From USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a razor-sharp and bewitching fairytale of discovering the darkness in the world, and the darkness within oneself. “This brilliant novella is not to be missed.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review You may think you know how the fairytale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three “saints” who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive. A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.
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"What with poisonous relationships, parasite houses, and ghost brides, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a really bad idea for a wedding, and a really great idea for a nightmare-on-the-page. This book is so magnificently rotten it writhes with literary maggots, and deserves a place of honor among its peers in horror."
— C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Bone Swans: Stories
“Devastatingly effective…a folklore-infused world that feels wholly unique. Expertly blending a gothic atmosphere with elements of splatterpunk, this brilliant novella is not to be missed.
— Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewA feverishly gory, grotesquely beautiful and baroque fairy-tale-meets-love-sonnet. Cassandra Khaw’s imagination is limitless.
— Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of GhostsCassandra Khaw’s writing is never more lyrical than when they’re describing the knife in your heart. The bones of a fairy tale sunk deep in a charnel house of descriptive prose, an elegant confection with a blood-soaked core. I devoured it in one sitting.
— T. Kingfisher, multi-award winning author of What Moves the Dead and Nettle & BoneKhaw uses poetically beautiful words to tear open your chest and gnaw on your ribs in this needle-sharp novella.
— Kaaron Warren, author of Slights and The Grief HoleCassandra Khaw’s writing is immaculate, with every word carefully chosen for maximum impact. The Salt Grows Heavy is a truly mesmerizing story and one of the finest works of horror and dark fantasy I have ever read, dripping with a gruesome and disquieting passion.
— Grimdark MagazineCassandra Khaw’s steely prose is matched only by the inventiveness of their imagination. The Salt Grows Heavy demonstrates their continuing mastery of the novella form with a story Angela Carter would be jealous to have written.
— John Langan, author of Corpsemouth and Other AutobiographiesA brutal and deadly romp whose language is as sharp and glittery as a scalpel made of ice. Strange and compelling, The Salt Grows Heavy is unlike anything else out there, a dark spell with needle-like teeth.
— Brian Evenson, author of The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell and Song for the Unraveling of the WorldBrutally delicious! Khaw is a master of teasing your senses, and then terrorizing them!
— N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The Fifth SeasonThis is a glorious poem, a slow-motion collapse leading to the inevitable haunting. It is beautiful and it is brutal and it is heartbroken. Absolutely recommended.
— Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a DoorwayImagine chucking House on Haunted Hill, Japanese folklore, Clive Barker, and Kathy Acker into a literary blender. Nothing But Blackened Teeth reads like the ghost-punk noir you never knew you needed. It's sharp, playful, and nasty as hell.
— Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Survivor SongKhaw’s prose oozes dread....Horror readers and folklore fans will find this tale of terror to be brutally satisfying.
— Publishers WeeklyKhaw’s tale seems to come at you straight, setting up your story expectations, but then twists the knife at the last minute, leaving you reeling, but wanting more.
— Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim seriesKhaw's got a sterling premise, enduring lore, and the fresh talent to voice it.
— Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird BoxDelicate and disgusting...Each page holds an image more finely drawn and disturbing than the last.
— T. Kingfisher, author of The Twisted OnesThis book burns and crackles and slithers, its prose as beautiful and deadly as its horror. Cassandra Khaw is a master of the terrifying tale.
— Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish CityReading Cassandra Khaw is akin to watching a nightmare ballet, full of beauty and elegance, pain and fragility, and breathless terror. Nothing but Blackened Teeth is mesmerizing. Don’t miss it!
— Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Red HandsKhaw is a prose wizard who has quickly become an auto-buy for me. This story of a wedding at a malevolent manor is as unexpected and delightful as their poetic approach to horror, and I loved every sharp, delicious twist of it.
— Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Druid ChroniclesThis is Hill House for this century, this is Belasco House with people we’ve known since third grade, and it’s got a smile so wicked you might just have to grin along with it. I know I did.
— Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good IndiansKhaw is always compulsively readable. This was a wonderful haunted-house story, modern characterizations in compelling tension with a lyrically beautiful ancient Japanese residence.
— Kij Johnson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy AwardsReaders looking for bite-size horror on a stormy night will appreciate Khaw’s twisted tale.
— BookPageA deft and creepy haunted house story, written in a lyrical style that heightens the disorienting, phantasmagoric nature of the tale. Nothing But Blackened Teeth is the kind of story you lose sleep over.
— Brian Evenson, author of Song for the Unraveling of the WorldIf Guillermo del Toro directed The Ring, it might play out something like this engaging thriller. Japanese mythological creatures come to life in this dynamic, unique tale that will satisfy horror readers eager for fresh blood.
— BooklistA feast for the senses. Deeply enriching, twisted, and deliciously dark, the upcoming novella is a definite must-read.
— The Nerd DailyBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Cassandra Khaw writes horror, press releases, video games, and articles about video games and tabletop RPGs. These are not necessarily unrelated items. Her work can be found in professional short story magazines such as Tor.com, Clarkesworld, Fireside Fiction, Uncanny, and the scientific journal Nature. Cassandra’s first original novella Hammers on Bone came out in October 2016. To her mild surprise, people seem to enjoy it.
James Fouhey is an actor and narrator living in New York City. He received classical training at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He has recorded more than forty audiobooks across a variety of genres, including science fiction, romance, young adult fiction, and children’s fiction.