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Sourdough Universe
The Sourdough Compendium: Dark and Dangerous Fairy Tales
Not yet published
Expected 9 Jun 26Award-winning stories from the world of All the Murmuring Bones and The Briar Book of the Dead, this is a compendium of fantastic tales from the dark gothic heart of the Sourdough universe. Witches, assassins and pirates are brought to life in immersive, sinister and magical prose.
Comprised of three collections (Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales) these mosaic narratives form much of the foundational mythology for the novels All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead¸ The Crimson Road and A Forest, Darkly.
Within these pages, coffin-makers work hard to keep the dead buried and their own murderous urges in check; poison girls are schooled in the art of marital assassination; books carry forth stories and forbidden secrets; a young witch wreaks a terrible revenge on an old lover; the Little Sisters of St Florian devote their lives to knowledge good and bad; a dying forest god is reinvigorated; mermaids and seamstresses make dangerous bargains; changelings bring havoc. Saints slumber, hind-girls dance across the countryside, bears show their true colours, and the fate of the upper and lower worlds rests on the whim of a volatile plague maiden…
Exquisite, compelling and rich with unforgettable characters, these stories layer and intertwine in the dexterous hands of a master storyteller. All three collections were shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award with The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings winning the award. This is beautiful fairy-tale gothic of the most haunting and dangerous kind.
Comprised of three collections (Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales) these mosaic narratives form much of the foundational mythology for the novels All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead¸ The Crimson Road and A Forest, Darkly.
Within these pages, coffin-makers work hard to keep the dead buried and their own murderous urges in check; poison girls are schooled in the art of marital assassination; books carry forth stories and forbidden secrets; a young witch wreaks a terrible revenge on an old lover; the Little Sisters of St Florian devote their lives to knowledge good and bad; a dying forest god is reinvigorated; mermaids and seamstresses make dangerous bargains; changelings bring havoc. Saints slumber, hind-girls dance across the countryside, bears show their true colours, and the fate of the upper and lower worlds rests on the whim of a volatile plague maiden…
Exquisite, compelling and rich with unforgettable characters, these stories layer and intertwine in the dexterous hands of a master storyteller. All three collections were shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award with The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings winning the award. This is beautiful fairy-tale gothic of the most haunting and dangerous kind.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 2, 2026
17 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Slatter
15 books790 followersAKA Angela Slatter
Angela Slatter is the author of All The Murmuring Bones (Titan Books, purchase links below). That will be followed by The Path of Thorns in 2022. Both are gothic fantasies set in the world of the Sourdough and Bitterwood collections.
In February 2021, Tartarus Press published The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, the third mosaic collection in the Sourdough world series. In March 2022, The Bone Lantern (a novella set in the Sourdough world) will be published by Absinthe Press (an imprint of PS Publishing).
Angela is also the author of the supernatural crime novels from Jo Fletcher Books/Hachette International: Vigil (2016), Corpselight (2017) and Restoration (2018), as well as ten other short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories. Vigil was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in 2018.
Angela is represented by Meg Davis of the Ki Agency in London: meg@ki-agency.co.uk
She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, two Australian Shadows Awards and seven Aurealis Awards.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, French and Romanian. Victoria Madden of Sweet Potato Films (The Kettering Incident) has optioned the film rights to one of her short stories (“Finnegan’s Field”).
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth. She has been awarded career development funding by Arts Queensland, the Copyright Agency and, in 2017/18, an Australia Council for the Arts grant. She teaches for the Australian Writers’ Centre.
She is also the author of the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such (Tor.com) and Ripper (in Horrorology: The Lexicon of Fear).
Angela Slatter is the author of All The Murmuring Bones (Titan Books, purchase links below). That will be followed by The Path of Thorns in 2022. Both are gothic fantasies set in the world of the Sourdough and Bitterwood collections.
In February 2021, Tartarus Press published The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, the third mosaic collection in the Sourdough world series. In March 2022, The Bone Lantern (a novella set in the Sourdough world) will be published by Absinthe Press (an imprint of PS Publishing).
Angela is also the author of the supernatural crime novels from Jo Fletcher Books/Hachette International: Vigil (2016), Corpselight (2017) and Restoration (2018), as well as ten other short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories. Vigil was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in 2018.
Angela is represented by Meg Davis of the Ki Agency in London: meg@ki-agency.co.uk
She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, two Australian Shadows Awards and seven Aurealis Awards.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, French and Romanian. Victoria Madden of Sweet Potato Films (The Kettering Incident) has optioned the film rights to one of her short stories (“Finnegan’s Field”).
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth. She has been awarded career development funding by Arts Queensland, the Copyright Agency and, in 2017/18, an Australia Council for the Arts grant. She teaches for the Australian Writers’ Centre.
She is also the author of the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such (Tor.com) and Ripper (in Horrorology: The Lexicon of Fear).
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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April 16, 2026[ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ]
The rest of this space will be reserved for a story-by-story thoughts/review (moreso for my own personal notes than anything else, cause that's how I like to handle anthologies)
ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙɪʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴜɴᴛɪɴɢs
The Coffin-Maker's Daughter:
The Maiden in the Ice:
The Badger Bride:
The Burnt Moon:
By My Voice I Shall Be Known:
The Unknown and the Divine:
The Night Stair:
Now, All Pirates Are Gone:
St Dymphna's School for Poison Girls:
The Bitterwood Bible:
Terrible as an Army With Banners:
By the Weeping Gate:
Spells for Coming Forth by Daylight:
sᴏᴜʀᴅᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
The Shadow Tree:
Gallowberries:
Little Radish:
Dibblespin:
The Navigator:
The Angel Wood:
Ash:
The Story of Ink:
Lost Things:
A Good Husband:
A Porcelain Soul:
The Bones Remember Everything:
Sourdough:
Sister, Sister:
Lavender and Lychgates:
Under the Mountain:
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʟʟᴏᴡ-ᴡɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴀʟᴇs
The Promise of Saints:
The Tallow-Wife:
What Shines Brightest Burns Most Fiercely:
Embers and Ash:
Bearskin:
The Nightingale and the Rose:
Of Ghosts and Glory:
A Stitch in Time:
Sleeping Like Snow:
Crossroads:
And a Young Husband to Bury Me:
By Such Paths:
Thank you so so much to Titan for granting me my very first UK physical ARC-- and for one of my all time favourite authors! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The rest of this space will be reserved for a story-by-story thoughts/review (moreso for my own personal notes than anything else, cause that's how I like to handle anthologies)
ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙɪʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴜɴᴛɪɴɢs
The Coffin-Maker's Daughter:
The Maiden in the Ice:
The Badger Bride:
The Burnt Moon:
By My Voice I Shall Be Known:
The Unknown and the Divine:
The Night Stair:
Now, All Pirates Are Gone:
St Dymphna's School for Poison Girls:
The Bitterwood Bible:
Terrible as an Army With Banners:
By the Weeping Gate:
Spells for Coming Forth by Daylight:
sᴏᴜʀᴅᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
The Shadow Tree:
Gallowberries:
Little Radish:
Dibblespin:
The Navigator:
The Angel Wood:
Ash:
The Story of Ink:
Lost Things:
A Good Husband:
A Porcelain Soul:
The Bones Remember Everything:
Sourdough:
Sister, Sister:
Lavender and Lychgates:
Under the Mountain:
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʟʟᴏᴡ-ᴡɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴀʟᴇs
The Promise of Saints:
The Tallow-Wife:
What Shines Brightest Burns Most Fiercely:
Embers and Ash:
Bearskin:
The Nightingale and the Rose:
Of Ghosts and Glory:
A Stitch in Time:
Sleeping Like Snow:
Crossroads:
And a Young Husband to Bury Me:
By Such Paths:
Thank you so so much to Titan for granting me my very first UK physical ARC-- and for one of my all time favourite authors! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 3, 2026
Slatter is playing 3D chess with this universe world building & I’m impressed.
These stories aren’t like chocolate covered raisins- no they are richer like truffles- where you don’t want to binge read them- more like savor and enjoy.
And with this book being shy of 600 pages, no wonder it took me a month to read. 😅
I genuinely don’t seek out short stories, but I’ve read 4/5 of her Sourdough universe main pieces. But honestly this inspires me to get the one I still need to consume to get the full experience.
Highly recommend if
1. You haven’t read Slatter yet, but you want to understand her lore that’s the background in her full length stories
2. You’ve read all of Slatter and you want to swim in her bigger creative mastermind concept.
These stories aren’t like chocolate covered raisins- no they are richer like truffles- where you don’t want to binge read them- more like savor and enjoy.
And with this book being shy of 600 pages, no wonder it took me a month to read. 😅
I genuinely don’t seek out short stories, but I’ve read 4/5 of her Sourdough universe main pieces. But honestly this inspires me to get the one I still need to consume to get the full experience.
Highly recommend if
1. You haven’t read Slatter yet, but you want to understand her lore that’s the background in her full length stories
2. You’ve read all of Slatter and you want to swim in her bigger creative mastermind concept.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Sourdough Compendium by A.G Slatter.
I’m sitting at around a 3.5⭐ for this one, because while I absolutely loved the vibe, the reading experience itself was a bit of a struggle for me. I got about 32% through and might come back to it after reading one of the full-length books in this world.
Spoilers
This collection leans heavily into dark folklore, witchy themes, and eerie storytelling—which is exactly my kind of thing. The atmosphere is incredibly strong and consistent throughout, with recurring elements of witches, bargains, revenge, and survival, especially centred around women navigating control and expectations. It feels very mysterious and layered, almost like a history being uncovered piece by piece.
However, I found this much more focused on world-building than I expected. Because the stories are interconnected, with recurring names, places, and references, I often struggled to keep track of who was who or how things linked together. I read this slowly, one story at a time, but still found myself forgetting details and missing connections when they reappeared later.
There were definitely standout moments—the story of the coffin maker and the girl copying books in the dark—but overall, a lot of the collection blurred together because I couldn’t fully connect the threads.
For me, I felt that the story began to drag and, at times, I found it confusing and started to skim-read, forgetting and missing even more of the story—not because of the writing quality, but because of how dense and interconnected the world is. I almost feel like I’d benefit more from reading the full-length works set in this world first, and then coming back to this collection to fill in the gaps.
That said, I loved the tone and atmosphere. It’s not particularly scary, but unsettling and immersive in a quiet, folkloric way. This was also my first time reading a connected short story collection, so part of my experience likely comes down to personal preference.
I would absolutely read more from A. G. Slatter, and I’m especially interested in exploring her longer works set in this world.
I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy dense, interconnected folklore fantasy and don’t mind keeping track of a wide cast of characters and references. If you prefer more straightforward storytelling or struggle with heavy world-building, this might be a tougher read.
I’m sitting at around a 3.5⭐ for this one, because while I absolutely loved the vibe, the reading experience itself was a bit of a struggle for me. I got about 32% through and might come back to it after reading one of the full-length books in this world.
Spoilers
This collection leans heavily into dark folklore, witchy themes, and eerie storytelling—which is exactly my kind of thing. The atmosphere is incredibly strong and consistent throughout, with recurring elements of witches, bargains, revenge, and survival, especially centred around women navigating control and expectations. It feels very mysterious and layered, almost like a history being uncovered piece by piece.
However, I found this much more focused on world-building than I expected. Because the stories are interconnected, with recurring names, places, and references, I often struggled to keep track of who was who or how things linked together. I read this slowly, one story at a time, but still found myself forgetting details and missing connections when they reappeared later.
There were definitely standout moments—the story of the coffin maker and the girl copying books in the dark—but overall, a lot of the collection blurred together because I couldn’t fully connect the threads.
For me, I felt that the story began to drag and, at times, I found it confusing and started to skim-read, forgetting and missing even more of the story—not because of the writing quality, but because of how dense and interconnected the world is. I almost feel like I’d benefit more from reading the full-length works set in this world first, and then coming back to this collection to fill in the gaps.
That said, I loved the tone and atmosphere. It’s not particularly scary, but unsettling and immersive in a quiet, folkloric way. This was also my first time reading a connected short story collection, so part of my experience likely comes down to personal preference.
I would absolutely read more from A. G. Slatter, and I’m especially interested in exploring her longer works set in this world.
I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy dense, interconnected folklore fantasy and don’t mind keeping track of a wide cast of characters and references. If you prefer more straightforward storytelling or struggle with heavy world-building, this might be a tougher read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2026
** I received an ARC for an honest review **
Slatter’s The Sourdough Compendium is a dark fantasy collection of stories and novellas set within the imagined Sourdough universe, a place steeped in folklore, magic, and gothic unease. The Sourdough universe is the home of many of Slatter’s works like All the Murmuring Bones, The Briar Book of the Dead, The Crimson Road and the No Good Deed. Here, Slatter allows the reader to explore these gothic-tinged interconnected tales with themes of power, survival and the cost of dangerous bargains struck in the unquiet shadows.
This collection includes some tales delving into the origins of long-whispered legends throughout Slatter’s novels, or follow individuals navigating curses, transformations, and uneasy alliances. Throughout the collection, recurring figures and places create a sense of continuity and place, building the Sourdough universe into a detailed and compelling setting shaped by magic, individual choices, curses and consequences. This is a world where nothing comes without a price.
Slatter beautifully crafts an atmospheric, character-driven dark fantasy tales where , each story can stands alone but together they form worldbuilding where subtle links and recurring characters add depth and detail.
The Sourdough Compendium boasts prose which is lyrical and evocative striking the thematic elements of gothic literature to enhance the quiet mundane and instil a consistent but subtle dread.
Thematically, the importance of agency and survival unusually female characters exisiting in constrained or dangerous circumstances. The role of magic as both a force to be reckoned with and a threat from the more masculine-ruled world is a theme throughout and one where Slatter avoids moral binaries and provides tales and characters that are multifaceted and relatable.
Conclusion
The Sourdough Compendium is a highly detailed and thoughtfully constructed collection which will appeal to fans of dark fantasy, gothic storytelling and intricate worldbuilding and strong characters. Perfect for readers who enjoy interconnected stories, folklore-inspired narratives, and quietly unsettling worlds or fans of Slatter looking for a readily accessible expansion of her Sourdough universe.
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Slatter’s The Sourdough Compendium is a dark fantasy collection of stories and novellas set within the imagined Sourdough universe, a place steeped in folklore, magic, and gothic unease. The Sourdough universe is the home of many of Slatter’s works like All the Murmuring Bones, The Briar Book of the Dead, The Crimson Road and the No Good Deed. Here, Slatter allows the reader to explore these gothic-tinged interconnected tales with themes of power, survival and the cost of dangerous bargains struck in the unquiet shadows.
This collection includes some tales delving into the origins of long-whispered legends throughout Slatter’s novels, or follow individuals navigating curses, transformations, and uneasy alliances. Throughout the collection, recurring figures and places create a sense of continuity and place, building the Sourdough universe into a detailed and compelling setting shaped by magic, individual choices, curses and consequences. This is a world where nothing comes without a price.
Slatter beautifully crafts an atmospheric, character-driven dark fantasy tales where , each story can stands alone but together they form worldbuilding where subtle links and recurring characters add depth and detail.
The Sourdough Compendium boasts prose which is lyrical and evocative striking the thematic elements of gothic literature to enhance the quiet mundane and instil a consistent but subtle dread.
Thematically, the importance of agency and survival unusually female characters exisiting in constrained or dangerous circumstances. The role of magic as both a force to be reckoned with and a threat from the more masculine-ruled world is a theme throughout and one where Slatter avoids moral binaries and provides tales and characters that are multifaceted and relatable.
Conclusion
The Sourdough Compendium is a highly detailed and thoughtfully constructed collection which will appeal to fans of dark fantasy, gothic storytelling and intricate worldbuilding and strong characters. Perfect for readers who enjoy interconnected stories, folklore-inspired narratives, and quietly unsettling worlds or fans of Slatter looking for a readily accessible expansion of her Sourdough universe.
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC copy of this book and the trust in me.
'The Sourdough Compendium' is a collection of short stories all tied together. The author was able to connect each tale planting seeds and threads that the reader must follow and remember to understand the bigger picture and the setting where these tales take place.
The book is divided into three main sections:
-ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙɪʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴜɴᴛɪɴɢs
-sᴏᴜʀᴅᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
-ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʟʟᴏᴡ-ᴡɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴀʟᴇs
All stories present a dark and gothic atmosphere. The writing enchants readers to keep reading one tale after another. I felt like in the background there was a hypnotic melody that pushed me to read. I loved how each tale had something magical in it but at the same time the characters, their actions and reasons were so human and understandable.
After finishing the book, I spent a good few hours trying to understand which tale was my favourite but the author was so good at making this collection of tales looking like one fluid story. So, I can't say I have a favourite story. At the same time, it's a good choice for readers who want something where they don't need to remember necessarily what happened in the previous chapter. I would also say it's a perfect autumn vibe book!
I definitely suggest to fantasy readers and for whoever is searching for a magical, obscure and ancient atmosphere.
'The Sourdough Compendium' is a collection of short stories all tied together. The author was able to connect each tale planting seeds and threads that the reader must follow and remember to understand the bigger picture and the setting where these tales take place.
The book is divided into three main sections:
-ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙɪʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴜɴᴛɪɴɢs
-sᴏᴜʀᴅᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
-ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʟʟᴏᴡ-ᴡɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴀʟᴇs
All stories present a dark and gothic atmosphere. The writing enchants readers to keep reading one tale after another. I felt like in the background there was a hypnotic melody that pushed me to read. I loved how each tale had something magical in it but at the same time the characters, their actions and reasons were so human and understandable.
After finishing the book, I spent a good few hours trying to understand which tale was my favourite but the author was so good at making this collection of tales looking like one fluid story. So, I can't say I have a favourite story. At the same time, it's a good choice for readers who want something where they don't need to remember necessarily what happened in the previous chapter. I would also say it's a perfect autumn vibe book!
I definitely suggest to fantasy readers and for whoever is searching for a magical, obscure and ancient atmosphere.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A.G. Slatter has managed to create a world where I want to fully immerse myself. A Forest, Darkly & The Crimson road were strong enough entries that I wanted to dive into this as quickly as possible.
The Sourdough Universe is filled with brilliant prose, twisting tales that will grab you and refuse to let go.
The Sourdough Compendium is a trilogy of her earlier works that contain short stories. I anticipated picking this up and reading a few stories here and there while reading other novels, but the way the stories weave together, building narrative and this world, made it impossible to put down. Don’t go into “The Sourdough Compendium” expecting unrelated short stories, it could very easily have been marketed as a novel, and it would have worked just as well.
Now having read the short stories, I wish I would have found this first, then jumped into the other novels. There’s little bits of each novel I’ve read so far that all reflect back to these tales.
Slatter crafts a world of folk horror, untold mysteries, familiars and witchcraft in a refreshing way. Gone are the typical tropes you’d expect to find, replaced with a world of consequence and strong female characters.
Don’t miss out on one of the strongest authors I’ve read in a long time.
Long live the Sourdough Universe.
The Sourdough Universe is filled with brilliant prose, twisting tales that will grab you and refuse to let go.
The Sourdough Compendium is a trilogy of her earlier works that contain short stories. I anticipated picking this up and reading a few stories here and there while reading other novels, but the way the stories weave together, building narrative and this world, made it impossible to put down. Don’t go into “The Sourdough Compendium” expecting unrelated short stories, it could very easily have been marketed as a novel, and it would have worked just as well.
Now having read the short stories, I wish I would have found this first, then jumped into the other novels. There’s little bits of each novel I’ve read so far that all reflect back to these tales.
Slatter crafts a world of folk horror, untold mysteries, familiars and witchcraft in a refreshing way. Gone are the typical tropes you’d expect to find, replaced with a world of consequence and strong female characters.
Don’t miss out on one of the strongest authors I’ve read in a long time.
Long live the Sourdough Universe.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Sourdough Compendium by A.G. Slater
Rating : 4⭐
Format : eBook 💻
Pages : 592
Duration : 3 days
----------------
Straight up, I really enjoyed this collection, so much so I now want to delve head first into the rest of the novels this collection revolves around.
A selection of 42 short stories full of intrigue, mystery, weirdness and witchcraft. As with all short story collections quality varies throughout, but the variables are much closer, this is pretty much all killer and no filler, every single story left me wanting to know what happens next.
And they are short, beautifully short, short enough to pique interest, reveal the ending and leave you satisfied. And with them being short you can read them quickly and between tasks or chores.
I adored this collection, it's brought a new author to my eyes and a world that I'm eager to delve into and expand my understanding
This is due to be released 2nd of June, if this interests you then add it to you want to read list
----------------
Thank you to Netgalley & The Publisher for the Advanced Review Copy of this book, though I am grateful for the ARC the words above are my own
----------------
You can find more reviews on my blog here : https://bookshelf018.wordpress.com/
----------------
Rating : 4⭐
Format : eBook 💻
Pages : 592
Duration : 3 days
----------------
Straight up, I really enjoyed this collection, so much so I now want to delve head first into the rest of the novels this collection revolves around.
A selection of 42 short stories full of intrigue, mystery, weirdness and witchcraft. As with all short story collections quality varies throughout, but the variables are much closer, this is pretty much all killer and no filler, every single story left me wanting to know what happens next.
And they are short, beautifully short, short enough to pique interest, reveal the ending and leave you satisfied. And with them being short you can read them quickly and between tasks or chores.
I adored this collection, it's brought a new author to my eyes and a world that I'm eager to delve into and expand my understanding
This is due to be released 2nd of June, if this interests you then add it to you want to read list
----------------
Thank you to Netgalley & The Publisher for the Advanced Review Copy of this book, though I am grateful for the ARC the words above are my own
----------------
You can find more reviews on my blog here : https://bookshelf018.wordpress.com/
----------------
April 25, 2026
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating compendiums is hard for me because there’s so much content and a multitude of characters and plotlines.
Each story tells a different tale about a character in the Sourdough universe. Thank goodness for the search in book feature of my kindle because SO many of these characters appear in more than one story. Each lead character is a strong female with rage or passion to spare for one reason or another (excepting the few chapters with male leads). I loved getting to know more about the history and background of Sourdough and recognized several cities and homes mentioned in this compendium. I was not ready to finish it; it felt like an old friend by the end I spent so much time on and in it. I’ve read 8 book series faster than I’ve read this one, but it was worth the time.
My one complaint is the page count; there’s no way this one isn’t a 800+ pager (or I spend way longer using the search feature than I thought).
This isn’t a book to be devoured, but savored. Just maybe be prepared to annotate or use the search feature a lot!
4.5⭐️
Rating compendiums is hard for me because there’s so much content and a multitude of characters and plotlines.
Each story tells a different tale about a character in the Sourdough universe. Thank goodness for the search in book feature of my kindle because SO many of these characters appear in more than one story. Each lead character is a strong female with rage or passion to spare for one reason or another (excepting the few chapters with male leads). I loved getting to know more about the history and background of Sourdough and recognized several cities and homes mentioned in this compendium. I was not ready to finish it; it felt like an old friend by the end I spent so much time on and in it. I’ve read 8 book series faster than I’ve read this one, but it was worth the time.
My one complaint is the page count; there’s no way this one isn’t a 800+ pager (or I spend way longer using the search feature than I thought).
This isn’t a book to be devoured, but savored. Just maybe be prepared to annotate or use the search feature a lot!
4.5⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I'm not sure I like big books, or short stories.... But I like Slatter, a lot, and she made me like both those other things.
I took my time with this one. Going off and reading other books. Coming back for a few more stories.
I loved the dark, magical slightly dangerous world these tales are set in.
Where you don't know who you can trust, and if they're even what they say they are,let alone who!
I really enjoyed how familiar names cropped up, and I almost started building a "family tree" type picture in my head of how everyone was connected.
A great read!
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy.
I took my time with this one. Going off and reading other books. Coming back for a few more stories.
I loved the dark, magical slightly dangerous world these tales are set in.
Where you don't know who you can trust, and if they're even what they say they are,let alone who!
I really enjoyed how familiar names cropped up, and I almost started building a "family tree" type picture in my head of how everyone was connected.
A great read!
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a book you have to take your time in reading with it’s rich macabre tales that will leave you bewildered and frankly disgusted most times. In this case I am new to A.G. Slatter’s work so going through this compendium felt like discovering rich folk lore of a world wholly undiscovered. Dark ancient fae, witches, assassins. It was exciting to slowly realize that a lot of the stories were connected in some ways as well. I definitely plan to read more from this author as her writing was exquisite and characters exhilarating.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was an amazing read! I'll admit, at first some of the stories disgusted me, but isn't the definition of a good book one that makes you feel strong emotions? I decided to keep reading, and I'm so glad I did. It gives me strong Grimm's fairy tales. This compendium is everything faerie is and definitely something I see myself buying to put on my shelf. I couldn't get enough of these stories. If this author writes anything else that is similar, I definitely see myself reading it! I highly recommend this compendium for fans of Faerie, Grimm, and Emily Wilde.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Sourdough Compendium by A. G. Slatter is a beautifully crafted collection of interconnected short stories set within her richly imagined Sourdough Universe.
The writing is lush, dark, and atmospheric, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Slatter.
Having read the other books in the Sourdough Universe, I found this collection to be an excellent return to the world through a different lens. However, I do think readers new to this universe might find it a little disorienting if they enter the Sourdough Universe through this book first.
Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The writing is lush, dark, and atmospheric, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Slatter.
Having read the other books in the Sourdough Universe, I found this collection to be an excellent return to the world through a different lens. However, I do think readers new to this universe might find it a little disorienting if they enter the Sourdough Universe through this book first.
Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
April 22, 2026
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher. I have been a big fan of the sourdough universe through the four novels I’ve read set in this world.
This is a short story collection and it’s a generous one coming in at over seven hundred pages. You don’t need to have read the novels to read this, but you will get little recollections and Easter eggs if you have.
Where I liked this best was where the stories reference back to each other, or come back to characters we previously have met. I enjoyed the coffin maker at the start and I was pleased to see her reappear in a later tale.
My favourite parts of this book related to the Erl-King who we see pop up in a few tales.
This is a short story collection and it’s a generous one coming in at over seven hundred pages. You don’t need to have read the novels to read this, but you will get little recollections and Easter eggs if you have.
Where I liked this best was where the stories reference back to each other, or come back to characters we previously have met. I enjoyed the coffin maker at the start and I was pleased to see her reappear in a later tale.
My favourite parts of this book related to the Erl-King who we see pop up in a few tales.
May 5, 2026
This was such a fantastic collection of stories, and an even better introduction to a vast, vibrant world of fantasy. These modern fairy tales are dark—think Angela Carter— but with wonderful swathes of world building and character development mixed in. I took a star off of my rating simply because the book was so vast that connected stories were often far apart from each other, meaning that I forgot things and mixed up character info when I needed it. I absolutely love this universe, and can’t wait to dive into the novels.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This felt like grabbing a warm drink, snuggling in a cozy blanket, while listening to the rain outside on a gloomy day. This collection was what I needed it to be. I haven't read much of the Sourdough series before this so this was good to way to explore the world even more. Each story is unique and beautifully written. If you love short stories with a gothic vibe that include mythological characters, don't hesitate to pick this up.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this arc.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this arc.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A large array of stories and nigh,arise fairy tales by one of the greatest current fantasy writers. Wonderful reading for those who like short stories with magical and sometimes scrapyard twists. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
April 15, 2026
This was a very intricate set of short stories. I had some trouble keeping names in mind and might have missed some of the crossovers throughout the stories but it was cool to see some of the main recurring characters weave in and out.
Note: I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
Note: I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
this is my new favorite book and my obsession
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