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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
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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 of 1 review