Mouse and Owl: a novelette by Bracken MacLeod

Mouse and Owl: a novelette Reviews

• 
  Sadie Hartmann

  Last month, when this whole social distancing started, the horror family went into this spirit of generosity mode and a bunch of authors made some of their books free on Amazon.
  I picked up only a few, I didn't want to take advantage, but I swore that I would read & review them in a timely manner.
  This is the first of those.
  So thank you, Bracken MacLeod for this free novelette.
  I read the whole thing last night. The beginning starts off ushering in so much pain and grief, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it just before bed. But in predictable MacLeod fashion, readers have no choice in the matter because the story is bewitching and magnetic; impossible to set aside.
  I've read a lot of MacLeod's short stories. A whole collection and several others found in anthologies. He's my favorite short story writer and the primary reason for this is his versatility.
  The man can write in any genre he so desires.
  This particular story is high fantasy with magical realism elements.
  Nergüi forces herself to endure the public humiliation and execution of her husband. Now, a secret widow with nobody brave enough to be near her, she must survive on her own. But just surviving is not an option. The injustice of her husband's spilled blood provokes Nergüi to seek revenge and in all honesty, she has nothing to lose.
  I have no idea how some authors manage to get readers to invest in their characters in so few pages but this always happens to me when I read Bracken's stories. Nergüi is a fine heroine. I invested in her plight immediately.
  This is a novelette. A one-sitting read, which means, I don't want to say any more about this other than, Bracken MacLeod is still the reigning short story champion in my mind. Buy this.
• 
  Paul Anderson

  I came to this not because I'm that into high fantasy (I'm not), but on the belief that MacLeod's skill as a writer could carry me into a place outside of my reading comfort zone. He did and the story was richer because, for me, it felt more real than a lot of fantasy I've encountered over the years, stuff that has always struck me as overly sanitized. This was good. I'd even read a full novel of this genre, trusting MacLeod's ability.
• 
  Cory Mason

  I recognize some good elements, but the story didn't fire on all cylinders for me. The atmosphere and writing style were overall enjoyable. I never had much of an issue with the words themselves or the environments they depicted in the moment. It's the characters and the worldbuilding that didn't work as well for me.
  
  There were hints at lore, but only enough to confuse in a lot of places. The magic was introduced kind of late and didn't track at all times for me. I don't mind soft magic but when the big turn at the end relies on something I couldn't have expected that's kind of weird for me. Even a sprinkle of indication in the first half of the book that these people had access to unfathomable old magics would've been good. I definitely see the author's Robert E. Howard influences in that style and that's fine, but I'm just not a fan of it.
  
  And the Ealdorman doesn't compel me as a villain. To me it wasn't really clear who he was. He's...a rich guy? He's in charge of that part of the city? And for some reason he gets to keep his identity a secret like that's an important thing? I don't understand the significance of him and these practices. The stuff he enforced was obviously cruel and unjust and I agree this is a bad guy, but the strokes are too broad. I would've hated him a lot more if he had simply been the one carrying out the execution of the husband instead of not even being present while some cop did it. And is this the same Ealdorman who raped Nergüi or no? That was also unclear, and would've helped me hate him if that's the case.
  
  I'm also not totally clear on whether the genocide Nergüi describes happened under the regime this guy belongs to or if this is a completely different government. I'm confused about that because it's not too common for regimes to decide they should stop doing a genocide and let people be citizens.
  
  I don't want to give it just a flat 2 stars but not enough of it worked for me, and it kind of felt like the whole world wasn't there (it's fine to have a small scope but this referenced big scope things without fully weaving them in, in my opinion). I would read more from this author. This one just wasn't for me.
• 
  Steve Stred

  As the news of COVID-19 has spread, a number of authors have offered up some of their back catalogs as free ebooks to help calm some stress and allow people to relax and enjoy some books without depleting their bank.
  
  MacLeod offered up a couple, ‘Mouse and Owl’ being one of them. I snagged it and figured I’d read it ASAP and get a review out in the hopes that more folks snag this and then grab some of his fantastic releases. I have ‘Stranded’ by him as well and can’t wait to start that.
  
  What I liked: This was fantasy-horror done right. We follow Nergui as she watches her husband pay for a crime. It’s short and brutal but one of the best kill scenes I’ve read in some time, a two paragraph death that would take RR Martin 200 pages to write. The story is engaging and drew me in immediately. The ending: WOW. Just a stunning finale that is both heart wrenching but also painted a vivid picture.
  
  What I didn’t like: Fantasy based stories can often be epic-length reads, and with this being a single sitting read (think it took me 35 minutes) I had some questions about some of the small details MacLeod had added in, but nothing too major.
  
  Why you should buy it: seeing as its free, should be a no brainer, but really, this is an amazing novelette that should leap frog you into grabbing more MacLeod work. I really can’t wait to start ‘Stranded’ now, so hoping to get to it this month!
• 
  Angela

  I stumbled on the novelette on my Kindle and it intrigued me. I never heard of this author and was shocked that this was so short compared to the description.
  
  This story falls within dark fantasy. It opens to Nergüi hopelessly watching her husband, Ilarion, being tortured and executed publicly for a crime he did not commit. Some of their kind, Aztlal, were refugees brought to the city and stripped of their nomadic lifestyles. The city is where the powerful are highly privileged and it’s civilians are conformed to what the elite want. She was sold and hurt before her marriage to Ilarion by these elite. Their people were wiped of their beliefs and respect for life. Nergüi, in her grief, pulled her most valuable inherited possession from hiding to avenge her husband’s death by use of its power. She catches a rat the found its way into her home and uses it within her plot to seek revenge on the highest of power.
  
  I found the ending to be mediocre compared to what Nergüi was capable of. Plus, the magical ring could’ve been so much more than what was portrayed considering nomadic beliefs. There’s was history of her own battles and scars in addition to her husband’s brutal death that I expected the full wrath of her pain. I felt that this slightly hurt the story because the reader gains sympathy for Nergüi but her act of revenge falls flat.
• 
  Angela Maher

  A delicious little dark fantasy story. I could taste revenge in the air but I could not see where it would lead.
• 
  Josh

  A striking dark fantasy tale of violence, silenced culture, and revenge. In swift strokes, MacLeod draws us in to one woman's loss and ancient magic--driving toward a dramatic, lingering conclusion.