Yarnsworld

• Author: Benedict Patrick
• Genre: Fantasy, Dark Fairy-tale
• Cover images link to each book’s page on Goodreads

The stories of the Yarnsworld are fairy-tales, but they’re the old, dark kind, where the fairies aren’t pretty or kind, and where the magic doesn’t sparkle. The forest isn’t safe, the world isn’t kind, and the stories of what lurks in the dark are all too true.

The gods, if that’s what they are, want you for your faith, and you’ll be better off if they don’t hear your prayers.

It’s a grim world, but there are people in it with hopes, dreams, and feelings. The kind of people who make stories happen. Those who would be heroes, and those with no other choice.

The Yarnsworld books are mostly stand-alone, and you can read them in whichever order you like. However, the fourth is connected to and takes place after the first, and the fifth is similarly linked to the second. If there’s a sixth coming, it might tie in with the third, but it’s hard to say for sure – only the author will know. For simplicity’s sake, read them in order (but make sure you read them).

Outside of the books that are connected, the other thing that ties them together is the Yarnsworld itself. It’s a place steeped in mythology and folklore, and it’s all shared across the different books. This creates a sense of recognition and familiarity when returning to the world after reading the first book.

What I’ll whine about:

These books aren’t always easy reads. You need to focus and pay attention, and you can’t just let the story flow into your eyes like liquid brain-candy. For the most part, this is fine, but it can get a bit much, and I can’t see myself pulling through one of these in a single sitting – and not just because I’m a slow reader. This is the kind of book that absolutely requires me to be in the right state of mind, or it just won’t work.

After each chapter, in ever book, there’s a short folk-tale from around the campfires of the Yarnsworld. These are usually great, but from time to time, I really just wanted to keep reading the actual story.

What I’ll gush about:

Those folk-tales I just complained about, they’re also awesome. They tell of some historical Yarnsworld event, or of some adventurer, god, or villain from Yarnsworld folklore. A lot of the time, they don’t seem relevant other than as mood-pieces or to show off the world, but sometimes, they’re very obviously related to what’s going on in the main story.

My suspicion is that they’re all relevant to the story, and I just didn’t realise at the time.

The other thing that impresses me about these stories is the voice in which they’re told, and the mood it conveys. It’s not your average serious-author-voice, but rather something deeper, a little more eerie, and with a hint of untold secrets hidden behind the words.

No matter how much the folk-tales tell of the world, what you see is just a hint of all that’s going on in the shadows.

Final words:

This is not your average fantasy story. If you’re ready to exercise your mind and dig into something different this is for you.

Also, the covers are absolutely amazing.

Find They Mostly Come Out At Night (Yarnsworld #1) on Goodreads