| Title | : | In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret: A Fairy Tale for Elders |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781957537061 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 124 |
| Publication | : | Published November 22, 2022 |
But will there be a fairy tale ending, or will poisoned legacies and pacts with dark forces see ambition unravel in her relentless pursuit of power?
Bloody, and brilliantly realised, Baird’s dark fantasy nightmare spins a lavish tale of dread, desire, and fantastical fury.
In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret: A Fairy Tale for Elders Reviews
-
I requested this book because I was expecting a darker folktale/fairytale read. This was not that, and I’m honestly not sure what it was.
If there was a plot, I surely couldn’t find it (thus why there’s no summary of the book for my review). The writing style was not engaging in the least. There were massive chunks of exposition that rarely moved the plot forward and provided intricate details about the most unnecessary things. This led to a complete lack of atmosphere. This is even worse since the book is supposed to be a “dark fantasy nightmare” and is classified as a horror. The author told everything rather than showing, which majorly contributed to the lack of atmosphere.
The characters had no personality. They were impossible to connect to and merged with each other since they sounded so similar. They felt completely detached from this story and were lacking all depth and development. This read is only about 120 pages, but it felt four times as long to me.
Quick aside: I scare easily, and I even waited to start this book until I wasn’t going to be home alone in the evenings. But there wasn’t even one thing that was remotely scary about this book. There were some gruesome scenes and descriptions of torture that were gross but not scary, tense, or suspenseful.
This book does have many more high ratings than low ratings, so please check out other reviews if you are interested in reading it. My thanks to BookSirens and Brigids Gate Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. -
In this volume, Keith Anthony Baird gives the Brothers Grimm a run for their money!
IN THE GRIMDARK STRANDS OF THE SPINNERET: A FAIRY TALE FOR ELDERS, generations are caught up in webs of vengeance, deceit, treachery, death,and gore. History just repeats itself on and on and on. Every time it does, a cocoon is made, suspended in the air until a chrysalis is formed, vibrating with the pulse of yet another...unholy birth. Will it ever come to an end? You'll have to read this to find out.
This novella was not what I was expecting at all. (I do so love to be surprised!) I'm not one much interested in fairy tales. but I must admit this was pretty dark and gory. Yay! Take a brutal fairy tale, turn it into something even more dark, (or Grimdark), then link it to another fairy tale and another and you have a good idea of how this novella is going to go. I love the freshness of the idea and what Baird ultimately did with it.
The only negative thing I have to say, and it's a small thing- is that this is a dense tale. There is very little dialogue. This means the reader is confronted with page after page of solid text. It was a little daunting at first, but for this reader, once I got the feel of what was happening, I rolled with it and took a break every couple of chapters, and then I lived happily ever after.
This is an impressive novella, with a new take on some of the oldest stories in a horror fan's library, and as such? I highly recommend it!
*Thanks to Brigids Gate Press for the e-ARC of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* -
"A woman’s hurt is a visceral thing. The want for revenge is quite another. Together, they can evoke the rise of a primitive passion. But in dark craft combined, with the guidance of one who walks between worlds, these things can be made manifest and become a vessel of retribution to howl from the beyond."
A mothers want for revenge sets in motion more than just her own desire. A vengefulness held on to for generations has now been set into motion. Life for all is hanging on a balance of lies and deception, dark desires, and ultimate death. The crone of the woods is spinning her web of vengeance and her web of dreadful, wicked creations.
"And so it came to pass, in the most empty hour of the night, that new life was born from the entrails of death, and its cries were another weeping of the forest."
"Once, long ago, her heart had been poisoned by such blind desire, and those opposing her had come to know the little of their worth in the grimdark strands of the spinneret."
This was my first experience reading the works of KAB, and it was quite the experience. I found myself completely lost in the storytelling and feeling so many emotions. The darkness was foreboding, the sinful birthing was frightening. I shuddered at the death and bloodshed. This grimdark fairytale is disturbing and bleak in all its unfolding. There is no happiness nor is there a happy ending.
The prose is rich and almost lyrical, at times I found myself walking around my home, reading aloud, and pondering. Often re-reading lines that struck with such beauty and were simply breathtaking. Vivid imagery that sparks the imagination.
Enchanting and sorrowful, darkly woven threads of great storytelling!
Original, haunting, and tragic!
My love of dark fairytales has been rekindled! -
Keith Anthony Baird’s latest tale evokes many emotions whilst reading and shows what a fine tale he’s spun. It’s beautifully written, every line seems to slip off the tongue like a bewitching song showcasing a lyricism of past masters. His prose is a delight, and I read numerous lines again and again just to sample and savour how truly beautiful they were.
This book is dark, it’s horrific, but also melancholic and heartrending in places - it’s a fable-like tale that will live forever.
It’s how a fairytale should be whilst also transcending the genre made famous by the Grimm Brothers; and it manages to break free of the genre because its a masterpiece of fiction writing.
Baird has written one of the books of the year and dare I even say it… a modern classic. -
I'm not sure where to start with this review, other than it's absolutely fantastic. I'm really struggling to think of another book that it is similar too but can't. It's such an original book!
As a child I loved fairy tales, I really liked the dark ones such as Hansel and Gretal, Little Red Riding Hood, tales of children going off on their own in a bog dark forest full of magic and malevolence so this book, In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret was right up my street.
This book remains very faithful to the Grimm brothers and has none of the essence of Disney. This is a dark tale with the same heart wrenching brutality you'll find in the Game of Thrones franchise. This book is a relentless ride of dark and sinister imagery, vivid story telling and rollercoaster plot turns. This is one of those books that makes you want to read it again and again.
The language is really sublime and whisks you to a place of nightmares and dreams. This is a perfect book for horror and fantasy fans! -
Review to come!
-
DNF I got 75% in and I was just skimming. Couldn’t follow along and was racing to the end. I could not get into this at all. I was expecting a dark fairy tale type story and it was so much more than that. I guess my problem was that it was just too vague and I couldn’t connect
-
N.B. I no longer rate on goodreads. My thanks to the author for granting me an early peep at this dark and mysterious tale.
In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret weaves a dark fantasy fairytale from luscious prose, laced with a poisonous web of deceit and vengeance.
Evocative and spell-binding! -
I don’t know about other people but as the seasons turn cooler, my reading tastes change. They become a little bit moodier, a little bit darker. I doubt I’m the only one, given how many thriller and horror novels are joining must-read lists and TBR piles. But what if you don’t want to pick up a thriller? What if you’re a dedicated fantasy reader who wants to walk on the darker side? That’s where dark fantasy books come in.
The definition of dark fantasy can be hard to pin down. It’s not synonymous with horror, but there can be overlap. In fact, fantasy novels written by horror authors often get categorized as dark fantasy. For other people, fantasy novels that are a little grittier, a little bloodier, a little more. In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret: A Fairy Tale For Elders by Keith Anthony Baird is an amazing dark fantasy novel story of dread, desire, and fantastical fury.
I found this story to be pretty excellent and very readable for the modern audience. Keith Anthony Bairds’ explanation for the fantasy is a mix of horror and fantasy and is very imaginative.
In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret: A Fairy Tale For Elders is a brilliant combination of fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror. It is a true masterpiece by Keith Anthony Baird.
Highly Recommended! -
This was a beautifully written decadent gloomy fairytale, fans of dark fantasy will love this!
-
Beautiful prose with some exquisite imagery but the story feels like a weak thread that I couldn’t quite fully grasp.
DNF -
As you can probably guess from the title, this is a dark, bleak story, and I loved every bit of it. Let's think Neil Gaiman, written in an almost old world style, with the darkness, fantastical, and gore turned all the way up. Where Gaiman takes us to the edge of dark, gothic fairytales, Keith Anthony Baird pushes us over the edge while whispering his dark thoughts and imagery through a vast lexicon as we plummet into the abyss.
Okay, I tried, but I can't write like this author. I mean, can we just stop and appreciate the talent that went into the title alone?
In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret is a wonderful dark fantasy horror novella, and the way it is written is the icing on the cake, at least for me. I usually listen to music when I read, but for this one, I found myself turning off the music so I could concentrate fully on the wording used. This author's vocabulary is absolutely astounding, and it is written in such a way that I forgot I was reading story that had just been released. It has an old world feel to it with its wording, as if you're reading something centuries old.
Keeping with the fairytale theme, none of the characters are given names. Everyone is referenced by titles, further adding to the timeless feeling of this story.
The story itself follows an old crone with strange, dark powers, all the people that seek her out for dark favors, and the curses those favors ultimately bring down. The tale weaves through generations in a secluded valley and castle, bordered by an ancient forest that the crone calls home.
Mix in dark magic, necromancy, malicious human/spider hybrids, undead warriors, all piled on top of a classical style story of generational sin, and you will start to get a feeling of what this story is all about. Any fans of Lovecraft or Poe will be sure to love this story. -
Keith Anthony Baird is a virtuoso of the fairy tale. His writing style is dreamlike, the voice of a storyteller telling the reader his tale by the crackling fires in the midst of the woods on a moonless night. In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret begins when betrayal extinguishes a noble bloodline and the final heir is a woman who takes refuge in the woods.
You can read Zach's full review at Horror DNA by
clicking here. -
Thanks to Keith Anthony Baird for this dark and gloomy gem. When I was reading this book, even though I read the preface, I thought:
‘’Am I descending into the depths of an obscure and corrupted world made by a fool or is this just a wicked nightmare? Well, it is so hypnotic I cannot free myself from it!’’ I kept reading, knowing that something was about to happen. Something that no one can withstand: Death. A feeling that crawls under your skin, slowly blooming without realizing until it is too late for you. With different characters and their different tasks, I felt enthralled by how everything was connected. At least is what I think.
Now, the plot itself is…heavy. Not in terms of syntax. Written so well, that I was imagining everything in real time. It contains, however, elements that are not suitable for everyone. For example:
• -Violence. It is not fully detailed; however, your imagination runs wild. You witness the demise of those who fight or try to resist. How naïve.
• -Deception. You can be as powerful as you want, but if someone knows what the future holds for you, you can be deceived. Sweet lies. Sweet and sinister lies.
• -As stated before, Death is something unavoidable. Here, in this novel, it is omnipresent. She follows you everywhere, in every moment of your insignificant life. Once your days are numbered, she waits. A soul-crushing wait. Then she drags you in the shadows.
• -Cannibalism. You will see.
Other trigger warnings: at the end of the novel.
I applaud this novel. A grotesque, feverish dream born in the depths of a broken mind of a fool. Now, a simple question: can we have a sequel?
Moreover, this book gave me a huge amount of inspiration for a D&D Campaign. Well done, Keith.
Well done. -
The author says he set out to write a true, old fashioned fairy tale in this book. In that endeavour, he definitely succeeds, but he also ends up with a real epic prose poem, such is the beautiful nature of the text.
I studied a lot of epic prose poetry in Latin in my misspent youth as a classicist, and there is so much here that reminds me of it. Patterns, recurring turns of phrase, and, of course, skilfully crafted prose where not a single word feels random.
The decision not to name the characters also gives it a real sense of a "tale of old".
Intense, ink-dark, and stunningly written, this is a book not to be missed. -
A crone, a baron, and spiders of the dark are all woven together in this modern fairy tale that doesn't feel very modern at all. In fact, if I didn't know better I would swear that this is an old fairy tale of yore, passed down through generations with the intention of scaring children and chilling the souls of those who hear it told.
The tale is beautifully dark, poetic, and often very gruesome. The writing style is unique, with language that is often very flowery and gothic but still carries the story forward at a steady pace. The novella combines elements of magic fantasy, romance, grief, and horror within a story that continually circles back on itself, culminating in a fairy tale ending that is not your typical "happily ever after" but feels very satisfying.
This is one of the best horror fairy tales I've had the pleasure of reading and I recommend it highly. It's grim and wonderful.
Thank you to the author Keith Anthony Baird and the publisher Brigids Gate Press for the advance copy of the book in exchange for this honest review. -
Beautiful and gory all at once,
Keith Anthony Baird’s prose masterfully paints scenes just as wild and whimsical as they are horrifying and just as bleak and grotesque as they are fanciful. Often,
In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret: A Fairy Tale For Elders reads like a work of poetry, and I found myself glued to each page as the imagery flooded my mind — and left me eager to read the entirety of this novella in just one sitting!
Focused more on its overarching themes rather than the will and wants of individual characters, this story feels like a collection of story stories set in the same world jumping between various points of view — at least in the earlier chapters. Each segment tells a separate tale of nobles and commoners alike turning to the forest’s crone to make dark deals in pursuit of revenge.
No character is given a name. And perhaps that abstraction only strengthens this idea that throughout time and no matter one’s class or bloodline, two truths persist in this land: “Grief is a visceral thing. And the want for revenge is another.”
Seeing how that theme played out in each chapter and with each new cast was truly a joy. The lack of character names was rarely a hindrance. There were a few moments — namely during battles — that I wished for names only as a means to distinguish who exactly was doing what. But the context generally was more than sufficient on its own.
By the midpoint, the story's 'shadow protagonist' emerges and takes part in this vicious cycle herself rather than merely serving as a catalyst for misfortune reminiscent of W. W. Jacobs’ ‘The Monkey's Paw’. While it was a nice twist to see the theme come full circle and show that even the crone herself wasn’t above the truths of her land, I did start to feel like the novella lost steam towards the end.
Some of that may be a symptom of the repetition finally overstaying its welcome, but I found, too, that the bulk of the surprising turns and imaginative prose fizzled out by the fifth chapter and onward. Gone were the large-scale battles spanning paragraphs and in its place were blanket descriptions that had the final fight between the realm’s supreme magic users glossed over as ‘epic’ with little more detail.
That’s not to say the end was truly predictable. There were twists along the way that served to thwart the conclusion I had long anticipated was coming, but it did feel ‘tame’ compared to earlier moments where the ambitious and broken-hearted alike fell in increasingly gruesome ways.
»- I was provided a free copy of this book via
BookSirens . My thoughts and opinions are my own, and I was neither paid nor had any contractual obligation to leave a review. -« -
“In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret” by Keith Anthony Baird is marketed as a “fairy tale for elders.” The main thrust of the plot revolves around a deposed princess who spends a lifetime plotting her revenge, only to, in turn, be betrayed by the next in line to her rule. There is magic and war and intrigue in the intervening years.
I generally like fairy-tale retellings or new incarnations based on the tropes of the past. This one has many of the appealing aspects of a dark fantasy. The basic plot points are good and could lend themselves to a very lush, long fantasy novel. Some of the language is quite poetic, but in other spots it feels overwrought. What is really missing here, however, is the deeper perspective that most reinventions utilize and that most modern readers desire. Because of the sparing use of dialogue and deep scene, the narration flows more like summary. I kept expecting what felt like the background retelling to stop and the real scene to begin, but it never happened. As a result, right up until the end, I was never into the text because it felt like narration that could be skimmed. In addition, one graphic scene was repeated four times with very little change. While I appreciate repetition for effect, in this case because of the length of the scene, it didn’t really work for me.
I really wanted to like Baird’s “In the Grimdark Strands of the Spinneret,” but it just wasn’t to my taste. Other readers have given it five stars. Check those reviews if you are still interested after reading mine. Maybe they will speak to you. I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my review. -
ok my first book of 2023 i started it today and finished it today .. i thought this was actually pretty gruesome and very dark in places but i still loved it , its about revenge and all , and magic death decay and lust . death of a daughter who was pregnant , and revenge over a century ,.. sounds aweasome right , well it was , i loved characters in it , from the cron to the gypsies and the mystery lady in the woods .
story line was really well thought out as well . The cover is amazing very eye catching indeed . The descriptive words and sentences used throughtout the book are brilliant and very inspiring to read almost poetic in a way .
Will certainly read more from this author and will re read this book again , certainly worth the read , but do not recommend to really young teens , as it has rape ,voilence and sex , and very detailed ways of killing kids . so i would say adult reads only . great read .
Banners of skull and bone held black flags which snaked on a breeze, and heavy armour gave rhythmic rattle to the death-dealers it encased .
brillant isnt it . -
In the Grimdark of the Spinneret by Keith Anthony Baird is a satisfying read. As a grad student who has studied folklore and fairy tales, this was right up my alley. The short novella featured all the right elements. Keith created this wonderful wed of the darkest journeys of them all. Originally, fairy tales were more like nightmares than the Disney version we all grew up with as kids. I enjoyed reading a book that represented all the original elements and making it an unforgettable adventure.
Dark, horror, deadly, and highly entertaining, this is a must read. Plus, there is always a woman at the center core of fairy tales. Women were very dangerous in fairy tales. Their violence is made of nightmares. Keith did a great job at making a woman at the core of the tale and how her journey took an evil turn. Overall, I highly recommend this to all who love diving deep into a world of darkness and wonderful complex characters.
I received this copy from the publisher. This is my voluntary review. -
A tale born of betrayal and revenge, a visually dark and gory narrative. And it grabbed me right off the bat, with the first couple of sentences emotionally setting the scene for a mothers’ revenge.
A dark fairytale upon a dark fairytale and round and round we go, full of horrifyingly graphic detail of the necromancy and other worldly creatures and how they are made and transformed.
A tale of women scorned and what they can muster to get their revenge.
Confused at times and I had to reread a few passages to sort out what was going on.
I received an advance review copy for free from Brigids Gate Press via Book Sirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
Thank You BookSirens and Keith Anthony Baird.
This fairytale was a bit dry for my personal taste. I was looking forward to reading this short story as it mentioned about the Winter Solitice. One of my favorite times of the year.
The characters needed more depth. I really did not find any connection. This fairytale was not scary.
The two main themes feature in this short story are
For every action, there is always a reaction and consequences that follow. Hell has No FURY as a Woman scorned
Revenge Horror
Occult
Supernatural -
Really enjoyed this. Loved the complex, gothic language, the heavy, recurring themes, the crumbling castle once populated by decadent nobles, and the setting of this lost valley, now bewitched. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary author who effortlessly captures the feeling of Poe, Lovecraft, Peake et al.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have to start by saying this book was heavy in so many ways. I was expecting a dark fairy tale but this was like Brothers Grimm level dark. I want it know there are some trigger warnings listed at the back section of it. It is a dark and emotions story for sure and there is not a lot of dialog in this book. That did take some getting used to. I have not seem many books written in this style.
-
What a beautifully written dark fairytale, truly not for the faint of heart. I enjoyed the author’s cryptic, foreboding writing style, and this story sobered me in the sense that not all fairytales have happy endings.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
"A woman's suffering is a visceral thing. The want for revenge is quite another. Together, they can evoke the rise of a primitive passion."
Great story and characters were interesting. Loved this dark fantasy and can't wait to read more by this author! -
This is indeed a fairytale of a book. The writing is unique and pretty, but I did find it difficult at times to engage with it - the generalisations were tricky in terms of relating to any characters (although I'm not sure that's entirely the point). Also the constant pain of women while written by a man... difficult to read for me!
A pleasant, if tricksy, diversion.
