"The Salt Grows Heavy" by Cassandra Khaw is a strange book. In a pastiche of "Frankenstein" and "The Little Mermaid" and "Lord of the Flies," we are given an odd, often gruesome travelogue that ends sooner than expected.

After fleeing a plague—in fact, the mermaid’s children eating everyone in the kingdom—the silent mermaid and a cobbled-together plague doctor find themselves in a frozen village filled with children who regularly kill each other, only to be resurrected by a trio of masked doctors called the saints. These doctors are, in fact, the ones responsible for creating the plague doctor, and this gives our characters mixed feelings. When more information is revealed, and the purpose of the children uncovered, the mermaid must decide whether to flee or remain beside her loyal doctor as they do what they think is right.

The set-up of this story had me thinking we’d be following these two characters for a while, but their travels come to an abrupt stop in the snowy woods when they witness the brutal murder of a child by a group of other children. And it all unravels from there. The turns of events are unexpected all the way through, and the reader cannot guess what is going to happen next. Truly, when the blurb or I compare this to other stories, that’s really not going to set the reader up to understand what’s happening.

"The Salt Grows Heavy" has to be read to be understood. And then you’re going to have to sit with it for a couple of days after. I received the ARC from NetGalley.

Loved this folklore/fairytale horror!! The story was so unique but so incredibly disturbing. I also found this to be a little bit of a look at Nature vs. Nurture - needing to kill vs. gaining power from it. The acts of the doctors/saints was truly horrifying. I also LOVED the ending and the little bit of romance and rep for non-binary.
My only call out is I wish there was a prologue of some sort of short explanation for the world they were living in - I spent about 25% of the novella trying to figure it out, but again didn't ruin anything for me.

The Salt Grows Heavy is dark and bloody and gory and beautiful and disgusting and utterly impossible to put down. Khaw's prose alone is worth the price of admission, but this novella sunk its razor-sharp teeth in and ripped me to shreds by the turn of the last page.

An elegant and eerie tale from Khaw, who continues to surprise. This slim novella manages to deftly examine some big questions about... well, the point of life, really. Is it to live well, or to live long? What would we sacrifice from the former in order to have the latter? It's also a story about oddball soulmates, or at least oddball partners in life, and those are often the best kinds. Especially when those partners might, I don't know, tear your heart out with needleteeth or reveal themselves to be otherwise more 'monstrous' than first meets the eye. Fascinating, fun, and wondrous.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

5/5 stars

A truly lyrical read that has some of the most lush and evocative writing that I have ever had the pleasure to read. Khaw does an amazing job at creating a beautiful story that lingers in the mind for days afterwards. The romance, the gore, the scenery.... everything just comes alive (though some of the gore descriptions did turn my stomach)! I couldn't get enough of the fairy tale aspects of the story or the way that stories shape both the narrative and the world of this novella. I also am in awe at the romance that appears in this story. While not a main focus, it hit all the right spots and just set my brain on fire with how pitch perfect it was. How can you not when you have lines like:

"Bury me, my love, and take a lock of my hair with you. Carry me through the centuries. I think I'd like to share, just a little, in what immortality is like."

"Whatever they want, I will place it at their feet. Even their death."

On the craft side, I often find that novellas suffer from having too little or too much plot as the shortness of the format often is difficult for authors to pull off. However, Khaw does an amazing job with providing just enough detail that I never felt lost or confused but also didn't bloat the story with extraneous information or leave me with so few details I couldn't understand what was happening. It truly was such a tightly written and evocative piece that I know I will buy in paperback as soon as it comes out.

Recommended for all those who want to read an evocative short read, have watched too many Aemond or Daemon Targaryen edits on TikTok, or wants to read a really interesting fairy tale adjacent story.

I am not one to read many novellas but the premise of this book piqued my interest. The Salt Grows Heavy is a short, fast paced novella that had me hooked only a couple of pages in. Cassandra Khaw writes so beautifully that the imagery - both the wonderful and the horrible - comes across vividly.
Body horror, death, companionship, and a question of what makes a monster are all themes of this wonderful novella.

Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I think another reviewer described this reading experience best: I feel like I am experiencing a reader's higher.

Khaw somehow mixed the dark and grotesque with a enchanting and lyrical prose; it was beautiful and perfect and holy hell how did she do it!? Like, how can a story filled with gore, shiny, grey intestines, and putrid odors be so excellently placed with a love story so enduring and poetic?

This is a novella I could read again and again, left in awe every time ❤

Okay, how about this: a killer mermaid and a plague doctor walk into a bar*.

*post-apocalyptic forest.


Wait no, how about this:
- Knock knock.
- Who’s there?
- A killer mermaid and a plague doctor.
- A killer mermaid and a plague doctor who?
- A killer mermaid and a plague doctor who fall in love.


Wait no, how about this:
- Why did the killer mermaid and the plague doctor cross the road*?
- To murder some gods.

*still a post-apocalyptic forest.




Anyway I loved this book!!! The end lol.

This was a fantastic dark story with a pairing I didn't know I needed; a mermaid and a plague doctor?!! Honestly, need I say more?!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I do have to say before actually talking about the story itself, that the title and cover are stunning. They're really what drew me to wanting to read this, as I haven't read Khaw's other work.

As for the actual novella, it is difficult to know what to rate it. I am leaning towards a 3.5, because the story drew me in immediately and I really loved the writing. Khaw utilizes depictions of the grotesque in a way that aligns with body horror, but these descriptions are not written as to evoke fear or horror, and so it comes across as more gothic in effect, which worked so so well for me. I want to give this a 4 based on the writing alone, but the actual story felt a bit repetitive and dragged on a little. And for a novella that is so short, the fact any of it felt repetitive or lagging is not great. I actually wish this was even shorter, because the plot felt so crisp and concise and then around the 70% mark, it began to unravel for me. It's a still a satisfying read, and I would recommend it to people for sure, but I would recommend it more on the writing and if people are a fan of the grotesque elements of the body within the gothic, rather than the story itself, even though the plot was very enjoyable in its own right as well.

This was a gory love story that I didn't know I needed. Cassandra Khaw is a master of prose and storytelling.

'The Salt Grows Heavy' is incredibly strange, which I mean in an absolutely glowing way. It's raw and grisly and gross and visceral, but in a world where so much fantasy has been marred by self-aware quips, it's wonderful to read something so genuine. There's no detailed explanation for how the magic works here, but it's gruesome when it happens, which sells the point that this novella is a fairy tale rather than a fantasy epic.

It's hard to go into much detail about 'The Salt Grows Heavy' without spoiling it--the novella is relatively short, and I'd recommend finishing it in a day. The prose does get a little purple and I had to re-read some paragraphs to understand what happened, but ultimately I enjoyed my time with the mermaid and her plague doctor, and the epilogue was awfully sweet.

“The Salt Grows Heavy” was a fast-paced story of holding onto humanity and the lengths we'll go to do so. It’s gory, brutal, but so lovely in the end.

Honestly I’m completely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Here me out. I didn’t like Nothing But Blackened Teeth AT ALL! The writing was too flowery and heavy with purple prose. The characters were flat and nothing really happened, especially nothing horror related.

But The Salt Grows Heavy is nothing like Nothing but Blackened Teeth. The plot is unique. It screams gothic horror. I absolutely adored the theme of “the Hunt” incorporating characters like a Plague Doctor and a mermaid who eats humans. Characters were interesting and different.

She absolutely crushed it with the body horror. All I can say without spoilers is if you have a weak stomach, good luck.

Khaw’s writing is beautiful in this novellas. It was way less “purple” and it showcases how strong of a writer she really is. I’m happy I took another chance on her writing.

Khaw spun a love story amongst all the gore and body horror that really brought the story together showing that true love really can withstand anything.

I loved this book, the story, the cover, everything about it. It really leans into a sinister fairytale, almost, turning a mermaid story upside down. I will constantly recommend this story to everyone.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley. This was among my most anticipated 2023 releases. I did enjoy this novella and my thoughts very much echo my feelings towards their previous novella "Nothing but Blackened Teeth". I enjoy Khaw's talent for bringing poetic, beautiful prose to the macabre - immensely - but found it to lean towards being grandiose (maybe even pretentious) within this novella. It felt like it detracted from the story, at times. But what a gorgeous story it was.

I can tell that Khaw is a talented poet and I would love to see them release a collection of poetry.

I loved the idea of this one! A mermaid and a plague doctor teaming up to battle evil kids? Yes! I enjoyed the this one but I did have a tough time envisioning the imagery in this dark fantasy novella.

The Salt Grows Heavy is a dark fantasy fairytale where we follow a mermaid and a plague doctor into a snow covered forest where they encounter a cult of children and three “saints” who control them and seek immortality. The stories grotesque imagery contrasted against the elegant prose really suits the story. While at times horrifying with vivid descriptions of body horror it’s also a love story. I really loved it. One thing to keep in mind before reading is that because some of the vocabulary used is a bit obscure, this is probably best read with easy access to a dictionary. I read it on Kindle so it was easy to do but it may be troublesome to some readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was just an absolutely horrific treat. A dark, disturbing and beautiful written fairytale. Mermaids, surgeons and death. Oh my!! Coming in at just 112 pages and broken up into 3 sections, this was a quick, easy to read horror/fantasy novella. I did feel like there were some missing parts to the plot and I found myself a tad confused at times. Had it not been for that this would have scored a much higher rating on my scale. I will say however, that I think I will revisit this book again in the future. I enjoyed the story and the writing immensely and I think that this is a book that should be read with great care and understanding. It is not to be rushed. I will be purchasing a physical copy for my collection that will include copious amounts of annotating.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for my advanced copy of The Salt Grows Heavy, in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

Incredibly dark fantasy horror, beautifully written creating a rich world in a short period of time. Beware to the squimish reader, the author pulls no punches!