This short story by Alix E. Harrow is a gift, and we should all be happy that she chose to share it with us.

the knight and the butcherbird is a hozier song in short story form.

shrike is her town’s historian—or she was, until her wife turned into a demon and the townspeople tried to kill her. now she cares only to protect the creature that was her wife—the creature she is certain still recognizes her.

in this post-apocalyptic fairytale of a short story, alix e. harrow weaves together the modern and medieval to tell the story of a young woman, the demon who was her wife, and the knight hunting it. it’s a story about survival and love and transformation in a world wracked by climate change, where resources are hoarded within enclaves while outlanders either die young or turn into demons.

oh, i loved this. poignant and anxiety-inducing yet somehow still hopeful, harrow can pack more of an emotional punch in 30 pages than some authors can in 500. i can’t wait to read her lady knight book later this year!

I loved Harrow’s previous short story, Six Deaths of the Saint, so I was so excited to read The Knight and the Butcherbird!

I found the writing here to be just as beautiful and evocative, but perhaps not as emotionally impactful as I’d hoped.

The world building was fascinating, though, and done really effectively in the short page count. I could read a lot more stories set in this world!

When I saw who the author was I knew I had to read this one! And bonus points that it’s a short story which just happens to be the perfect palette cleanser for the end of the months reading wrap up!

The story is definitely unusual, I will admit for the first half of the book I definitely pictured the world being in a historical setting giving the inclusion of knights, I was thinking along the lines of kingdoms castles and medieval times, but then I got to the half way mark and modern technology was mentioned and I was like wait a second?! This book definitely has a timeless feel where you are trapped somewhere between present day, futuristic apocolyptic and at the same time way in the past.. but somehow everything makes sense and feels right 😂

This was definitely a fast read (about 30 mins) but there is a lot of action packed in along with some philosophical almost metaphorical, deep and thought provoking conversations happening.

The book has a mixture of everything so it’s hard to go wrong. It was definitely a fun quirky read.

Thank you to Amazon original stories and alix e barrow for the EARC!

Publish date: March 11th 2025

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful and strange story about how far we will go for those we love, and about starting over at the end of the world. Filled with Harrow's signature blend of beauty and darkness, this is a must-read for new and existing fans of her work. Don't underestimate it for being a short story; Alix E. Harrow can pack more world building & character development into a 30 page story than you would find in most books. I would recommend this story to all readers; the themes are universal, and I will be thinking about The Knight & the Butcherbird for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc! The thoughts & opinions in this review are my own.

Clever and dark - are they demons or shifters, good or evil, the anomalies or a new normal. A quick and entertaining read, onw that will make you think on it for a while.

What a wonderful story! An apocalyptic fairy tale that packs a punch despite its short length. Alix E. Harrow weaves a tale of flawed yet intriguing characters and a world transformed—because sometimes, change is necessary. I look forward to exploring more of Harrow's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Divine and magical storytelling. A dystopian future with traces of our current times, where medieval and modern collide in a horror story about surviving and love. I read this in an hour, couldn’t put it down, it’s a short story so the less you know, the better. Knowing this is written by Alix E. Harrow should be more than enough. If you think The Six Deaths of the Saint was good, you’ll be blown away by The Knight and the Butcherbird.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Alix E Harrow is a master at giving you a emotional and impactful tale in just a few pages. This is a strange little post-apocalyptic story. It's about change and survival and love and the power of stories.
It didn't wreck me the way Six Deaths of the Saint did but I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't well up at the end.

It is amazing the world building that Alix Harrow accomplishes in this short story.

The reader is quickly introduced to the characters, their longing, their love, and their lives.

Take the time to read this and lose yourself in the grittiness of this future world.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and Net Galley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Alix E Harrow is a truly a master of short stories. I don't know of many other authors who could pack as much of a punch with only around 30 pages. The Six Deaths of the Saint will always be her strongest in my opinion, but this story is stunning as well. Fans of the Locked Tomb books will love the strange anachronism of this setting. This world feels like a strange apocalyptic Appalachia and I loved every bit of it. With both of the Alix E Harrow short stories I've read, I went in knowing nothing about the plot and I think that's the optimal experience. Pop on some Hozier and just enjoy this gorgeous setting and themes.

I'm also begging Amazon books please publish physical versions of Alix's kindle exclusive short stories, they're just so good! A high end collectors edition like what Subterranean Press does would be amazing.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. My opinions are my own.

Alix is an auto read author for me, especially her short stories because of the level of detail packed into 30 pages. I was blown away with this short, it hooked me almost from the first sentence, but this is a weird story, does it take place far in the future or in a couple of years? Who is the villain? Who is the hero? Or is it that people are so fundamentally flawed that we don’t even recognize that heroes and villains exist?
Shrike is 17 and their areas secretary (recorder of history) but they are hiding a secret, their wife has turned… and a demon hunter has arrived. The knight is accompanied by a bird that is more than it seems.
I really enjoyed this story and of course would love for a long story set in this world, but also scared that the world would come to fruition.
Highly recommend!!

A fascinating setting that reveals just enough about itself to be intruiging, characters that I cared about, clever references to hundreds of years old “folktales”, commentary on in groups and out groups, rebellion, change - all in 32 pages.

Seventeen year old Shrike lives in the rural community of Iron Hollow, which is an outland community, where most people die young. Recently the community has been plagued by a demon, and a Knight has been summoned to hunt the monster. Yet, Shrike doesn’t want the demon found, because she was her wife, and she believes May still recognizes her.

The Knight and the Butcherbird packs a great dystopian story into a 40 minute read! Harrow brings a lot to this short story, with post-apocalyptic world building, love at all costs, those with power in a dystopian setting, and descriptive writing that brings the demon characters to life. The story covers a wide range of issues such as politics, religion, murder, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition between Shrike’s character and the Knight’s character, as she fights to save May and he works to hunt her down. But the Knight is hiding his own secrets, and they lead to a shocking reveal in his character’s part of the story.

The Knight and the Butcherbird is a beautiful, atmospheric short story with a touch of horror, that proves a great story can be told without making it into a novella or a full-length book.

this was a beautiful and emotional story about love, loss and the inevitable change we go through as time goes on (but in demon form!) this was my first time trying out Alix E. Harrow and i’ll be sure to pick up more of their work after loving this short story. the emotion i was able to feel while reading this story was so pleasantly surprising, i’ll definitely be thinking about this for while. i loved it!

No one does short fiction like Alix E. Harrow.
In The Knight and the Butcherbird, a storyteller clings to a demon wife while finding strange resonance with the knight who hunts her. This is a story about the end of the world, about how we change to survive, and about what we would do for the people we love. This so perfectly blends spooky woodland fantasy with Appalachian apocalyptic horror. It is gruesome and uncomfortable, but is beautiful at the same time.
I could go on, but I would hate to spoil such a short story. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this story early.

Harrow has a talent for writing these twisty, innovative short stories. This dystopian tale is somewhat predictable, but only because the clues are given to the readers to figure out. This works since this is so short and doesn't take away any of the harsh and helpless feelings it evokes. I love the ending; it makes this story an interesting critique about the ruling class and the information they control. With the world as it is now (especially in the US), we need stories like this that make us think. It's hard to say more without giving the story away, but I highly recommend this even for those who don't usually read dystopian fiction.

I enjoyed this a lot! It hit just the spot I needed to avoid a slump so thank you very much!! i love alix e harrow and this is my sign to read MORE alix e harrow

This was good!! I love a sapphic short story and this one. Hit. The. Spot. Alix E Harrow can do no wrong

I absolutely loved this wild and perfect modern fairy tale. I only wish there were more of it to read—can’t wait for whatever’s next from Alix! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy 🪶🫐✨