If you’re into folk music or murder ballads at all, you have probably heard at least one version of the classic ballad sometimes known as “The Two Sisters” or “The Bonny Swans.” The song has many variations, but the lyrics generally tell the story of one sister who drowns the other out of romantic jealousy. The body of the dead sister is then made into a musical instrument and sings out her accusation of murder. Amal El-Mohtar takes this ballad as inspiration for fantasy novella The River Has Roots, but flips the story to explore both sisterly and romantic love in a bite-sized tale with beautifully lyrical prose and a fascinating magic system. The book comes out next Wednesday, March 4. Continue reading Review of The River Has Roots—Magic and Murder Ballads
Month: February 2025
Review of Dark Archives—Macabre Nonfiction
Books bound in human skin—it’s a gruesome image and one most often tied to legends of occult treatises or murderous keepsakes. But are all of the macabre legends out there really true? How can you tell the difference between leather made from human skin and that made from animals? And, historically, what kind of books have actually gotten this treatment? Megan Rosenbloom, the world’s foremost expert on the subject, explores these questions and more in her book Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin, which came out back in 2020. I don’t breeze through nonfiction books quite the way I do with fiction, but I’ve long appreciated Megan Rosenbloom’s work with the Order of the Good Death and I can never resist a good book about the history of books. Though it took me a while to get around to it, I found Dark Archives to be fascinating, informative, and definitely worth the read! Continue reading Review of Dark Archives—Macabre Nonfiction