Alix E. Harrow has already proven her talent for writing short stories with "The Six Deaths of the Saint", and "The Knight and the Butcherbird" just showed it again. It’s about these demon-hunting knights in a rough post-apocalyptic world, and by demons I don’t mean the biblical kind, but the people-get-corrupted-and-grow-fangs-and-feathers-and-claws-and-antlers kind, which is my favorite kind. But it’s less a story about body horror than about the tragedy of losing a loved one to this kind of transformation. Very intriguing and it really made the most out of its 30-something pages. A perfect short story for me.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alix E. Harrow knows how to write short stories!!! She manager to make me cry in 30 paged and feel so many emotions some 400+ books never could. I’ve read all her shorter works, really need to give her novels a try

Once again, Alix E. Harrow stuns me with her writing and her ability to craft such an expansive world in under 50 pages. There's definitely a lot to like here and the central themes are very timely. I wish it were a smidge longer and I'm a little unsure about the central reason for the demons. I do think it was mostly explained well, but there are certain implications that might come across because of it and I'm not sure the story addressed them fully? I'm trying to be as vague as possible, even though it's almost impossible to not spoil a short story, especially in a review. Regardless, like anything Harrow writes, I do think this is worth the read.

This was fantastic, I read it in under an hour. I don't love apocalyptic stories but my god can Alix E. Harrow write a novella

I really loved this little story, I reread it and I can’t wait to see it in the wild.. Such beautiful pacing.

I really like Alix E. Harrow's short form fiction, and this was no exception. It combines a fuzzy near-future apocalyptic setting with medieval imagery, and has an underlying social message about change and power. Also, like all of the Harrow I've read, it's about the importance of storytelling and narrative, about whose story gets told and why.

Shrike is a storyteller, and her town is being threatened by a demon. Sir John of Cincinnati arrives with his hawk to vanquish it. But Shrike knows the demon is her wife - used to be her wife? Still is her wife? - and Shrike has already committed violence to protect the demon. Sir John has his own purpose in hunting demons, and while his and Shrike's purposes may ultimate dierge, they may also run alongside each other for a bit...

Look, I've read For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale twice in the past 6 months, so I might be a tad obsessed. But I got major FMLH vibes from The Knight and the Butcherbird. From Sir John's archaic language to his devotion to his lady, from the hawk to his quest, I was into it. (Yes, this is an absolutely giant compliment, to be clear!)

But this is no romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. It's a story about survival and change, the longlived few versus the diseased many, about how love can flourish despite many obstacles, and about how that might be the way forward anyway.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the story.

This short story by Alix E. Harrow is a gift, and we should all be happy that she chose to share it with us.

the knight and the butcherbird is a hozier song in short story form.

shrike is her town’s historian—or she was, until her wife turned into a demon and the townspeople tried to kill her. now she cares only to protect the creature that was her wife—the creature she is certain still recognizes her.

in this post-apocalyptic fairytale of a short story, alix e. harrow weaves together the modern and medieval to tell the story of a young woman, the demon who was her wife, and the knight hunting it. it’s a story about survival and love and transformation in a world wracked by climate change, where resources are hoarded within enclaves while outlanders either die young or turn into demons.

oh, i loved this. poignant and anxiety-inducing yet somehow still hopeful, harrow can pack more of an emotional punch in 30 pages than some authors can in 500. i can’t wait to read her lady knight book later this year!

I loved Harrow’s previous short story, Six Deaths of the Saint, so I was so excited to read The Knight and the Butcherbird!

I found the writing here to be just as beautiful and evocative, but perhaps not as emotionally impactful as I’d hoped.

The world building was fascinating, though, and done really effectively in the short page count. I could read a lot more stories set in this world!

When I saw who the author was I knew I had to read this one! And bonus points that it’s a short story which just happens to be the perfect palette cleanser for the end of the months reading wrap up!

The story is definitely unusual, I will admit for the first half of the book I definitely pictured the world being in a historical setting giving the inclusion of knights, I was thinking along the lines of kingdoms castles and medieval times, but then I got to the half way mark and modern technology was mentioned and I was like wait a second?! This book definitely has a timeless feel where you are trapped somewhere between present day, futuristic apocolyptic and at the same time way in the past.. but somehow everything makes sense and feels right 😂

This was definitely a fast read (about 30 mins) but there is a lot of action packed in along with some philosophical almost metaphorical, deep and thought provoking conversations happening.

The book has a mixture of everything so it’s hard to go wrong. It was definitely a fun quirky read.

Thank you to Amazon original stories and alix e barrow for the EARC!

Publish date: March 11th 2025

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful and strange story about how far we will go for those we love, and about starting over at the end of the world. Filled with Harrow's signature blend of beauty and darkness, this is a must-read for new and existing fans of her work. Don't underestimate it for being a short story; Alix E. Harrow can pack more world building & character development into a 30 page story than you would find in most books. I would recommend this story to all readers; the themes are universal, and I will be thinking about The Knight & the Butcherbird for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc! The thoughts & opinions in this review are my own.

Clever and dark - are they demons or shifters, good or evil, the anomalies or a new normal. A quick and entertaining read, onw that will make you think on it for a while.

What a wonderful story! An apocalyptic fairy tale that packs a punch despite its short length. Alix E. Harrow weaves a tale of flawed yet intriguing characters and a world transformed—because sometimes, change is necessary. I look forward to exploring more of Harrow's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Divine and magical storytelling. A dystopian future with traces of our current times, where medieval and modern collide in a horror story about surviving and love. I read this in an hour, couldn’t put it down, it’s a short story so the less you know, the better. Knowing this is written by Alix E. Harrow should be more than enough. If you think The Six Deaths of the Saint was good, you’ll be blown away by The Knight and the Butcherbird.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Alix E Harrow is a master at giving you a emotional and impactful tale in just a few pages. This is a strange little post-apocalyptic story. It's about change and survival and love and the power of stories.
It didn't wreck me the way Six Deaths of the Saint did but I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't well up at the end.

It is amazing the world building that Alix Harrow accomplishes in this short story.

The reader is quickly introduced to the characters, their longing, their love, and their lives.

Take the time to read this and lose yourself in the grittiness of this future world.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and Net Galley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Alix E Harrow is a truly a master of short stories. I don't know of many other authors who could pack as much of a punch with only around 30 pages. The Six Deaths of the Saint will always be her strongest in my opinion, but this story is stunning as well. Fans of the Locked Tomb books will love the strange anachronism of this setting. This world feels like a strange apocalyptic Appalachia and I loved every bit of it. With both of the Alix E Harrow short stories I've read, I went in knowing nothing about the plot and I think that's the optimal experience. Pop on some Hozier and just enjoy this gorgeous setting and themes.

I'm also begging Amazon books please publish physical versions of Alix's kindle exclusive short stories, they're just so good! A high end collectors edition like what Subterranean Press does would be amazing.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. My opinions are my own.

Alix is an auto read author for me, especially her short stories because of the level of detail packed into 30 pages. I was blown away with this short, it hooked me almost from the first sentence, but this is a weird story, does it take place far in the future or in a couple of years? Who is the villain? Who is the hero? Or is it that people are so fundamentally flawed that we don’t even recognize that heroes and villains exist?
Shrike is 17 and their areas secretary (recorder of history) but they are hiding a secret, their wife has turned… and a demon hunter has arrived. The knight is accompanied by a bird that is more than it seems.
I really enjoyed this story and of course would love for a long story set in this world, but also scared that the world would come to fruition.
Highly recommend!!

A fascinating setting that reveals just enough about itself to be intruiging, characters that I cared about, clever references to hundreds of years old “folktales”, commentary on in groups and out groups, rebellion, change - all in 32 pages.

Seventeen year old Shrike lives in the rural community of Iron Hollow, which is an outland community, where most people die young. Recently the community has been plagued by a demon, and a Knight has been summoned to hunt the monster. Yet, Shrike doesn’t want the demon found, because she was her wife, and she believes May still recognizes her.

The Knight and the Butcherbird packs a great dystopian story into a 40 minute read! Harrow brings a lot to this short story, with post-apocalyptic world building, love at all costs, those with power in a dystopian setting, and descriptive writing that brings the demon characters to life. The story covers a wide range of issues such as politics, religion, murder, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition between Shrike’s character and the Knight’s character, as she fights to save May and he works to hunt her down. But the Knight is hiding his own secrets, and they lead to a shocking reveal in his character’s part of the story.

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful, atmospheric short story with a touch of horror, that proves a great story can be told without making it into a novella or a full-length book.