There is nothing that Alix E Harrow can do wrong.

How she manages to create a whole post-apocalyptic world, thought-provoking moral dilemmas, and interesting characters within a short story is completely amazing. I don’t want to live in the world she has created but I want to know more, know everything about it. And yet the story has concluded, unequivocally.

I have been meaning to read Harrow’s backlog and this is the jumpstart I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alix E Harrow, and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a good short story! I love Alex E. Harrow so I had no doubt this would be a great story and I was right. The descriptions were lyrical and characters were beautiful and loveable. I can never get enough of Harrow's beautiful writing and this is just another example of how amazing she is.

OOOH this was an evocative lil (very lil) novella about a post apocalyptic world and the horrific evolutions/de-evolutions of humanity. At its core, this is story about unending love, the horrors that persist, and survival at all costs.

In just under 40 pages, Alix E Harrow is able to just drop you into a world descended from ours, make it feel real, and make you care about the characters- bravo!! Thank you so much to Alix E Harrow and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

"...she becomes something else. Something that survives."

If alix harrow has no fans, i am dead. thank you for this arc.

The wheel turns at the end of the world, and things change. Outside the enclaves, people are living scrounging together a ruthless existence, knowing they can look forward a short life-if theyre lucky. The secretary is there when the knight rides in to Iron Hollow, to hunt the demon in their midst. But nobody ever notices shrike, as she follows him to the wilds to save the only thing shes ever loved.

I mean, i was a snotty mess at the last image of this story. A disaster. Harrow writes prose like its poetry and im always amazed by how her mind works, and in times like these (vaguely gestures at...everything), her characters always make me feel like one person can save the world.

Alix E. Harrow delivers another stunning short story, blending dystopian horror with raw emotion. The Knight and the Butcherbird explores love, grief, and transformation in a post-apocalyptic world where people turn into monsters. Haunting, heartbreaking, and beautifully written—it’s a must-read.

I went into this not knowing really what to expect and I wasn't disappointed. What a unique and intriguing short story. I loved it so much. The characters. The plot. The underlying meanings. All of it. Highly recommend.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

What a beautifully poignant and heartbreaking short story about love, loss, and change.! The Knight and the Butcherbird immediately pulled me in with its haunting premise and vivid world-building, and it amazes me how much of a punch this packed considering it's less than 40 pages. I was wholly engrossed and so impressed with how fleshed out and fully realized the story and characters were.

Harrow’s dystopian world is rich and immersive, with demons and post-apocalyptic horrors woven into a tale of love, sacrifice, and defiance. It's a world of stark disparities where demons are made from the people you love. Dark and bleak and beautifully constructed, it's very easy to get sucked into this wholly original place.

Shrike, the town’s storyteller, is determined to protect her wife, May, who has recently turned into a demon. When a legendary knight arrives to hunt May down, Shrike misdirects him and slowly learns that the knight has secrets of his own that change everything. Part of what makes this story so powerful is Shrike's love for May. Their relationship shows the emotional weight that comes with trying to hold on to someone you’re losing in such a heartbreaking way, and it totally got me right in the feels.

The knight, who at first seems like a simple enemy, has his own secrets, which makes him a way more sympathetic character than I expected. The connection that forms between Shrike and the knight is unexpected and surprisingly moving, and as Shrike learns more about him, you start to see that they’re not very different from each other. There's an emotional complexity in these relationships that hits you deep in the heartstrings. Did it make me cry? Most definitely. I think anyone who has suffered loss will feel this one deeply.

As a former high school English teacher, I've read my fair share of short stories, and I have a list of all-time faves. The Knight and the Butcherbird has officially made it to the top of the list. It's the type of story that you think about long after you finish it, and I already know that it will live rent-free in my head for a long, long time.

This author is a Season's Pass for me.

I will ride ALL THE RIDES.

Even if I waited for that ride for TWO YEARS.
Even if that ride was only THIRTY SIX PAGES.
Even if that ride took only THIRTY MINUTES.

But what a fantastic 30 minutes.

Demons and knights and a post-apocalyptic Wasteland and community and hope and and and LOVE.

My first Alix E. Harrow book and sadly it does not make me want to read more. I found this very underwhelming despite solid themes. Maybe I'll give it another chance another time.

Alix E Harrow can do no wrong. Her writing is enamoring and stuns me every time.
"Nothing grows on a grave while you're standing on it." wow what a punch. Seriously I cannot get enough of her.

what a fabulous short story filled with heart and emotion. this quick tale explores a post-apocalyptic world (that felt more like reality than fiction lol), and at its core, is a book about love. while it isn't romantic, it's grounded in painful truth, heartbreaking grief, and the uncomfortable weight of transformation. such a profound story told in a short amount of time. stunning!

Alix E. Harrow is a master of short fiction. Upon finishing The Knight and the Butcherbird, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that such stories exist, and that I have the privilege of reading them.

With a premise that is entirely captivating and manages to be familiar and novel all at once, enhanced by gorgeous storytelling and lush prose, The Knight and the Butcherbird is, at heart, a love story. As is Harrow’s The Six Deaths of the Saint. And much like that one, it isn’t romantic or sweet but heart-wrenching and steeped in truth. It explores humanity’s complex relationship with grief, what it feels like to mourn someone who isn’t quite dead but rather unrecognizable, a distortion of the person you once loved. And the longing, the unadulterated yearning, to be with them in this state even if it demands your own deterioration. I don’t know what love is. But when I read harrow’s work, I feel like I do.

In a post-apocalyptic world, a small Appalachian community known as Iron Hollow is being troubled by a demon. A legendary knight is called upon to rid them of the monster but the towns new oral historian, Shrike, isn’t about to let that happen. The demon was once Shrike‘a wife May and she is certain the some part of her still remains beneath the beast. Determined to keep her wife safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his hawk through the forest only to discover the knight has a secret of his own.

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a dystopian short story that packs a big punch. This was such an enjoyable read by an author whose novels I find very enjoyable. A book about loss, love, and the willingness to protect that love at any cost. This was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year and I highly recommend giving it a try…a must read for 2025!

Genuinely not sure how Alix E. Harrow can pack so much story and emotion into 30-something page stories - what kind of witchcraft is this??

The Knight and the Butcherbird is an atmospheric, lyrical, dystopian love story, with knights, demons, and, oh yeah, fever dream physical corruption of antlers and fangs and feathers. Much like the excellent The Six Deaths of the Saint, I would love to stay in this world for a much longer novel, but also like that little masterpiece, the pacing, characterizations, and emotional beats of this hit hard in a short amount of pages. The imagery is a standout - the story is so vivid!

Thank you to the publisher, Amazon Original Stories, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

A great post apocalyptic short story! The writing was wonderful, with an incredible setting. Hope we get more stories from this world.

"In this dystopian fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, a small town's storyteller struggles to protect a local demon from the knight hired to kill it.

Hundreds of years after the end of the world, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow finds itself beset by demons. Such horrors are common these days in the outlands, where most folks die young - if they don't turn into monsters first.

When a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest unearthly beast to haunt their woods, the town's new oral historian, Shrike, has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her - that May is still herself, somewhere beneath it all - she can't prove it.

Determined to keep May safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his demon-hunting hawk through the recesses of the forest. But as they creep through toxic creeks and overgrown kudzu, Shrike realizes the knight has a secret of his own. And he'll do anything to protect it."

All dystopian and post-apocalyptic tales need kudzu.

The Knight and the Butcherbird comes with the description, “A dystopian fairy tale” and honestly I can’t beat that. And I am in awe of how much of a world is conjured up in just 36 pages!

The post-apocalyptic setting feels all-too bleak, with small communities scratching out a sort-of life in the wilds where radiation kills everyone one way or another. If you’re unlucky, the ‘other’ way is a sprouting of feathers, or horns, or scales – and being branded a ‘demon’ by your friends and family.

Elsewhere, there are Enclaves – places where technology still exists and society hasn’t quite collapsed. Part of the Enclave’s duties is to deal with the demons – to hunt them down without mercy. Which is a little bit of a problem for our main character, a girl called Shrike who knows in her heart that said demon still recognises her – still loves her.

Without wasting a word, we’re treated to just enough back story about Shrike, and about the Knight – both intriguing characters. Most of all, though, the story is about love and what people will do to protect it.

Absolutely worth your time, and I just wish there was going to be more in this world. However, this is also a perfect short story and I leave it well satisfied.

I really enjoyed this dystopian novella very much. I loved the way the author made it seem like the medieval times, when actually it was a story about the world after an apocalypse that happened sometime after covid.

A PERFECT novella!! This is another shining example to add to my quick read recs for people who discredit them.

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a dystopian fantasy about a village storyteller, Shrike, who is desperate to protect a demon that a knight has come to destroy. These demons are common phenomena in communities like hers, and the townspeople rely on the ruthless knights to hunt them down before they kill everyone around them. But what if those demons were once people and the people who love them can't let them go? Shrike is determined to stop the knight from finding this particular demon, and she needs to learn as much as she can about him in order to do this. Her hunt reveals there is more to the knight than the stony facade he shows the world and the two have more in common than they expected.

The connection between the main characters feels so natural and the author does a fantastic job or making the reader empathise with both despite only being given Shrike's POV. Shrike is tenacious and brave, and the knight is like an onion (layers) and I am stunned by how well his character was explored in so few pages. Their friendship was unexpected and quite wholesome despite the circumstances and I love the almost paternal themes that come out by the end.

This book explores love, grief, courage even to your own detriment, and the risks people in love will take to avoid their biggest fears. My heart ached from Shrike and the knight by the end of this book. I didn't know how the story would end, but the suspense is heavy because you know there's no perfect resolution coming.

This is the second book I've read by Alix E. Harrow and I was very disappointed by my first encounter wth this author, so I am over the moon that this exceeded my expectations. Fingers crossed I will find another gem in their works!

Alix E. Harrow blew me away with this dystopian fairytale, it was so unique and it broke my heart. Harrow‘s been on my TBR for ages but this was my first time reading something they‘d written. This dystopian fairytale is only thirty-six pages long but Harrow transports you into a post-apocalyptic world, makes your heart ache for the monsters, and ties everything up beautifully by the end. In a world where the poor are struggling to survive several centuries after a nuclear war, a knight arrives to kill the “demon” plaguing the village, and more than one love story unfolds amongst the horrors. The knight’s wearing recycled tires instead of the traditional armor, he’s accompanied by a hawk, and the “demons” are definitely not what you’re expecting. Shrike Secretary and Sir John were such complex characters and I felt for both of them, which is impressive, considering the story’s only thirty-six pages long. I went into this story completely blind and I don’t regret it. This is a quick read that’s perfect for anyone that enjoys warped fairytales, dystopian fiction, and even a little bit of a love story. I fully intend to read the rest of this author’s backlist. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!