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.

this was a beautiful and emotional story about love, loss and the inevitable change we go through as time goes on (but in demon form!) this was my first time trying out Alix E. Harrow and i’ll be sure to pick up more of their work after loving this short story. the emotion i was able to feel while reading this story was so pleasantly surprising, i’ll definitely be thinking about this for while. i loved it!

No one does short fiction like Alix E. Harrow.
In The Knight and the Butcherbird, a storyteller clings to a demon wife while finding strange resonance with the knight who hunts her. This is a story about the end of the world, about how we change to survive, and about what we would do for the people we love. This so perfectly blends spooky woodland fantasy with Appalachian apocalyptic horror. It is gruesome and uncomfortable, but is beautiful at the same time.
I could go on, but I would hate to spoil such a short story. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this story early.

Harrow has a talent for writing these twisty, innovative short stories. This dystopian tale is somewhat predictable, but only because the clues are given to the readers to figure out. This works since this is so short and doesn't take away any of the harsh and helpless feelings it evokes. I love the ending; it makes this story an interesting critique about the ruling class and the information they control. With the world as it is now (especially in the US), we need stories like this that make us think. It's hard to say more without giving the story away, but I highly recommend this even for those who don't usually read dystopian fiction.

I enjoyed this a lot! It hit just the spot I needed to avoid a slump so thank you very much!! i love alix e harrow and this is my sign to read MORE alix e harrow

This was good!! I love a sapphic short story and this one. Hit. The. Spot. Alix E Harrow can do no wrong

I absolutely loved this wild and perfect modern fairy tale. I only wish there were more of it to read—can’t wait for whatever’s next from Alix! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy 🪶🫐✨

There’s something haunting about all of Harrow’s writing, but this left an impression of a true, yes frightening thing. A post-apocalypse setting that is supposed to be far in the future, but truly could be mere years away… a feral Outland, a brave knight, a people who know only strife and loss. But love persists, for the story keeper and for the knight, searching and searching for answers.

Forever loving the haunting and beautiful writing Alix gives us.

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful story of love and loss. Although it is a short story there was depth to the tale of knights battling demons, the characters were wonderful as was the world itself. Dystopian, emotional, interesting. So much story packed into so few pages, I could have read so many more! I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.

This was an entertaining read with morals mixed in. I enjoyed it but maybe I’m not meant to read short stories because I wanted more. I wanted more time spent on the how and the why.

I absolutely love Alix E. Harrow's short stories, and this was not an exception! I think this might be my new favourite of her short fiction. I loved the post-apocalyptic setting, and the idea of 'demons' and change was so interesting! I liked the hint of romance in the story, and I really loved the characters as well. It is usually difficult to connect with characters in short stories, but it is never a problem with Harrow's short stories! There was a lot of emotion in this (did I cry in public? maybe), and the plot was fascinating. Overall, I would completely recommend this short story, and can't wait to read more from this author! :)

This short story was really good. When I thought I was understanding the premise, it took another turn, and then another one! What it was over, everything came full circle. Regardless of the current day intention, I got Game of Throne vibes and imagined the knight as Clegane, the Mountain. What I thought was a sci-fi, turned out to be a romance.