What do you think?
Rate this book
Dark Threads: A Gathering of Dark Fantasy Tales
Three Worlds. Three Fates. One Thread of Darkness.
In this collection of haunting dark fantasy tales, mortals and spirits alike wrestle with destiny, sacrifice, and the cost of power.
In The Breath Borrower, a sacred thief of breath must choose between duty and mercy in a city where life and death hang on a whisper.
The Withering follows a lone scholar through the dream-infested Underland, seeking a cure for a dying world—even as her own body fades.
And in Vapors of Misuse, a cursed twin races against time to use forbidden magic against a ruthless tyrant—before he is consumed by the very power he wields.
These are not stories of easy victories or neat endings. They are stories of survival, of sacrifice, and of what lingers when hope is gone.
In this collection of haunting dark fantasy tales, mortals and spirits alike wrestle with destiny, sacrifice, and the cost of power.
In The Breath Borrower, a sacred thief of breath must choose between duty and mercy in a city where life and death hang on a whisper.
The Withering follows a lone scholar through the dream-infested Underland, seeking a cure for a dying world—even as her own body fades.
And in Vapors of Misuse, a cursed twin races against time to use forbidden magic against a ruthless tyrant—before he is consumed by the very power he wields.
These are not stories of easy victories or neat endings. They are stories of survival, of sacrifice, and of what lingers when hope is gone.
98 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 12, 2026
What do magic, poison, and dark secrets have in common? They are all brought together in one volume called Dark Threads: A Gathering of Dark Fantasy Tales by Kat Farrow. Dark Threads brings together three distinct stories into one volume. It can be best described as a collection of short stories or three tales that immerse us in three mythical worlds.
The author builds out the reader’s understanding by movement and a sort of directed exploration as seen in this passage: “I look to the west tower of the temple and see the pendulum lantern swinging in the window. After a few passes, the color changes from pale yellow to dark orange. A signal that time is running out.”
What becomes clear as each tale unfolds is that the protagonists are right in the middle of their life-and-death struggles. Each character has their own special abilities.
“Breath Borrowers” are blessed creatures and directed not to speak. They do, however, attack. How they combat and wrestle with evil and their own power is the subject of this first tale. It comes down to choice: the choice of giving a life to take a life. Readers will enjoy the tension between reckoning with one’s conscience and fulfilling a sacred mission that requires dealing out death.
In the mystery-building, “The Withering,” the author takes us along a tale through the Underland in search of a cure. There is bartering with ethereal and scary creatures that wear masks. The protagonist, Neela, must make life-and-death decisions on whom to trust, as reflected here: “The chicosk guarded and cared for them. But there were other things in the Underland. Things that fed off the thoughts as much as tended them.” Neela has to escape this Underland, but not everything is as it seems. Change, perception, and sacrifice run throughout this dark tale.
In the “Vapors of Misuse,” the third tale, the author weaves in the backstory from a great calamity that befalls a society three generations ago. Off-world class envy and politics are front and center throughout this short story as two twins work and fight for survival. The Reapers, Larrin and Silvy must use their combined power to overcome an insidious evil.
The antagonist, Vyanna, holds a special vendetta against the twins. She knows them, and they know her. All she wants is absolute power, and to get it, she is prepared to steal theirs, as seen in this confrontation with her and her henchmen:
Vyanna placed cold, fleshy fingers upon his chin and raised it to peer up into his eyes. She studied his face for a moment, then grabbed his left wrist and stretched his arm toward her. Larrin resisted the urge to react. He didn’t have the strength to end her now. Even with the strength of all the Harvests they had saved, he wasn’t sure he could; but he knew he must try… soon.
Power, influence, and vengeance form the scaffolding that sets up this dark tale of survival.
Across all three stories, the author spins together a series of what seem to be insurmountable challenges. Without giving anything away, each protagonist and their antagonist bring together deadly skills that only they can wield, but always at a cost. Readers of fantasy and far-off worlds will enjoy the novel revelations and sustained tension that are explored throughout Dark Threads
The author builds out the reader’s understanding by movement and a sort of directed exploration as seen in this passage: “I look to the west tower of the temple and see the pendulum lantern swinging in the window. After a few passes, the color changes from pale yellow to dark orange. A signal that time is running out.”
What becomes clear as each tale unfolds is that the protagonists are right in the middle of their life-and-death struggles. Each character has their own special abilities.
“Breath Borrowers” are blessed creatures and directed not to speak. They do, however, attack. How they combat and wrestle with evil and their own power is the subject of this first tale. It comes down to choice: the choice of giving a life to take a life. Readers will enjoy the tension between reckoning with one’s conscience and fulfilling a sacred mission that requires dealing out death.
In the mystery-building, “The Withering,” the author takes us along a tale through the Underland in search of a cure. There is bartering with ethereal and scary creatures that wear masks. The protagonist, Neela, must make life-and-death decisions on whom to trust, as reflected here: “The chicosk guarded and cared for them. But there were other things in the Underland. Things that fed off the thoughts as much as tended them.” Neela has to escape this Underland, but not everything is as it seems. Change, perception, and sacrifice run throughout this dark tale.
In the “Vapors of Misuse,” the third tale, the author weaves in the backstory from a great calamity that befalls a society three generations ago. Off-world class envy and politics are front and center throughout this short story as two twins work and fight for survival. The Reapers, Larrin and Silvy must use their combined power to overcome an insidious evil.
The antagonist, Vyanna, holds a special vendetta against the twins. She knows them, and they know her. All she wants is absolute power, and to get it, she is prepared to steal theirs, as seen in this confrontation with her and her henchmen:
Vyanna placed cold, fleshy fingers upon his chin and raised it to peer up into his eyes. She studied his face for a moment, then grabbed his left wrist and stretched his arm toward her. Larrin resisted the urge to react. He didn’t have the strength to end her now. Even with the strength of all the Harvests they had saved, he wasn’t sure he could; but he knew he must try… soon.
Power, influence, and vengeance form the scaffolding that sets up this dark tale of survival.
Across all three stories, the author spins together a series of what seem to be insurmountable challenges. Without giving anything away, each protagonist and their antagonist bring together deadly skills that only they can wield, but always at a cost. Readers of fantasy and far-off worlds will enjoy the novel revelations and sustained tension that are explored throughout Dark Threads
November 23, 2025
Kat Farrow’s Dark Threads is a collection of three short, dark fantasy stories. Each one explores a different, gloomy world full of desperate people. “The Breath Borrower” is about a holy thief who steals breath from the living to give to the dying. “The Withering” follows a scholar trying to save her world as it, and she, fade away. The last story, “Vapors of Misuse,” is a bleak tale of two twins bound by magic and a thirst for revenge against a tyrant. All three stories are tied together by themes of sacrifice, grim choices, and magic that costs way too much.
Farrow builds these worlds that feel incredibly heavy and real. You can almost smell the back alleys in “The Breath Borrower” or feel the chill of the Underland in “The Withering.” It’s not flashy writing. It’s solid and direct, and it uses that simplicity to hit you hard. I felt a real sense of dread and hopelessness seeping from the pages. These stories are not about heroes. They are about survivors, and the writing makes you feel the weight of that survival. It’s an impressive feat, making things feel so gloomy yet so compelling.
What really stuck with me were the ideas. The magic systems are brutal. The whole idea of a third lung for borrowing breath was new to me, and it was wrapped up in so much guilt and duty for the main character. The final story, “Vapors of Misuse,” was just a gut-punch of an idea. The magic, the blood ritual, the twin-bond, the “Seizing,” it was all so tangled and dark. I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished. They aren’t always likable, but their motives are powerful. They are driven by things like revenge or a desperate, fading hope, and that felt incredibly human, even in these dark fantasy worlds.
Dark Threads is a heavy read, and I mean that as a compliment. The stories are tough, and the endings are not neat, tidy bows. They’re bloody, and they’re sad, and they feel earned. I would definitely recommend this book. If you love your fantasy truly dark, and you like stories that make you feel something real and gritty, you should pick this up.
Farrow builds these worlds that feel incredibly heavy and real. You can almost smell the back alleys in “The Breath Borrower” or feel the chill of the Underland in “The Withering.” It’s not flashy writing. It’s solid and direct, and it uses that simplicity to hit you hard. I felt a real sense of dread and hopelessness seeping from the pages. These stories are not about heroes. They are about survivors, and the writing makes you feel the weight of that survival. It’s an impressive feat, making things feel so gloomy yet so compelling.
What really stuck with me were the ideas. The magic systems are brutal. The whole idea of a third lung for borrowing breath was new to me, and it was wrapped up in so much guilt and duty for the main character. The final story, “Vapors of Misuse,” was just a gut-punch of an idea. The magic, the blood ritual, the twin-bond, the “Seizing,” it was all so tangled and dark. I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished. They aren’t always likable, but their motives are powerful. They are driven by things like revenge or a desperate, fading hope, and that felt incredibly human, even in these dark fantasy worlds.
Dark Threads is a heavy read, and I mean that as a compliment. The stories are tough, and the endings are not neat, tidy bows. They’re bloody, and they’re sad, and they feel earned. I would definitely recommend this book. If you love your fantasy truly dark, and you like stories that make you feel something real and gritty, you should pick this up.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews