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Fabulous Beasts
Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma is a horror novelette about a strange woman living in luxury with her lover, but irrevocably tied to her childhood of deprivation and dark secrets in northwest England. The woman recalls the unravelling of the family upon her uncle's release from prison.
33 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2015
7 people are currently reading
671 people want to read
About the author
Priya Sharma
160 books243 followersPriya Sharma’s fiction has appeared venues such as Interzone, Black Static, Nightmare, The Dark and Tor. “Fabulous Beasts” was a Shirley Jackson Award finalist and won a British Fantasy Award for Short Fiction. Priya is a Shirley Jackson Award and British Fantasy Award winner, and Locus Award finalist, for “All the Fabulous Beasts”, a collection of her some of her work, available from Undertow Publications.
“Ormeshadow”, her first novella (available from Tor), won a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. It was a 2022 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire finalist.
"Pomegranates", her second novella (from Absinthe, an imprint of PS Publishing) is a Shirley Jackson Award, British Fantasy Award finalist and won a World Fantasy Award.
Her stories have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, and Polish.
“Ormeshadow”, her first novella (available from Tor), won a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. It was a 2022 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire finalist.
"Pomegranates", her second novella (from Absinthe, an imprint of PS Publishing) is a Shirley Jackson Award, British Fantasy Award finalist and won a World Fantasy Award.
Her stories have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, and Polish.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
February 18, 2019
Snakes are easy. It’s people that I don’t know how to charm.
this tor short is equal parts beautiful and disturbing.
it also comes with a warning: Please be warned that this story deals with difficult content and themes, including child abuse, incest, and rape.
and also snakes. up close and personal and slithering, so if you've got phobias, or any triggers around the themes mentioned above, there are many other free tor shorts for you to read.
me, i have no triggers and no phobias (not any real ones anyway, although i quite sensibly mistrust twins and birds and dolphins), so this story was nothing but smooth dark chocolate for my heart. it's a very…unexpected tale, and as the story made its sinuous sexxy turns into its reveals - some predicted, some complete surprises - i was completely entranced by her writing, her characters, and her perfect blending of gritty realism and fantasy elements. because "fabulous" here is not used in its camp mode, but in its literary sense, as it relates to 'fabulism.' and this is some pitch-perfect fabulism here.
and i kind of don't want to say too much about this one, which might seem like someone who's just trying to get out of writing a long-overdue review for a short story they read months and months ago, but i assure you - this is done more out of respect for you, potential reader, than out of laziness of me, procrastinating reviewer.
it's that i just reread the story now to properly review it, and if anything, i liked it more the second time around. it even got an extra star and now i can't stop thinking about it.
it's just so achingly beautiful:
“Tallulah, what am I? Am I a monster?”
She sat up and leant against me, her chin on my shoulder.
“Yes, you’re my monster.”
it's family and love and strength and sacrifice and helplessness and revenge and snakes and power and suffering and coming through all sorts of pain with a sense of humor
These people with their interminable words. I came from a place where a slap sufficed.
again - it goes to dark and triggery places, but i don't think it's gratuitous at all. sometimes you need to be made to feel uncomfortable, and an author who manages access into a reader's emotional space - it's something to celebrate, not shy away from. which is maybe me speaking too much as a reader who rarely experiences strong emotions from reading, and regular non-robot people do not enjoy this discomfort which they probably feel more acutely than i do, but all i know is that after reading this a second time through, i think it's a perfect short story.
and i have just discovered she has another free tor short: rag and bone which i will read tomorrow. which is really going to mess you up since i won't be posting this review until way in the future, a future in which i will have already read (but likely not reviewed) that story and you will think you are magical time travelers but you are not.
anyway, read this story. i thought it was phenomenal.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
come to my blog!
this tor short is equal parts beautiful and disturbing.
it also comes with a warning: Please be warned that this story deals with difficult content and themes, including child abuse, incest, and rape.
and also snakes. up close and personal and slithering, so if you've got phobias, or any triggers around the themes mentioned above, there are many other free tor shorts for you to read.
me, i have no triggers and no phobias (not any real ones anyway, although i quite sensibly mistrust twins and birds and dolphins), so this story was nothing but smooth dark chocolate for my heart. it's a very…unexpected tale, and as the story made its sinuous sexxy turns into its reveals - some predicted, some complete surprises - i was completely entranced by her writing, her characters, and her perfect blending of gritty realism and fantasy elements. because "fabulous" here is not used in its camp mode, but in its literary sense, as it relates to 'fabulism.' and this is some pitch-perfect fabulism here.
and i kind of don't want to say too much about this one, which might seem like someone who's just trying to get out of writing a long-overdue review for a short story they read months and months ago, but i assure you - this is done more out of respect for you, potential reader, than out of laziness of me, procrastinating reviewer.
it's that i just reread the story now to properly review it, and if anything, i liked it more the second time around. it even got an extra star and now i can't stop thinking about it.
it's just so achingly beautiful:
“Tallulah, what am I? Am I a monster?”
She sat up and leant against me, her chin on my shoulder.
“Yes, you’re my monster.”
it's family and love and strength and sacrifice and helplessness and revenge and snakes and power and suffering and coming through all sorts of pain with a sense of humor
These people with their interminable words. I came from a place where a slap sufficed.
again - it goes to dark and triggery places, but i don't think it's gratuitous at all. sometimes you need to be made to feel uncomfortable, and an author who manages access into a reader's emotional space - it's something to celebrate, not shy away from. which is maybe me speaking too much as a reader who rarely experiences strong emotions from reading, and regular non-robot people do not enjoy this discomfort which they probably feel more acutely than i do, but all i know is that after reading this a second time through, i think it's a perfect short story.
and i have just discovered she has another free tor short: rag and bone which i will read tomorrow. which is really going to mess you up since i won't be posting this review until way in the future, a future in which i will have already read (but likely not reviewed) that story and you will think you are magical time travelers but you are not.
anyway, read this story. i thought it was phenomenal.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
come to my blog!
July 28, 2015
The writing is brilliantly visceral, but this story is just not for me because of
1.snakes
2. incest
3. rape
4. All the above happening all at once
Somebody hand me a fluffy bunneh pls!!!
http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
September 30, 2025
When I saw snakes and a woman on the cover and noticed that the writer was Indian, I assumed that this is going to be about a nagini. Retellings with Gods and mythical creatures in a modern context is a trend I don't enjoy much, so I put this one off for a long time, but I'm glad I read it.
This story was nothing like what I imagined it to be. It was darker and creepier than I expected. Not sure how I managed to complete it.
TW: snakes, SA, incest, violence
This story was nothing like what I imagined it to be. It was darker and creepier than I expected. Not sure how I managed to complete it.
TW: snakes, SA, incest, violence
October 24, 2016
No, this is NOT a Harry Potter tie-in!
The exotic Eliza and her stunning partner Georgia are now the toast of the high-society art world. But in Eliza's past - before she was 'Eliza' - are disturbing secrets. We follow her back to when she was just Tallulah, a little girl with a single mom, living in poverty - and discovering some very strange abilities that may slither through her family's DNA. It's lucky for her that she has her beloved cousin Lola to support her. But will that support be enough, when their uncle Kenny is finally released from jail, and things start to go from bad to horror-movie-level-worse?
(PS, check out that gorgeous 'cover' art!)
The exotic Eliza and her stunning partner Georgia are now the toast of the high-society art world. But in Eliza's past - before she was 'Eliza' - are disturbing secrets. We follow her back to when she was just Tallulah, a little girl with a single mom, living in poverty - and discovering some very strange abilities that may slither through her family's DNA. It's lucky for her that she has her beloved cousin Lola to support her. But will that support be enough, when their uncle Kenny is finally released from jail, and things start to go from bad to horror-movie-level-worse?
(PS, check out that gorgeous 'cover' art!)
July 31, 2015
This story feels very understated, I would say. It's an interesting story, but it never really draws you in to the point you don't want to put it down like some books do. Despite this, though, the mystery behind the characters is still interesting enough to keep you reading.
You read it wondering about the characters, and their backstories as facts are slowly revealed. There's an obvious supernatural element going on with the story, but despite it being out in the open it's almost a background factor to the story. Thee supernatural aside, the main focus of the story is really on the characters - their interactions with each other, their histories, and the mysteries behind what their motivations are.
As the plot progresses we learn more about the characters, bit-by-bit in the way they interact with each other until the truth is made clear. With so much hinted at in the interactions, there ends up being very few points in the story that truly come as a surprise.
Despite so much interaction between characters, however, what I feel to be the story's major flaw is that there is constantly a certain level of emotional distance from the characters, even the main characters Lola and Eliza whose eyes we see through. You're never able to really become emotionally attached to the characters, or empathize with them even when the scene being shown is one that should be emotionally charged. Further separation is emphasized by the fact that in Lola's story, while the two children are likeable enough, the adults are each shown to be flawed in ways that often make it hard to commiserate with them, despite being able to understand their motivations. In Eliza's side of things, we're kept back even further with no real situations that engage readers on an emotional level, rather showing us a series of bland interactions with meaningless names that we never re-encounter. The exception to these disposable personas is
Georgia, who never makes enough of an appearance for readers to get any kind of clear grasp on who she is as a person.
Overall I'd say it's a story worth checking out - the characters in the main story are intriguing, as is the backstory that is slowly revealed. Personally, however, I don't think it's one that will stick out in my memory.
You read it wondering about the characters, and their backstories as facts are slowly revealed. There's an obvious supernatural element going on with the story, but despite it being out in the open it's almost a background factor to the story. Thee supernatural aside, the main focus of the story is really on the characters - their interactions with each other, their histories, and the mysteries behind what their motivations are.
As the plot progresses we learn more about the characters, bit-by-bit in the way they interact with each other until the truth is made clear. With so much hinted at in the interactions, there ends up being very few points in the story that truly come as a surprise.
Despite so much interaction between characters, however, what I feel to be the story's major flaw is that there is constantly a certain level of emotional distance from the characters, even the main characters Lola and Eliza whose eyes we see through. You're never able to really become emotionally attached to the characters, or empathize with them even when the scene being shown is one that should be emotionally charged. Further separation is emphasized by the fact that in Lola's story, while the two children are likeable enough, the adults are each shown to be flawed in ways that often make it hard to commiserate with them, despite being able to understand their motivations. In Eliza's side of things, we're kept back even further with no real situations that engage readers on an emotional level, rather showing us a series of bland interactions with meaningless names that we never re-encounter. The exception to these disposable personas is
Georgia, who never makes enough of an appearance for readers to get any kind of clear grasp on who she is as a person.
Overall I'd say it's a story worth checking out - the characters in the main story are intriguing, as is the backstory that is slowly revealed. Personally, however, I don't think it's one that will stick out in my memory.
March 24, 2017
Look at your princesses, Kenny. See how special we are.
Do you enjoy being emotionally destroyed? How about being punched in the gut by literature? Do you find yourself being drawn to fucked-up situations and characters, knowing you are in for a hell of a ride? Then BOY do I have the short story for you!
Read it here: http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
A pillow to hug and a stiff shot of alcohol are recommended, but not included.
Do you enjoy being emotionally destroyed? How about being punched in the gut by literature? Do you find yourself being drawn to fucked-up situations and characters, knowing you are in for a hell of a ride? Then BOY do I have the short story for you!
Read it here: http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
A pillow to hug and a stiff shot of alcohol are recommended, but not included.
January 22, 2021
I often find myself at TOR.COM perusing original fiction found on the sight. A lot of unique stories in all kinds of genres are found there. I happened to see this offering on a few of my fellow Goodreads member's shelves. I'm not one of those people affected by triggers. If you are, this one's a loaded gun. WARNING: Don't pull the trigger!
FABULOUS BEASTS examines the lives of a VERY dysfunctional family. Priya Sharma writes exceptionally well. While I'd describe it as a slimy story, it's a damn good slimy story!
https://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulo...
FABULOUS BEASTS examines the lives of a VERY dysfunctional family. Priya Sharma writes exceptionally well. While I'd describe it as a slimy story, it's a damn good slimy story!
https://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulo...
September 23, 2015
Snakes are easy. It’s people that I don’t know how to charm.
In both her work and personal life, Lola/Eliza is surrounded by vipers.
Though the subject matter is disturbing, this is an excellent, beautifully written story.
Keep an eye on this author.
So it is that serpents are reviled when it’s man that is repulsive.
In both her work and personal life, Lola/Eliza is surrounded by vipers.
Though the subject matter is disturbing, this is an excellent, beautifully written story.
Keep an eye on this author.
So it is that serpents are reviled when it’s man that is repulsive.
January 13, 2024
This short story is an excellent piece of writing that will captivate your attention from the very beginning. The author's masterful portrayal of disturbing events and vivid descriptions create a chilling atmosphere that is both mesmerizing and jarring. Despite the disturbing subject matter, I found myself unable to put it down until the very end.
August 16, 2015
Loved this,well written. Would read more of her work.
September 26, 2017
This was so well-written that I got goosebumps while reading. Errie and chilling, Fabulous Beasts was a very satisfying read and the perfect choice to get me out of my reading slump.
November 18, 2023
Wow.
This is a truly gripping, spellbinding story.
It's partly a story about childhood trauma, emotional and sexual abuse. That part is difficult of course, but well told and not gratuitous. Important.
It's partly a story about how people transform to protect themselves and others. That part is literal as well as metaphorical, and stunningly written.
The way she wraps the fabulous(as in fable) around the hideous(as in hidden and shameful) took my breath away.
I was not expecting the ending at all and it was so good it made me want to stand up and cheer.
I don't want to give away any actual plot points because this story deserves to be experienced at its own pace. Please read it and be mesmerized.
This is a truly gripping, spellbinding story.
It's partly a story about childhood trauma, emotional and sexual abuse. That part is difficult of course, but well told and not gratuitous. Important.
It's partly a story about how people transform to protect themselves and others. That part is literal as well as metaphorical, and stunningly written.
The way she wraps the fabulous(as in fable) around the hideous(as in hidden and shameful) took my breath away.
I was not expecting the ending at all and it was so good it made me want to stand up and cheer.
I don't want to give away any actual plot points because this story deserves to be experienced at its own pace. Please read it and be mesmerized.
October 22, 2022
Fabulous Beasts (Những con dã thú lộng lẫy): Trong một buổi tiệc xa hoa, một người phụ nữ nhớ lại tuổi thơ thiếu thốn và những bí mật gia đình đen tối ở miền tây bắc nước Anh. Tất cả đều tan vỡ kể từ khi người bác nguy hiểm của cô ra tù và tìm cách đòi lại những gì ông ta cho rằng thuộc về mình.
Dù có thể tiết lộ phần nào cốt truyện, mình vẫn buộc phải cảnh báo về một số nội dung nhạy cảm của truyện như bạo lực giết chóc, tấn công tình dục và loạn luân.
Đầu tiên, mình thấy thật khó tin khi bối cảnh của "Fabulous Beasts" lại ở Anh quốc thay vì châu Mỹ Latin. Ta được cảm nhận bầu không khí của những cánh rừng nhiệt đới nguyên thủy, một vẻ đẹp hoang dã mà nguy hiểm, vẻ đẹp dã thú của các nhân vật cùng câu chuyện của họ.
Truyện có hai tuyến thời gian hiện tại và quá khứ đan xen nhau. Ở hiện tại là các mẩu chuyện rời rạc về cuộc sống hiện tại của nhân vật chính Eliza. Eliza sở hữu một nhan sắc độc lạ. Eliza nghiên cứu bò sát. Eliza có người bạn đời xinh đẹp và nổi tiếng. Eliza bước đi giữa xã hội văn minh nhưng lòng khao khát những miền thiên đường hoang dại. Eliza, nàng công chúa được sinh ra từ đứa trẻ kì quặc tên Lola.
Nào, cùng quay ngược lại quá khứ để tìm hiểu về Lola - khởi nguồn của "con dã thú lộng lẫy" trong hiện tại. Lola sống trong một khu vực bần hàn nhiều tệ nạn. Lola vô cùng thân thiết với người mẹ đơn thân mạnh mẽ và cô em họ xinh đẹp. Lola có một tuổi thơ yên bình mà kỳ lạ, bị phủ bóng đen bởi sự tồn tại của người bác Kenny đang ngồi tù. Ban đầu, ta chỉ biết đến người đàn ông này thông qua nỗi sợ hãi mà mọi người dành cho ông ta. Đến nửa truyện, khi ông ta ra tù, ông kẹ chui ra khỏi gầm giường và vươn vai biến thành con quái vật đáng sợ. Ông ta trở về để đòi lại những thứ ông ta cho rằng thuộc về mình, vĩnh viễn thay đổi cuộc sống của Lola cùng những người cô yêu quý.
Tới đây, mình thấy cần cảnh báo mọi người lần nữa là câu chuyện đang tiến vào những lãnh vực đen tối, những chủ đề không hề dễ chịu, những phân đoạn kinh dị miêu tả sự biến đổi cơ thể liên quan đến loài rắn, trước khi dừng bước ở một kết thúc đẹp một cách kì dị y như hành trình trước đó của nó vậy.
Dù có thể tiết lộ phần nào cốt truyện, mình vẫn buộc phải cảnh báo về một số nội dung nhạy cảm của truyện như bạo lực giết chóc, tấn công tình dục và loạn luân.
Đầu tiên, mình thấy thật khó tin khi bối cảnh của "Fabulous Beasts" lại ở Anh quốc thay vì châu Mỹ Latin. Ta được cảm nhận bầu không khí của những cánh rừng nhiệt đới nguyên thủy, một vẻ đẹp hoang dã mà nguy hiểm, vẻ đẹp dã thú của các nhân vật cùng câu chuyện của họ.
Truyện có hai tuyến thời gian hiện tại và quá khứ đan xen nhau. Ở hiện tại là các mẩu chuyện rời rạc về cuộc sống hiện tại của nhân vật chính Eliza. Eliza sở hữu một nhan sắc độc lạ. Eliza nghiên cứu bò sát. Eliza có người bạn đời xinh đẹp và nổi tiếng. Eliza bước đi giữa xã hội văn minh nhưng lòng khao khát những miền thiên đường hoang dại. Eliza, nàng công chúa được sinh ra từ đứa trẻ kì quặc tên Lola.
Nào, cùng quay ngược lại quá khứ để tìm hiểu về Lola - khởi nguồn của "con dã thú lộng lẫy" trong hiện tại. Lola sống trong một khu vực bần hàn nhiều tệ nạn. Lola vô cùng thân thiết với người mẹ đơn thân mạnh mẽ và cô em họ xinh đẹp. Lola có một tuổi thơ yên bình mà kỳ lạ, bị phủ bóng đen bởi sự tồn tại của người bác Kenny đang ngồi tù. Ban đầu, ta chỉ biết đến người đàn ông này thông qua nỗi sợ hãi mà mọi người dành cho ông ta. Đến nửa truyện, khi ông ta ra tù, ông kẹ chui ra khỏi gầm giường và vươn vai biến thành con quái vật đáng sợ. Ông ta trở về để đòi lại những thứ ông ta cho rằng thuộc về mình, vĩnh viễn thay đổi cuộc sống của Lola cùng những người cô yêu quý.
Tới đây, mình thấy cần cảnh báo mọi người lần nữa là câu chuyện đang tiến vào những lãnh vực đen tối, những chủ đề không hề dễ chịu, những phân đoạn kinh dị miêu tả sự biến đổi cơ thể liên quan đến loài rắn, trước khi dừng bước ở một kết thúc đẹp một cách kì dị y như hành trình trước đó của nó vậy.
September 29, 2016
3,5 / 5
La ganadora del British fantasy award 2016 es una historia de terror sobre una extraña mujer que vive en una posición acomodada con su pareja, pero que ha sufrido una oscura infancia llena de privaciones y secretos en el noroeste de Inglaterra, en un sórdido barrio de Liverpool. A través de dos líneas temporales entrelazadas, Lola / Eliza irá recordando la desintegración de su familia tras la liberación de Kenny de la cárcel.
Violaciones, incesto, asesinatos, traiciones y personas metamorfas en serpientes que funcionan como el elemento fantástico de la historia. El elemento fantástico es escaso, y un mero mecanismo para hacer avanzar la trama a través de la metamorfosis, pero me ha gustado realmente lo que aporta dentro de la historia. Lo que sí que me ha parecido es que hay cierto distanciamiento emocional con el lector, puede que el tema complicado que maneja hiciera que este escrito de esta forma, pero me ha sacado un poco de la historia y no he llegado a conectar al 100% con sus protas.
La ganadora del British fantasy award 2016 es una historia de terror sobre una extraña mujer que vive en una posición acomodada con su pareja, pero que ha sufrido una oscura infancia llena de privaciones y secretos en el noroeste de Inglaterra, en un sórdido barrio de Liverpool. A través de dos líneas temporales entrelazadas, Lola / Eliza irá recordando la desintegración de su familia tras la liberación de Kenny de la cárcel.
Violaciones, incesto, asesinatos, traiciones y personas metamorfas en serpientes que funcionan como el elemento fantástico de la historia. El elemento fantástico es escaso, y un mero mecanismo para hacer avanzar la trama a través de la metamorfosis, pero me ha gustado realmente lo que aporta dentro de la historia. Lo que sí que me ha parecido es que hay cierto distanciamiento emocional con el lector, puede que el tema complicado que maneja hiciera que este escrito de esta forma, pero me ha sacado un poco de la historia y no he llegado a conectar al 100% con sus protas.
November 5, 2019
I read this here on Tor.com and it was amazing, horrific, dangerous, sultry, elegant - all the words that may be used to describe a snake could probably be used to describe this short story. Looking for more from Priya Sharma.
February 21, 2017
I don't know about the 'fabulous' part but yeah... quite disturbing, indeed. Well, let's just say - not the family history you would look forward to.
I liked this quote though: "Snakes are easy. It’s people that I don’t know how to charm."
I liked this quote though: "Snakes are easy. It’s people that I don’t know how to charm."
August 8, 2015
Fucking bizarre. I honestly do not even know what that was.
June 22, 2021
Lola is a girl with many secrets. She was raised by a single mother who was not always nice to her. She is also very close to her cousin Talulah and they do everything together. Lola also has an aunt, Ami, who is also the mother of Talulah. Ami and Lola's mom, Kathy, have a difficult relationship and they also have a brother who is currently in prison, Kenny. Kenny wants to be a part of their lives and Ami is more than willing to remain connected to him. Not Kathy though.
As Lola grows up, she struggles to understand why her mother acts the way she does and why they have to be so private, but she is thankful for having Talulah by her side. However, her life turns upside down when after an unfortunate event, she discovers she isn't entirely human, and as if that wasn't enough, an old 'friend' re-enters her and her mother's lives.
My thoughts about this story kept changing the whole time I was reading it.
I love reading about families with a complicated relationship/dynamics. I find them so interesting and relatable to an extent.
And I won't say that the dynamics in this were not interesting. Hey, I went from disliking Kathy for the way she treated Lola, to kind of understanding her and wanting to see her take revenge on those who hurt her.
But the plot in general was predictable.
I was able to predict everything that happened in this and I can't tell if that happened because I have consumed similar stories in the past or because the author played it too safe with this. Could be a mix of both.
I am not counting this as a negative though. In a 30 page story, there isn't room for many plot twists, but I just wanted to mention this anyway.
Besides enjoying the premise, I also enjoyed the more dramatic moments that were very nicely done. I understand that this isn't easy most of the times, because it's easy to make them fall completely flat or not make sense.
What I didn't enjoy, had more to do with the change of timeline, since the story goes back and forth between the past and the present, where we follow a child/teen Lola in the former timeline and an adult Lola in the latter. In my opinion, the story should take place within a single timeline and jump into the future near the end.
I also didn't like how there is zero to none depiction of Lola's trauma, especially after what she went through.
I was also neutral on the supernatural aspect of the story because there is no real reason for the main characters to be half-snakes, besides using it for the cool line "I had shed every part of my skin where he had touched me." and as the way to kill the antagonist, which was an anti-climactic scene, since he wasn't even conscious for it and was very quickly done.
And finally, I didn't like the part where we are told that Lola and Talulah are now a couple.
I mean, I saw it comin' from miles away, but there was literally no reason for it. Lola even goes so far as to say something along the lines of "We are monsters, we are sisters, we are lovers, deal with it."
Like, girl, it wasn't cool when Cersei Lannister did it, it's not cool now either, sorry.
Also, what's with all the incest in this? I get having the villain doing it and depicting it as the cruel, twisted thing that it is, but why have the protagonists doing it as well? It's not like it is a genetic thing.
Overall, this was an interesting story, although it had its flaws too.
If you made it so far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
As Lola grows up, she struggles to understand why her mother acts the way she does and why they have to be so private, but she is thankful for having Talulah by her side. However, her life turns upside down when after an unfortunate event, she discovers she isn't entirely human, and as if that wasn't enough, an old 'friend' re-enters her and her mother's lives.
My thoughts about this story kept changing the whole time I was reading it.
I love reading about families with a complicated relationship/dynamics. I find them so interesting and relatable to an extent.
And I won't say that the dynamics in this were not interesting. Hey, I went from disliking Kathy for the way she treated Lola, to kind of understanding her and wanting to see her take revenge on those who hurt her.
But the plot in general was predictable.
I was able to predict everything that happened in this and I can't tell if that happened because I have consumed similar stories in the past or because the author played it too safe with this. Could be a mix of both.
I am not counting this as a negative though. In a 30 page story, there isn't room for many plot twists, but I just wanted to mention this anyway.
Besides enjoying the premise, I also enjoyed the more dramatic moments that were very nicely done. I understand that this isn't easy most of the times, because it's easy to make them fall completely flat or not make sense.
What I didn't enjoy, had more to do with the change of timeline, since the story goes back and forth between the past and the present, where we follow a child/teen Lola in the former timeline and an adult Lola in the latter. In my opinion, the story should take place within a single timeline and jump into the future near the end.
I also didn't like how there is zero to none depiction of Lola's trauma, especially after what she went through.
I was also neutral on the supernatural aspect of the story because there is no real reason for the main characters to be half-snakes, besides using it for the cool line "I had shed every part of my skin where he had touched me." and as the way to kill the antagonist, which was an anti-climactic scene, since he wasn't even conscious for it and was very quickly done.
And finally, I didn't like the part where we are told that Lola and Talulah are now a couple.
I mean, I saw it comin' from miles away, but there was literally no reason for it. Lola even goes so far as to say something along the lines of "We are monsters, we are sisters, we are lovers, deal with it."
Like, girl, it wasn't cool when Cersei Lannister did it, it's not cool now either, sorry.
Also, what's with all the incest in this? I get having the villain doing it and depicting it as the cruel, twisted thing that it is, but why have the protagonists doing it as well? It's not like it is a genetic thing.
Overall, this was an interesting story, although it had its flaws too.
If you made it so far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
April 17, 2026
The book revolves around a lot of themes and touches social evils like sexual abuse, violence and child abuse. The story is quite short but it encompasses a lot of factors in it.
The story moves from a happy family to the abuse they faced when Kenny gets out of prison. The book is fast paced and full of turns without boring you down. The language is quite easy to understand and connect. One can feel the pain of the charaters. I felt that the snakes is used as a great symbolism. It connects to the fact that snakes can shed their skins and become an entirely new person. Most of the victims do feel the need to shed of the past so that they can move on to something. This part is beautifully potraited in the story.
The story moves from a happy family to the abuse they faced when Kenny gets out of prison. The book is fast paced and full of turns without boring you down. The language is quite easy to understand and connect. One can feel the pain of the charaters. I felt that the snakes is used as a great symbolism. It connects to the fact that snakes can shed their skins and become an entirely new person. Most of the victims do feel the need to shed of the past so that they can move on to something. This part is beautifully potraited in the story.
May 23, 2018
Priya Sharma, whose first collection of short stories All the Fabulous Beasts was published in May, recalled as a child her brother reading comic books, her mother Hindu mythology, and her father Hitchcockian tales.
“I came from a house where books were treasured,” she told me of her childhood in Cheshire, England. “Stories were loved in all their forms.”
Her own tastes were eclectic. She read Hardy too young, she said. Later came Jeannnette Winterson, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Isabel Allende.
No wonder she became a writer. No wonder as well she first became a doctor. Her love of stories informs her human and humane interests. She still practices medicine, though only part-time, not far from where she grew up.
Doctors are “very close to the human experience all the time,” she said.
“I’m a family doctor. You’re very close, very personal in the lives of people,” she said. “You follow them from cradle to grave.”
Though the 16 stories in All the Fabulous Beasts are flecked with the magical and the bizarre, they are human.
“If we’re not writing about people, what’s the point?” said Sharma.
Reading her, I found myself thinking fairy and folk tales were the first fantasies, with snakes and birds masquerading as human, and gods getting involved in human dramas, as they do in Western and Eastern mythologies. Along with Hardy, Sharma’s influences include Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, a reworking of classic fairy tales that she found “beautifully written and actually quite subversive as well.”
Sharma is more gently questioning than subversive. Her themes are often dark.
“I think I need to definitely read more comedy,” she said, and laughed.
In her story Rag and Bone she explores her distress over the widening gap between the haves and have-nots. The haves of Rag and Bone are buying body parts from the desperate poor. In an example of Sharma’s deft and vivid way with imagery, the broker is left feeling “like a rat, gnawing on a dying man’s toes.”
In another story, Dr. Sharma laments that “the modern NHS requires that everything be quantified, even misery.”
The Ballad of Boomtown is set in a not-to-distant, poignantly plausible future. The economy has collapsed. Sharma doesn’t give us riots or warlords exploiting the weak. Instead, we read about the aftermath of a tragically failed romance.
Sharma often puts women front and center. The heroine of Small Town Stories has a superpower. But it’s a grace note in the character’s life, not the main theme.
Her debut collection includes stories published over more than a decade in anthologies and magazines. I don’t want to be a spoiler, so I can’t say much about the long title story. It’s not over-sharing to say it is fabulous and about the nature of beastliness, was first published in 2015 and shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award and won a British Fantasy Award. That it was considered both horror and fantasy is typical of Sharma’s work.
“My favorite writing definitely blurs genre,” she said. “A lot of what I write is quite hard to pigeonhole.”
A lot of what she’s reading these days is by fellow writers who are expanding ideas of what fantasy and science fiction can be. Among others, Sharma recommends Aliette de Bodard, Tananarive Due, Marlon James, Victor LaValle, Usman Malik, Kelly Robson, Sarah Waters and Isabel Yap.
“There is room for lots of voices,” Sharma told me.
I’m glad hers is among them.
donnabryson.com
“I came from a house where books were treasured,” she told me of her childhood in Cheshire, England. “Stories were loved in all their forms.”
Her own tastes were eclectic. She read Hardy too young, she said. Later came Jeannnette Winterson, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Isabel Allende.
No wonder she became a writer. No wonder as well she first became a doctor. Her love of stories informs her human and humane interests. She still practices medicine, though only part-time, not far from where she grew up.
Doctors are “very close to the human experience all the time,” she said.
“I’m a family doctor. You’re very close, very personal in the lives of people,” she said. “You follow them from cradle to grave.”
Though the 16 stories in All the Fabulous Beasts are flecked with the magical and the bizarre, they are human.
“If we’re not writing about people, what’s the point?” said Sharma.
Reading her, I found myself thinking fairy and folk tales were the first fantasies, with snakes and birds masquerading as human, and gods getting involved in human dramas, as they do in Western and Eastern mythologies. Along with Hardy, Sharma’s influences include Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, a reworking of classic fairy tales that she found “beautifully written and actually quite subversive as well.”
Sharma is more gently questioning than subversive. Her themes are often dark.
“I think I need to definitely read more comedy,” she said, and laughed.
In her story Rag and Bone she explores her distress over the widening gap between the haves and have-nots. The haves of Rag and Bone are buying body parts from the desperate poor. In an example of Sharma’s deft and vivid way with imagery, the broker is left feeling “like a rat, gnawing on a dying man’s toes.”
In another story, Dr. Sharma laments that “the modern NHS requires that everything be quantified, even misery.”
The Ballad of Boomtown is set in a not-to-distant, poignantly plausible future. The economy has collapsed. Sharma doesn’t give us riots or warlords exploiting the weak. Instead, we read about the aftermath of a tragically failed romance.
Sharma often puts women front and center. The heroine of Small Town Stories has a superpower. But it’s a grace note in the character’s life, not the main theme.
Her debut collection includes stories published over more than a decade in anthologies and magazines. I don’t want to be a spoiler, so I can’t say much about the long title story. It’s not over-sharing to say it is fabulous and about the nature of beastliness, was first published in 2015 and shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award and won a British Fantasy Award. That it was considered both horror and fantasy is typical of Sharma’s work.
“My favorite writing definitely blurs genre,” she said. “A lot of what I write is quite hard to pigeonhole.”
A lot of what she’s reading these days is by fellow writers who are expanding ideas of what fantasy and science fiction can be. Among others, Sharma recommends Aliette de Bodard, Tananarive Due, Marlon James, Victor LaValle, Usman Malik, Kelly Robson, Sarah Waters and Isabel Yap.
“There is room for lots of voices,” Sharma told me.
I’m glad hers is among them.
donnabryson.com
November 7, 2016
Trigger warning: Rape, incest, snakes
Read this story here
Be it with movies or books, I’m picky when it comes to horror. I’ve mentioned multiple times before that I don’t scare easily, or in the conventional sense. Anything that relies on gore and jump scares to deliver it’s spookiness will not hold too much interest for me. I’ve sat through years of this kind of horror, and at this point, I’m just really careful with any horror-thing I pick up.
Except for when I want to watch a shitty horror movie on purpose. Those times don’t count. But I digress.
Fabulous Beasts is one of those special horrors that don’t rely on gore and jump scares to make your skin crawl. It’s a creepy and slimy tale about two cousins who aren’t quite normal, and whose lives change when their uncle is let out of prison. Right from the get-go, Sharma’s writing captivates you. She takes her time building the story, and once you hit the zenith of this little tale, you’re invested in these characters, Lola and Tallulah, and your skin is crawling.
Is this scary? Not in the traditional sense, no. You (probably) won’t lie in bed at night, wondering if there are snakes slithering in slow circles under your bed, waiting for you to fall asleep – for your hand to hang off the edge of your bed for them to use to join you on your comfy mattress. What you will do, if you can handle the subject matter, is devour this story in one sitting, and wish to God it had been longer.
This story isn’t too graphic, so if you think you can stomach it, I urge you to put it on your Halloween TBR. It’s worth your time. If you suffer from Ophidiophobia/Ophiophobia, then you might want to stay away from this one. There are a lot of snakes.
See this review and more at So We Read This Book
Read this story here
Be it with movies or books, I’m picky when it comes to horror. I’ve mentioned multiple times before that I don’t scare easily, or in the conventional sense. Anything that relies on gore and jump scares to deliver it’s spookiness will not hold too much interest for me. I’ve sat through years of this kind of horror, and at this point, I’m just really careful with any horror-thing I pick up.
Except for when I want to watch a shitty horror movie on purpose. Those times don’t count. But I digress.
Fabulous Beasts is one of those special horrors that don’t rely on gore and jump scares to make your skin crawl. It’s a creepy and slimy tale about two cousins who aren’t quite normal, and whose lives change when their uncle is let out of prison. Right from the get-go, Sharma’s writing captivates you. She takes her time building the story, and once you hit the zenith of this little tale, you’re invested in these characters, Lola and Tallulah, and your skin is crawling.
Is this scary? Not in the traditional sense, no. You (probably) won’t lie in bed at night, wondering if there are snakes slithering in slow circles under your bed, waiting for you to fall asleep – for your hand to hang off the edge of your bed for them to use to join you on your comfy mattress. What you will do, if you can handle the subject matter, is devour this story in one sitting, and wish to God it had been longer.
This story isn’t too graphic, so if you think you can stomach it, I urge you to put it on your Halloween TBR. It’s worth your time. If you suffer from Ophidiophobia/Ophiophobia, then you might want to stay away from this one. There are a lot of snakes.
See this review and more at So We Read This Book
July 27, 2016
The darkest of family secrets: rape, incest, murder and betrayal coil and writhe beneath the skin in this dark novelette set among the seedier neighborhoods outside Liverpool. Two timelines entwine to show how ugly little Lola along with her pretty sister-cousin, Tallulah, escapes her horror-filled past to become scientifically-successful, if not still socially awkward Eliza on the arm of her beautiful, celebrity lover, Georgia. More than just her name was sloughed off to become the adult survivor that she is.
The violence and psychologically scarred upbringing ring with fear and quiet desperation.
The novella contains a fantastical, dysmorphic element not unusual with themes of abuse, gender dysphoria, or abnormal sexuality. Adult Eliza works as a herpetologist with a specialty in vipers. She embodies many elements of the snakes she loves to overcome her family secrets and to escape her past.
This tale appears in The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2016 edited by Paula Guran, I received directly from Prime Books.
The violence and psychologically scarred upbringing ring with fear and quiet desperation.
The novella contains a fantastical, dysmorphic element not unusual with themes of abuse, gender dysphoria, or abnormal sexuality. Adult Eliza works as a herpetologist with a specialty in vipers. She embodies many elements of the snakes she loves to overcome her family secrets and to escape her past.
This tale appears in The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2016 edited by Paula Guran, I received directly from Prime Books.
May 27, 2016
My interrogator doesn’t look convinced. Nor should they be. I’m not even called Eliza. My real name is Lola and I’m no princess. I’m a monster.
That was really gripping and gut-wrenching. It was horrifying in every way, with a satisfying yet melancholy ending. So powerful.
When I was a kid, I found a whole shed snake skin in the wooded area behind my house. I thought it was a live snake, so I threw a rock near it to scare it off, but it didn't move and I realized it was a shed skin. I didn't know snakes shed their entire skin in one piece like that! I kept it coiled in an old jewelry box - it might still be around somewhere. No diamonds, though.
Read it here: http://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulou...
March 24, 2016
This intriguing short supernatural / horror novelette is the story of a strange woman living in luxury with her lover, but irrevocably tied to her childhood of deprivation and dark secrets in northwest England. The woman recalls the unraveling of the family upon her uncle's release from prison. The author explores the difficulties of growing up in a poor family, with an abusive uncle and a psychologically dependent mother. One of the best stories of the year.
This is one of my nominations for the Hugo Awards for best novelette: http://goo.gl/2BJp6G
This is one of my nominations for the Hugo Awards for best novelette: http://goo.gl/2BJp6G
April 30, 2018
Reading this one was an ambush. It sounded a tad cliched and bland in the beginning with Lola calling herself a monster and conversations amongst her family members that gnawed at the pace of the story, but that’s exactly what a concealed weapon is like: hitting you when you expect it the least, hard and unrelenting. Not only does the author draw upon Indian legends but deals with taboos like incest without batting an eyelid. It’s horror that is unapologetic, a weird tale with a creepiness that lives on your skin long after you are done with it.
February 13, 2019
Tor.com keeps my lunch break interesting, with another deliciously creepy-crawly novella; this one about a family hiding strange secrets and a dark past. I wish I knew more about how these folks came to be the way they are, but revealing that might have drained some of the wicked magic. Be aware "Fabulous Beasts" contains some potential triggers, but Tor warns you in its preface. (https://www.tor.com/2015/07/27/fabulo...) 5 solid stars.
July 17, 2017
I loved this short story, right until the end.
I found myself wanting to scroll and scroll and scroll, to find out what was going on, though I guessed a lot of it.
When I reached the end, though I expected it, I was still weirded out by it and disliked how it had turned out.
Excellent writing skills with such graphic detail it'll make your skin crawl.
I found myself wanting to scroll and scroll and scroll, to find out what was going on, though I guessed a lot of it.
When I reached the end, though I expected it, I was still weirded out by it and disliked how it had turned out.
Excellent writing skills with such graphic detail it'll make your skin crawl.
November 6, 2019
So, there's trigger warnings all over this story. I won't bother re-listing them. The signs all say 'Here There Be Monsters" and there are. But not the ones you expect. Or maybe they are. No spoilers but there's all kinds of monsters available.
November 29, 2016
Well, this was certainly different.
I think the incest was a little too much for me, though.
I think the incest was a little too much for me, though.
December 18, 2019
okay that got steadily more fucked up
Rep: wlw mc
CWs: incest, sexual abuse, rape
Rep: wlw mc
CWs: incest, sexual abuse, rape
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews