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Agate Way
A pair of sisters are hired to find--and if necessary, dispose of--whatever is killing neighborhood pets in a dying town.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2025
21 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Laird Barron
174 books2,859 followersLaird Barron, an expat Alaskan, is the author of several books, including The Imago Sequence and Other Stories; Swift to Chase; and Blood Standard. Currently, Barron lives in the Rondout Valley of New York State and is at work on tales about the evil that men do.
Photo credit belongs to Ardi Alspach
Agent: Janet Reid of New Leaf Literary & Media
Photo credit belongs to Ardi Alspach
Agent: Janet Reid of New Leaf Literary & Media
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 21, 2025
In ways subtle and terrifying Barron bends reality, depicting a world sliding off the rails, one which appears to be getting swallowed up by a primal and savage mother nature. I frequently had to ask myself if what I just thought I read was actually what appeared on the page, because, WTF?! Think Annihilation meets Jurassic Park, but infinitely more disturbing and bizarre. Highly recommended!
February 19, 2025
Agate Way tells the story of two sisters who take up a job to investigate the countless disappearances of animals in the area.
I had no idea this story was being released, and with the short page count I just had to read it on release date. This story has everything that I enjoy about Laird's writing. Fantastic prose, a creepy setting and breadcrumbs of the unknown lurking from behind the bushes.
There's not much I can say about the plot that wouldn't spoil it, but the characters are great and the rural setting gives the story an eeriness about it.
There is multiple descriptions of animal carcasses and remains - so if that's something that you don't like to read, then maybe this isn't for you. But there's an unapologetic rawness in that regard that adds to the tension of Agate Way.
A 4.5 rounded up to a 5, and I'd consider this to be up there as one of my new favourite stories from Laird. And all for the small price of £1.34 on Kindle!
I had no idea this story was being released, and with the short page count I just had to read it on release date. This story has everything that I enjoy about Laird's writing. Fantastic prose, a creepy setting and breadcrumbs of the unknown lurking from behind the bushes.
There's not much I can say about the plot that wouldn't spoil it, but the characters are great and the rural setting gives the story an eeriness about it.
There is multiple descriptions of animal carcasses and remains - so if that's something that you don't like to read, then maybe this isn't for you. But there's an unapologetic rawness in that regard that adds to the tension of Agate Way.
A 4.5 rounded up to a 5, and I'd consider this to be up there as one of my new favourite stories from Laird. And all for the small price of £1.34 on Kindle!
February 25, 2025
Story climaxes foggy enough to border on willful obscurantism are a defining feature of much contemporary horror. No writer is more guilty (or accomplished) at it than Laird Barron.
"Agate Way" begins when two sisters are hired informally to investigate pet killings in a town on the economic skids. The sisters are on the skids, too: living hand to mouth, lumpen, perhaps formerly gifted.
An Old Dark House they are already familiar with holds the pet killer's secret.
Character-painting, always a Barron strength, excited in "Agate Way." The impressionistic and -- some might say -- arbitrary climax disappoints.
"Agate Way" begins when two sisters are hired informally to investigate pet killings in a town on the economic skids. The sisters are on the skids, too: living hand to mouth, lumpen, perhaps formerly gifted.
An Old Dark House they are already familiar with holds the pet killer's secret.
Character-painting, always a Barron strength, excited in "Agate Way." The impressionistic and -- some might say -- arbitrary climax disappoints.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2025
An enjoyable weird short story from one of my very favourite authors. This story is available for free online but I chose to purchase a copy for my Kindle, to at least have a sense of ownership and to support the author. It is available for US $1.99 and UK £1.34. In parts (at least for me) it has a 'similar' vibe to some of Laird's earlier fiction from his 'Old Leech' mythology. Whilst perhaps not quite hitting that very high bar, its a solid story indeed. A recommended read.
December 6, 2025
Up is Down - you ever read something whilst in the throes of a fever? I am pretty sure I've experienced something akin to inner world crossovers.🤷🏽♀️Or just delerium ... I swear I dreamed this whole short story so vividly after the first read through. I clearly need to rest.
“Apocalypse doesn’t mean the end of the world. It means the end of the world for you.” - A god wearing human skin.
Spiritually sensitive people without the tools to push back against mind-bending changes on various planes somehow get sucked into the abyss faster right? How come the Jeffers sister who refused to believe managed to survive and the one who knew deep down in her bone, she became good food? There's something to this theory, that the more in tune you are with the otherworld, the more attune that otherworld is to you ...all the easier to snatch you up.
It was so well written, I felt upsidedown inside out, lost even and it's funny because I realize I need to deal with the overgrowth on my new land, lest it begins to look like a gateway to a prehistoric mystical land with Big Black Birdlike Gods swooping down to grab unsuspecting bipedals. Urgh, it's a lot of land, might just let it go wild. It made for a great reading location and was so evocative.
Omg they mentioned "The Ghost and The Darkness" epic movie taking me all the way back. Of course my interest peaked.
“Apocalypse doesn’t mean the end of the world. It means the end of the world for you.” - A god wearing human skin.
Spiritually sensitive people without the tools to push back against mind-bending changes on various planes somehow get sucked into the abyss faster right? How come the Jeffers sister who refused to believe managed to survive and the one who knew deep down in her bone, she became good food? There's something to this theory, that the more in tune you are with the otherworld, the more attune that otherworld is to you ...all the easier to snatch you up.
It was so well written, I felt upsidedown inside out, lost even and it's funny because I realize I need to deal with the overgrowth on my new land, lest it begins to look like a gateway to a prehistoric mystical land with Big Black Birdlike Gods swooping down to grab unsuspecting bipedals. Urgh, it's a lot of land, might just let it go wild. It made for a great reading location and was so evocative.
Omg they mentioned "The Ghost and The Darkness" epic movie taking me all the way back. Of course my interest peaked.
March 29, 2025
um, okay.
This story has atmosphere and the plot is suspenseful and filled with dread. I only wish I could figure out what the heck is going on.
This story has atmosphere and the plot is suspenseful and filled with dread. I only wish I could figure out what the heck is going on.
February 27, 2025
Agate Way by Laird Barron is Tor original short. You can read this story for free on the Tor.com site https://reactormag.com/agate-way-lair...
A pair of sisters are hired to find--and if necessary, dispose of--whatever is killing neighborhood pets in a dying town.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories.
“Kingston is a long drive,” the superintendent said. “Thanks for coming. Here’s my situation: an epidemic of missing pets.”
“How many is considered an epidemic?” Casey said.
“Dozens. Scores. I dunno the exact figure. Let’s call it a veritable shitpot of beloved critters in the wind. Cats. Dogs. A goat. Widdershins won a blue ribbon at the county fair. Snatched from a fenced-in backyard in broad daylight. I lie awake and ask myself, what carries off a hundred-and twenty-pound goat?”
“Some asshole,” Casey said.
“Satanists?” Tara said.
Wow... and WTF?!
4 Stars
A pair of sisters are hired to find--and if necessary, dispose of--whatever is killing neighborhood pets in a dying town.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories.
“Kingston is a long drive,” the superintendent said. “Thanks for coming. Here’s my situation: an epidemic of missing pets.”
“How many is considered an epidemic?” Casey said.
“Dozens. Scores. I dunno the exact figure. Let’s call it a veritable shitpot of beloved critters in the wind. Cats. Dogs. A goat. Widdershins won a blue ribbon at the county fair. Snatched from a fenced-in backyard in broad daylight. I lie awake and ask myself, what carries off a hundred-and twenty-pound goat?”
“Some asshole,” Casey said.
“Satanists?” Tara said.
Wow... and WTF?!
4 Stars
read-short-stories
November 26, 2025Horror really isn't my genre. 1*
Summary:
Summary:
March 23, 2025
Historia corta de este autor de horror psicologico que se puede leer en Reactor.com
37 paginas sobre un par de mujeres de mediana edad algo raritas que las contratan para investigar la muerte de las mascotas de un pueblo rural.
Y salen cosas raras y un casa destruida…. Y un final absurdo.
A evitar a no ser que te guste mucho este autor
C-
37 paginas sobre un par de mujeres de mediana edad algo raritas que las contratan para investigar la muerte de las mascotas de un pueblo rural.
Y salen cosas raras y un casa destruida…. Y un final absurdo.
A evitar a no ser que te guste mucho este autor
C-
April 19, 2025
Classic Barron, psychedelic, raw cosmic Weird horror
Sharp, condensed prose, imagery to decode and let spring in your imagination. A rumination on predatory Universe where humans are a tiny speck of light, easily lured into maw too vast and multidimensional for us to grasp or escape from, once it open and sniff the prey.
Sharp, condensed prose, imagery to decode and let spring in your imagination. A rumination on predatory Universe where humans are a tiny speck of light, easily lured into maw too vast and multidimensional for us to grasp or escape from, once it open and sniff the prey.
Read
March 13, 2025I am again slightly confused by the ending. Did she end up in an alternate universe, or is her reality so insane that it's sane? I want to say it reminds me of the movie Annihilation, but I can be wrong.
May 10, 2025
Two sisters are hired to investigate pets going missing in a run-down part of their town. But what they find is a place that has gone wild in more ways than one. And they learn they may be in a lot of trouble when the place is hungry for them and may refuse to let them go.
February 19, 2025
Hell yeah!
March 6, 2025
I felt like this was meant to be a riff on Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy. It didn't really work for me, I just didn't love the writing style of the author.
April 4, 2025
...lot to unpack here
August 29, 2025
Once again LB delivers. The familiar clashes with nature, supernature and something else. Rooted in sibling relationships and strong noir leaning. Amazing as always
November 30, 2025
Great example of modern cosmic horror.
December 9, 2025
Excellent Old Leech horror
Barron shines with each new story and this one is no exception. A slow burn that leads to a terrifying and quick fuse.
Barron shines with each new story and this one is no exception. A slow burn that leads to a terrifying and quick fuse.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews