Cassandra Khaw, Titan Books, (128p) ISBN: 9781835413517. Horror Fantasy, read 11/03/25, Paperback ★★★★★

The Salt Grows Heavy

A dark retelling of the Little Mermaid tale, as dark as the oceans abyss.

I’m really enjoying all these dark retellings of fairy tales and this is one of the best so far as it takes the whole idea to another level and adds in the threads of other tales with a distinct Slavic feel of bones and death.

It is a tale of two souls who’ve been transfigured by their makers, moulding them into what they desired rather than letting them be who they were. The plague doctor and the mermaid, the marionette and the siren.

Fleeing the destruction of her prince and his kingdom the mermaid and the plague doctor come up a village of children and saints, playing games of blood and immortality.

It is a bleak story, with great writing that pulls you into the mind of the mermaid, into those depths of her lost past and her gradual desire to be herself once more, but in doing so we see her actually take on some of the dressings of the old tale as she falls in love and is willing to sacrifice the ocean for that true love.

The saints were really well developed characters that explored the cost to others of powerful men desiring infinite power, and how it dehumanised those who searched for that power. It also looked at the cults that can grow up around that search for power, though those who worship will never share in the power if ever found.

This is the second Cassandra Khaw novella I’ve read recently and both were really good and took their subject and played with the tropes of those traditions and found something new and chilling to say. Looking forward to reading more from Cassandra.