I received a free copy of this book, and I read it as part of the judging effort for the SFINCS3 novella competition. I’m part of Team TBR, but these thoughts are my own and do not reflect the final rating of the team.
Reap, Sow
By S.H. Cooper
The writing is beautiful, the story is horrifying, and the truth hurts.
I don’t consider myself a fan of horror stories, but it’s more that I don’t seek them out than that I dislike them. In fact, much of the horror I’ve read recently, while not a lot, I’ve rather enjoyed.
After a recent discussion on the Read Indie Fantasy Discord server, I’ve come to realise that it’s the idea of reading about horrible things that turns me away from the genre. Terrible, horrible, awful things happening to people who don’t deserve it. That doesn’t sound to me like a good time, and I don’t want to go looking for it.
That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it when I happen to read about it anyway, such as during the SFINCS novella competitions, like in this case.
Reap, Sow begins with Lucky stuck in an endless hallway of identical doors, wondering where she came from, where she’s going, and how to get out. Then, it gets worse.
Lucky’s not alone.
Someone, or something, is out to get her, and the places she go don’t quite connect. Whenever she finds someone to help her, they ask such peculiar questions.
In a lot of SFF I read, the backstory is an important part of the book, and the authors often go to great lengths to make sure I know what’s happened in the past, how it affected the world, and why it’s important to whatever I’m about to read next. It’s not always needed.
In this book, it’s quite the opposite, but you could also say that the book is the backstory – you just have to figure it out as you go, and that’s the whole point. Nothing is explained but little by little, you start to piece things together.
Closing in on the halfway mark, I began to have my suspicions about what was going on. I kept hoping maybe I was wrong, but no. The truth, horrifying and inevitable, won’t be denied, and it’s just as bad as I’d feared, and then even worse.
What I’ll whine about
I felt like maybe it was a little bit too easy to figure out the plot twist. Seeing it coming didn’t ruin the story – rather the opposite – but I can’t help but wonder what it might have been like if I’d been kept guessing for a little longer.
What I’ll gush about
The writing. The prose is beautiful. There’s a poetic tint to how the story is told, and it adds an otherworldly feel to the reading experience that perfectly complements Lucky’s Tale.
Final Words
Reap, Sow is a heartbreaking horror novella to cuddle up with on a dark and rainy evening.
