

4.5⭐️

Stories like these are my favorite. Stories where time has moved past our own, but the magic persists. Stories that feel like old fairytales with a new voice. I'm not quite sure how to describe this one.
Maybe:
▪︎if you like tragedy
▪︎if you like the film Ladyhawke
▪︎if you like teens with old souls
▪︎if you like post-apocalyptic
▪︎if you like slight commentary on the past 5 years
You should give these 36 pages a shot

It was really great story about changing, evolving and losing loved ones. I wasn’t expecting what I finally got, especially story so deeply rooted in what is happening now with our world but it was beautiful. Alix can convey so much on so few pages that in awe. Even though it was a short story characters was fleshed out and I liked them.
And thank you Alix for sharing your work earlier with me.

I'd read Alix's grocery list. She puts words on a page and never tells a story by half. Like all good fantasy, THE KNIGHT AND THE BUTCHERBIRD takes what makes us most human and explores it in an Other World. By showing us fragments of the world we know, and slipping them into a place (almost) entirley new, readers are reminded of everything we have to lose (how fragile [but not] we are when left to our own wild devices—and how that might not be a bad thing). At it's core, this book is monsterously human. What would we do to protect those we love? Who do we become when grief clings to the darkest corners of our soul? What does it mean to love, in all it's various flawed forms.

Also, a moment for Alix E Harrow's prose, please, which always leaves me breathless in the best kind of way. This book is one contrast over the next, and her prose is no exception. Using nature to soften and everything else to slice through the wild comfort, to punctuate, to break open and bleed the truth home through braken and silverberry all in a particular hollar.

Keep your wife away from your ears, a reviewer said. I couldn't put it any better.

The combination of a post-apocalyptic world, with modern technology, and ancient concepts, such as knighthood, was so interesting. I loved how the author used the fantastical elements here, and the writing was superb.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review and many others can be viewed on my Goodreads page at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/80102102-ana

This story was wild!

Fairytale storytelling vs dystopian world vs horror. Just incredible

The writing was poetic, the descriptions vivid, and the story beautiful and sad.

Loved this read and I feel it will appeal to lovers of many genres - from fantasy to horror.

Thank you Alix E Harlow & Amazon Original Stories for this unforgettable "experience"

The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow is a fantasy, dystopian short story that has story tellers, knights, and demons. I was truly surprised at how attached I was to these characters in 32 pages. It’s a story of love and how love perseveres in the hardest of times. I truly wished this story was longer…

My favorite quote was

“I couldn’t stop smiling - the euphoric, hysteric smile of a woman who has been lying on her lover’s grave and has just felt the earth move beneath her.”

What the story really comes down to is — What lengths would you go to for the person you love?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for a honest review!

This is a beautifully written story about love, loss, and change. It’s a dark, dystopian fairytale that really packs a lot in only 36 pages. It’s dripping with eeriness and grief. I can’t wait to share it with my friends.

Side note: My favorite character was the raven.

Honestly, what a powerful read. I'm always so impressed with Alix E. Harrow's writing. So much was packed into so few pages; I can't wait to read this again!

This was good, I didn't really love it or anything but for such a short read it's atmospheric and well written

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing to me to read this in advance of its release.
The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful short stories that masterfully mixes the dystopian and the fantasy genre - by going back and forth with language, imagery and tropes. Harrow’s writing is as always fluid and vivid, and once read this story leaves you with questions about love, power and humanity, which are the most important questions one’s ought to ask.

This is a short story set in an apocalyptic/dystopian future of the modern world. I was confused at first having gone into this story thinking it was set in a sort of fairytale medieval setting, especially since the synopsis spoke of a storyteller and knight, but quickly realized that wasn’t the case when things such as COVID and technology were mentioned. Overall Harrow was able to pack a lot into only 36 pages. A fun quick read for anyone to try.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this ARC!

The whole concept and worldbuilding around this was SO interested, I wanted more and more, and found myself sad that it wasn't a longer story.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the eARC in return for an honest review.

After thoroughly enjoying "Starling House" by Alix E. Harrow some time ago, I was very excited to see another work up!
"The Knight and the Butcherbird" is a short story (seriously, it's short, it's just 36 pages) packed full of information, worldbuilding and a plot that unfolds so beautifully.

We follow the towns historian who is protecting her wife who has turned "demon" and the knight that has beeen called in to "take care" of said demon. Through the story we learn quite a lot through a handful of pages about the post apocalyptic / dystopian world they live in.

The plot is pretty straightforward with wonderfully crafted prose around it. The naming of the characters after birds is a fun tidbit and gives a very human feel to the towns population.
I think there can be a valid debate on if the ending is a happy ending or not. I found that it provokes a lot of reflection and also introspection, similar to how Starling Hosue worked.

Definite recommendation for lovers of Harrow's work, and a good introduction for anyone wanting to try to dip their toes.

Six Deaths girlies I am happy to report this new short story has similar sad and soft vibes with a pinch of existencial dread, I will add this one to my monthly reread. Stunning short story, Alix did it again!

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a story about loss, change and power. I loved The Six Deaths of The Saint so much that I requested this one without even knowing what was about and was pleasantly surprised to find an apocalyptic fairy tale with so much packed behind that incredible prose. What would you do for love? Can one single person fight against power? How would the future look like in a world recovering from a climate crisis? Sometimes we hold onto what we know but maybe in order to survive we need to change.

Nothing grows on a grave while you're standing on it.

4.25/5

I love Harrow's short stories. I really enjoyed this dystopian dark fairytale. My only complaint is the setting- the references to the real world (Cincinnati, COVID, etc.) were distracting.

Thank you Alix E. Harrow and (Net Galley for the ARC!

What an emotional short story. While only less than 50 pages, it's full of raw emotions—what one would do when the person they love becomes something other, something dangerous; just how far would you go to save them? It's set in a bleak, dystopian future, one rife with demons and other monsters knights are meant to kill. I really enjoyed it, really felt for both the shrike and the knight. It's a splendid story and I'm intrigued to see if more comes out of it.