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Dark Breakers
World Fantasy Award finalist for Best Story Collection
Locus Award finalist for Best Story Collection
“Welcome to a Gilded Era like you’ve never before known and will never be able to forget … If Titania herself were to commission a book, it would be this one.”
—Fran Wilde, two-time Nebula Award-winning author of Updraft and Riverland
"Cooney’s lush follow-up to Desdemona and the Deep offers five stories linked by an intricate shared world … Throughout, Cooney’s descriptions are extravagant and gorgeous, and the musical cadence of her prose makes it exceptionally easy to be drawn into the worlds she weaves … Romantic fantasy readers will find a lot to love."
— Publishers Weekly
A young human painter and an ageless gentry queen fall in love over spilled wine-at the risk of his life and her immortality. Pulled into the Veil Between Worlds, two feuding neighbors (and a living statue) get swept up in a brutal war of succession. An investigative reporter infiltrates the Seafall City Laundries to write the exposé of a lifetime, and uncovers secrets she never believed possible. Returning to an oak grove to scatter her husband's ashes, an elderly widow meets an otherworldly friend, who offers her a momentous choice. Two gentry queens of the Valwode plot to hijack a human rocketship and steal the moon out of the sky.
Dark Breakers gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella Desdemona and the Deep . In her introduction to Dark Breakers , Crawford Award-winning author Sharon Shinn advises those who pick up this book to "settle in for a fantastical read" full of "vivid world-building, with layer upon layer of detail; prose so dense and gorgeous you can scoop up the words like handfuls of jewels; a mischievous sense of humor; and a warm and hopeful heart."
“C. S. E. Cooney’s prose is like a cake baked by the fairies—beautifully layered, rich and precise, so delicious that it should be devoured with a silver fork.”
—Theodora Goss, World Fantasy and Mythopoeic Award-winning author of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series
“ Dark Breakers is compounded of voluptuous invention and ferocious structural loves—for new romances and old friends, for the works of hands, for mortality and its gifts, and all the possibilities of worlds bleeding, weeping, wandering into each other’s arms.”
—Kathleen Jennings, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Flyaway
“Few people create worlds as lavish and sensual as those that spring from Cooney’s effervescent imagination. Her writing isn’t so much inspirational, but inspiration gentry-magic spun into pages and paragraphs of glittering, fizzing, jaw-dropping beauty.”
—Cassandra Khaw, British Fantasy Award-nominated author of The All-Consuming World
MORE PRAISE FOR C. S. E. COONEY
"C. S. E. Cooney is one of the most moving, daring, and plainly beautiful voices to come out of recent fantasy. She's a powerhouse with a wink in her eye and a song in each pocket."
— Catherynne M. Valente, New York Times -bestselling author of Space Opera
"C. S. E. Cooney's imagination is wild and varied, her stories bawdy, horrific, comic, and moving-frequently all at the same time."
— Delia Sherman, author of The Evil Wizard Smallbone
"C. S. E. Cooney is a master piper, playing songs within songs. Her stories are wild, theatrical, full of music and murder and magic."
— James Enge, author of Blood of Ambrose
Locus Award finalist for Best Story Collection
“Welcome to a Gilded Era like you’ve never before known and will never be able to forget … If Titania herself were to commission a book, it would be this one.”
—Fran Wilde, two-time Nebula Award-winning author of Updraft and Riverland
"Cooney’s lush follow-up to Desdemona and the Deep offers five stories linked by an intricate shared world … Throughout, Cooney’s descriptions are extravagant and gorgeous, and the musical cadence of her prose makes it exceptionally easy to be drawn into the worlds she weaves … Romantic fantasy readers will find a lot to love."
— Publishers Weekly
A young human painter and an ageless gentry queen fall in love over spilled wine-at the risk of his life and her immortality. Pulled into the Veil Between Worlds, two feuding neighbors (and a living statue) get swept up in a brutal war of succession. An investigative reporter infiltrates the Seafall City Laundries to write the exposé of a lifetime, and uncovers secrets she never believed possible. Returning to an oak grove to scatter her husband's ashes, an elderly widow meets an otherworldly friend, who offers her a momentous choice. Two gentry queens of the Valwode plot to hijack a human rocketship and steal the moon out of the sky.
Dark Breakers gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella Desdemona and the Deep . In her introduction to Dark Breakers , Crawford Award-winning author Sharon Shinn advises those who pick up this book to "settle in for a fantastical read" full of "vivid world-building, with layer upon layer of detail; prose so dense and gorgeous you can scoop up the words like handfuls of jewels; a mischievous sense of humor; and a warm and hopeful heart."
“C. S. E. Cooney’s prose is like a cake baked by the fairies—beautifully layered, rich and precise, so delicious that it should be devoured with a silver fork.”
—Theodora Goss, World Fantasy and Mythopoeic Award-winning author of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series
“ Dark Breakers is compounded of voluptuous invention and ferocious structural loves—for new romances and old friends, for the works of hands, for mortality and its gifts, and all the possibilities of worlds bleeding, weeping, wandering into each other’s arms.”
—Kathleen Jennings, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Flyaway
“Few people create worlds as lavish and sensual as those that spring from Cooney’s effervescent imagination. Her writing isn’t so much inspirational, but inspiration gentry-magic spun into pages and paragraphs of glittering, fizzing, jaw-dropping beauty.”
—Cassandra Khaw, British Fantasy Award-nominated author of The All-Consuming World
MORE PRAISE FOR C. S. E. COONEY
"C. S. E. Cooney is one of the most moving, daring, and plainly beautiful voices to come out of recent fantasy. She's a powerhouse with a wink in her eye and a song in each pocket."
— Catherynne M. Valente, New York Times -bestselling author of Space Opera
"C. S. E. Cooney's imagination is wild and varied, her stories bawdy, horrific, comic, and moving-frequently all at the same time."
— Delia Sherman, author of The Evil Wizard Smallbone
"C. S. E. Cooney is a master piper, playing songs within songs. Her stories are wild, theatrical, full of music and murder and magic."
— James Enge, author of Blood of Ambrose
292 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2022
21 people are currently reading
612 people want to read
About the author
C.S.E. Cooney
196 books349 followersC.S.E. Cooney lives and writes in Queens, whose borders are water. She is an audiobook narrator, the singer/songwriter Brimstone Rhine, and author of World Fantasy Award-winning Bone Swans: Stories (Mythic Delirium 2015).
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 28, 2022
A few of the loosely connected novellas and short stories in this collection were self-published individually, but recently reworked slightly to accommodate the events in the author’s “Desdemona and the Deep”.
C.S.E. Cooney writes gorgeous prose evoking uncanny people and places, exuberant and vibrant, popping with a myriad of colours and sounds.
The first two stories are lush and romantic, focusing on two separate couples whose lives are inextricably tied to the linked worlds Cooney has created, humans inhabiting Athe, gentry (fae-like beings) inhabiting the World Beneath (Valwode), and goblins existing in the World Beneath the World Beneath (Bana the Bone Kingdom). The Worlds Beneath are full of surpassing beauty, violence and foulness in equal measure. Athe connects with the gentry world at Breakers (a mansion on an estate), which has a Day side on Athe, and a Dark side in the gentry world.
The first two stories occur pre-“Desdemona and the Deep”, while the remaining tales occur five years and later, after “Desdemona and the Deep”.
The Breaker Queen:
Artist Elliot Howell encounters a woman, Nix, at one of Desdemona Mannering’s parties at Breakers. Nix (the Queen of Dark Breakers) takes Elliott back to Dark Breakers, where there is war and the start of an incredible passion. The story is full of scrumptious prose.
4 stars.
The Two Paupers:
We discover more about sculptor Gideon and writer Ana (from story 1), and why Gideon has been trying to shove Ana out of his life. Ana is kind and powerful, and her actions cause tremendous change in the gentry world.
4 stars.
Salissay’s Laundries:
This story, taking place five years after “Desdemona and the Deep”, has a different tone than the previous two stories, and is also told in first person by Salissay Dimaguiba a journalist in Athe. Salissay is after her next exposé, and discovers some shocking truths about her world. There is so much energy coming off Salissay, and Cooney’s prose reflects it.
4.5 stars.
Longergreen:
Sixtyish years after “The Two Paupers”, Ana comes to a particular glade, to perform a very important task.
Cooney does a lovely job making me feel the weight of Ana’s years, and her deep love and grief.
4.5 stars.
Susurra to the Moon:
A fizzy drink of a story, revealing who Alban Idris, Ana’s friend, two queens are and what they get up to when bored.
4 stars.
Overall rating: 4 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Mythic Delerium Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
C.S.E. Cooney writes gorgeous prose evoking uncanny people and places, exuberant and vibrant, popping with a myriad of colours and sounds.
The first two stories are lush and romantic, focusing on two separate couples whose lives are inextricably tied to the linked worlds Cooney has created, humans inhabiting Athe, gentry (fae-like beings) inhabiting the World Beneath (Valwode), and goblins existing in the World Beneath the World Beneath (Bana the Bone Kingdom). The Worlds Beneath are full of surpassing beauty, violence and foulness in equal measure. Athe connects with the gentry world at Breakers (a mansion on an estate), which has a Day side on Athe, and a Dark side in the gentry world.
The first two stories occur pre-“Desdemona and the Deep”, while the remaining tales occur five years and later, after “Desdemona and the Deep”.
The Breaker Queen:
Artist Elliot Howell encounters a woman, Nix, at one of Desdemona Mannering’s parties at Breakers. Nix (the Queen of Dark Breakers) takes Elliott back to Dark Breakers, where there is war and the start of an incredible passion. The story is full of scrumptious prose.
4 stars.
The Two Paupers:
We discover more about sculptor Gideon and writer Ana (from story 1), and why Gideon has been trying to shove Ana out of his life. Ana is kind and powerful, and her actions cause tremendous change in the gentry world.
4 stars.
Salissay’s Laundries:
This story, taking place five years after “Desdemona and the Deep”, has a different tone than the previous two stories, and is also told in first person by Salissay Dimaguiba a journalist in Athe. Salissay is after her next exposé, and discovers some shocking truths about her world. There is so much energy coming off Salissay, and Cooney’s prose reflects it.
4.5 stars.
Longergreen:
Sixtyish years after “The Two Paupers”, Ana comes to a particular glade, to perform a very important task.
Cooney does a lovely job making me feel the weight of Ana’s years, and her deep love and grief.
4.5 stars.
Susurra to the Moon:
A fizzy drink of a story, revealing who Alban Idris, Ana’s friend, two queens are and what they get up to when bored.
4 stars.
Overall rating: 4 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Mythic Delerium Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
December 28, 2021
At first I felt like this book was beyond my depth. The Valwode and the concept of the veil-between-worlds was hard for me to grasp. However, as I read on, and as the worlds became more familiar, I was totally entranced. These stories were so delightfully weird and original. My imagination conjured such beautiful, grotesque and magical scenes. I had to grab a pen and paper and sketch the wonderfully unpleasant Susurra after reading her description. Plus the prose you guys. The beautiful, evocative, enchanting prose.
Dark Breakers was my introduction to C.S.E. Cooney. I was not familiar with her beforehand. But the magic and beautiful oddness of her storytelling has charmed me. I’ve just ordered Desdemona and the Deep because I don’t want this Dark Breakers experience to end.
Dark Breakers was my introduction to C.S.E. Cooney. I was not familiar with her beforehand. But the magic and beautiful oddness of her storytelling has charmed me. I’ve just ordered Desdemona and the Deep because I don’t want this Dark Breakers experience to end.
September 9, 2022
I adored Desdemona and the Deep. Set in the same world and featuring some of the same characters, these stories are luminous, strange, puckish, elegant, and beguiling. Cooney has a way with words and imagery. I learned the word adularescence from this book, for example--the quality of stones with a mercurial shimmer. Cooney has an eye for detail, and while this shines in her descriptions it also shines in the dialogue and banter between characters. There is a levity even in the darker moments. Each novella conjures a different scene in the three parallel worlds that lie at the heart of a mansion in Rhode Island in this Gilded Age-inspired fantasy. Delectable, enchanting, and just utterly lovely.
July 12, 2022
“Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before...” – 'Into the West'
I was reading 'Dark Breakers' at bedtime, and gradually drifted off to sleep. I dreamed...
...of the rambling Edgewood house, occupied by the Drinkwater family, surrounded by the fairy folk with whom they had made a bargain, in John Crowley's 'Little, Big'.
...of the misunderstanding of humans about the nature of magic and the Fey, and the dread presence of the Man with the Thistledown Hair, in Susanna Clarke's 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell'.
...of the attempt to resist fairy magic and draw an artificial boundary between our world and that of the Fey, and of the inevitable crossing between the two, in Hope Mirrlees's 'Lud-in-the-Mist'.
Then I awoke, and pondered the incredible homage that was 'Dark Breakers', and the comparisons with Breaker House and its Three Worlds of Day Breakers, Dark Breakers, and Breakers Beyond. Also, the sense of foreboding doom when the Woman With the Linden Branch Hands shows up.
This collection contains a number of interwoven stories that gradually reveal the nature of the human world (called 'Athe' here) and the darker worlds, the Valwode (accessed by Dark Breakers at midnight, when the bell bones sound) and the World Beneath the World Beneath, where the koboldkin dwell.
The book is full of the lush, descriptive language you would expect in a book about the Fey. It reminds me of the drunkenly-rich language that Cat Valente sometimes uses. The characters are sharply drawn, and become more sympathetic as the stories progress and we learn more about them and their backgrounds.
In an afterword, Cooney discusses the building of this world in various stories, most of which are collected here but not exclusively (the novella 'Desdemona and the Deep' is a separate volume).
Cooney is a fantasist of great imagination and style. And, obviously, knows and honors the ones who came before. She is one to watch.
I was reading 'Dark Breakers' at bedtime, and gradually drifted off to sleep. I dreamed...
...of the rambling Edgewood house, occupied by the Drinkwater family, surrounded by the fairy folk with whom they had made a bargain, in John Crowley's 'Little, Big'.
...of the misunderstanding of humans about the nature of magic and the Fey, and the dread presence of the Man with the Thistledown Hair, in Susanna Clarke's 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell'.
...of the attempt to resist fairy magic and draw an artificial boundary between our world and that of the Fey, and of the inevitable crossing between the two, in Hope Mirrlees's 'Lud-in-the-Mist'.
Then I awoke, and pondered the incredible homage that was 'Dark Breakers', and the comparisons with Breaker House and its Three Worlds of Day Breakers, Dark Breakers, and Breakers Beyond. Also, the sense of foreboding doom when the Woman With the Linden Branch Hands shows up.
This collection contains a number of interwoven stories that gradually reveal the nature of the human world (called 'Athe' here) and the darker worlds, the Valwode (accessed by Dark Breakers at midnight, when the bell bones sound) and the World Beneath the World Beneath, where the koboldkin dwell.
The book is full of the lush, descriptive language you would expect in a book about the Fey. It reminds me of the drunkenly-rich language that Cat Valente sometimes uses. The characters are sharply drawn, and become more sympathetic as the stories progress and we learn more about them and their backgrounds.
In an afterword, Cooney discusses the building of this world in various stories, most of which are collected here but not exclusively (the novella 'Desdemona and the Deep' is a separate volume).
Cooney is a fantasist of great imagination and style. And, obviously, knows and honors the ones who came before. She is one to watch.
December 26, 2021
The stories of C.S.E. Cooney mostly excel in atmosphere. They have a certain feeling to them that I haven’t found in many other authors, which slowly draws you in, with characters that feel like fairytale figures yet fully formed people of their own. Sometimes I get a bit lost in the story, but for the most part they’re enjoyable reads.
Individual reviews for each story:
The Breaker Queen (2/5)
This one was almost a DNF. Could not wrap my head around the story! I didn’t really understand what was going on anymore halfway through and honestly couldn’t bring myself to care enough to try. While I loved the prose, I wasn’t really reading the actual story, and had to power through to finish it. Maybe a re-read is in order, one day.
The Two Paupers (4/5)
After almost DNF-ing this collection, this story was an absolute joy to read straight from the start. It’s a delightful mythopoeic story filled with mystery, intrigue and romance culminating in a fantastic tale of artists and magic. The imagery in this story is beautiful.
Salissay’s Laundries (3.5/5)
This one was quite interesting; a journalist tries to infiltrate some kind of institution in an attempt to essentially prove magic exists. She’s very sceptical and gets up to a bunch of trouble. Just like the others, it’s kind of a slow burn, not much going on, and it had a bit of a middle drag for me.
Longergreen (4/5)
A very sweet story on grieving and a bit of interesting worldbuilding. Becomes much more meaningful after having read some of the previous stories in this collection. I especially liked how it interwove a historical event in the world with the personal story of some characters we got to know earlier.
Susurra to the Moon (3.5/5)
This was a very quick and cute absurd little short story. What I really like about C.S.E’s stories is how they are very much myths, with fairytale logic, yet they incorporate hard terms of science, referring to decidedly “real” organisations and facts of science, within this illogical feeling world. It’s an interesting paradox, and it works quite well.
Average rating: 3.4, rounded down to 3.
Disclaimer: I receive an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.
Individual reviews for each story:
The Breaker Queen (2/5)
This one was almost a DNF. Could not wrap my head around the story! I didn’t really understand what was going on anymore halfway through and honestly couldn’t bring myself to care enough to try. While I loved the prose, I wasn’t really reading the actual story, and had to power through to finish it. Maybe a re-read is in order, one day.
The Two Paupers (4/5)
After almost DNF-ing this collection, this story was an absolute joy to read straight from the start. It’s a delightful mythopoeic story filled with mystery, intrigue and romance culminating in a fantastic tale of artists and magic. The imagery in this story is beautiful.
Salissay’s Laundries (3.5/5)
This one was quite interesting; a journalist tries to infiltrate some kind of institution in an attempt to essentially prove magic exists. She’s very sceptical and gets up to a bunch of trouble. Just like the others, it’s kind of a slow burn, not much going on, and it had a bit of a middle drag for me.
Longergreen (4/5)
A very sweet story on grieving and a bit of interesting worldbuilding. Becomes much more meaningful after having read some of the previous stories in this collection. I especially liked how it interwove a historical event in the world with the personal story of some characters we got to know earlier.
Susurra to the Moon (3.5/5)
This was a very quick and cute absurd little short story. What I really like about C.S.E’s stories is how they are very much myths, with fairytale logic, yet they incorporate hard terms of science, referring to decidedly “real” organisations and facts of science, within this illogical feeling world. It’s an interesting paradox, and it works quite well.
Average rating: 3.4, rounded down to 3.
Disclaimer: I receive an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.
January 14, 2022
I was SO happy to receive an ARC of this one from the publisher. I was (and am) a HUGE fan of Cooney's work, and of her Tor.com novella Desdemona and the Deep. I've been hoping that a collection of the other works from Desdemona's world would be curated (and hoping new stories would appear as well!), and immediately jumped at the opportunity to request it when I realized what Dark Breakers was!
Reading Cooney's notes on what was collected, these are the two novellas prior to Desdemona, "The Breaker Queen" and "The Two Paupers," which have been expanded for this collection, as well as two shorter, new novellas ("Salissay's Laundries" and "Longergreen") and a new short story ("Susurra to the Moon"). I was thrilled to finally have "The Breaker Queen" and "The Two Paupers" in one place, and I think both of them benefit from the additions that Cooney made. The edits make for a smoother, richer reading experience in terms of continuity and worldbuilding. The new pieces also expand the world and characters, adding dimension and richness. "Longergreen" in particular is devastating and lovely, and builds on "The Two Paupers," which, in my opinion, is the strongest of the pieces.
I do think that the collection suffers from not including Desdemona. Understanding that that particular novella was published by Tor.com and could not be included, I think the Breakers reading experience (and the continuity of this particular collection) is best served by reading the first two novellas, picking up Desdemona, and then continuing with the rest of the pieces. There is enough context to put the pieces together, and the pieces are, indeed, separate elements, true, but if the selections are read in this order, the Breakers world becomes almost a novel-in-stories.
All of that to say, I love this world, and I love this collection. I am so glad that it exists, and I cannot wait to have a physical copy on my shelf. The characters (Ana! Gideon! Elliott! Nyx! Chaz! The Desdemonster!), the richly layered, detailed descriptions (I want to eat Cooney's words like cake), the historical elements woven in - all of it serves to craft as wonderful an artwork as any created by the artists it portrays (and their art comes alive, inspires love, creates social change, crafts protection, turns the tides of war).
Marvelous!
Reading Cooney's notes on what was collected, these are the two novellas prior to Desdemona, "The Breaker Queen" and "The Two Paupers," which have been expanded for this collection, as well as two shorter, new novellas ("Salissay's Laundries" and "Longergreen") and a new short story ("Susurra to the Moon"). I was thrilled to finally have "The Breaker Queen" and "The Two Paupers" in one place, and I think both of them benefit from the additions that Cooney made. The edits make for a smoother, richer reading experience in terms of continuity and worldbuilding. The new pieces also expand the world and characters, adding dimension and richness. "Longergreen" in particular is devastating and lovely, and builds on "The Two Paupers," which, in my opinion, is the strongest of the pieces.
I do think that the collection suffers from not including Desdemona. Understanding that that particular novella was published by Tor.com and could not be included, I think the Breakers reading experience (and the continuity of this particular collection) is best served by reading the first two novellas, picking up Desdemona, and then continuing with the rest of the pieces. There is enough context to put the pieces together, and the pieces are, indeed, separate elements, true, but if the selections are read in this order, the Breakers world becomes almost a novel-in-stories.
All of that to say, I love this world, and I love this collection. I am so glad that it exists, and I cannot wait to have a physical copy on my shelf. The characters (Ana! Gideon! Elliott! Nyx! Chaz! The Desdemonster!), the richly layered, detailed descriptions (I want to eat Cooney's words like cake), the historical elements woven in - all of it serves to craft as wonderful an artwork as any created by the artists it portrays (and their art comes alive, inspires love, creates social change, crafts protection, turns the tides of war).
Marvelous!
February 12, 2022
C.S.E. Cooney’s Dark Breakers collection has been a long time coming (she self-published two of the novellas herein in 2014 and 2015), but it has been worth the wait. These stories beautifully illustrate the overlapping layers of creativity, love, ambition, and self-identity that propel us as individuals and thus as a society.
The “thrice-enfolded worlds” mentioned in the book’s description are Athe (the World), home of humans, which is in the midst of an industrial revolution and all the societal upheaval that comes with it; the Valwode (the World Beneath), home of the Gentry, which is in the midst of a political upheaval; and Bana the Bone Kingdom (the World Beneath the World Beneath), home of goblinkind, which doesn’t figure heavily into any of the stories in this volume. The ways between these three worlds were once open but are now sealed off, travel between them limited to certain powerful individuals like Nyx the Nightwalker (Queen of the Gentry) and Kalos Kantzaros, king of all the koboldkin. And even for them, the crossing can only be done at certain times and certain places (as in the titular Dark Breakers / Breaker House). To most people in Athe the other realms are fairy stories and cautionary tales, the stuff of authors and artists.
It is not accidental then that the lead human characters of these stories are creatives: Elliot the painter, Ana the author, Gideon the sculptor, Salissay the investigative reporter. In their own way, each tap into the old beliefs, molding those tales into paintings, books, and sculptures that bring change, as art so often does. Change to Athe and change to the Valwode (and by extension, to Bana), although the extent of those changes is not immediately evident to the characters or to the reader.
So much of the characters’ creativity is tied up with their ability to love not just others but themselves. It is Elliot’s instant connection with an unassuming maid who goes by “Nixie” on the night of a grand party at Breaker House that sets the first novella in motion, but it’s the friendship between Elliot, Ana, and Gideon (and later Nixie) that underpins everything. Even when they don’t believe in themselves (and low self-esteem runs rampant among these three), they believe in each other, and at key moments that support makes all the difference in what they are able to accomplish with and for each other. I recognized a lot of myself in each of them: Elliot’s social anxiety in large crowds, Ana’s fears that her work isn’t as good as people say it is, Gideon’s attempts to hide what he really feels behind a bit of witty repartee (okay, I use dad jokes, but same thing), Nixie’s dislike of one she thinks is unworthy of the woman she comes to love like a sister. But also their unwavering support for each other even when they’re not getting along, their teasing and gentle prodding, their willingness to deprive themselves to help their loved ones out of tight spots. Along the same lines, I recognized in Salissay’s sense of social justice some of my anger at the way things are in our own world and my urge to make things better. (Salissay also seems to lack any self-doubt, which works against her a bit, but hey, no one is perfect!) The best fantasy books are centered around people we can relate to and recognize despite the otherworldly or supernatural setting, and Dark Breakers is very much among the best fantasy.
You do not have to have read Cooney’s novella Desdemona and the Deep to enjoy these stories, but if you have (or when you do), you’ll pick out the connections easily enough. They all stand alone very well, and all feature Cooney’s trademark love of language. If you’re like me, you’ll be so invested in the stories that you won’t notice the amazing craftwork, but it will hit you afterward how amazing is Cooney’s knack for the right descriptive word in each moment.
I’ll say again here what I said at the end of my review of Desdemona and the Deep: the stories of Elliot, Ana, Gideon, Nixie, and Salissay may or may not be concluded, but I hope we still have many more visits to the worlds of Athe, the Valwode and Bana in our future. I think there are many stories left to tell.
I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The “thrice-enfolded worlds” mentioned in the book’s description are Athe (the World), home of humans, which is in the midst of an industrial revolution and all the societal upheaval that comes with it; the Valwode (the World Beneath), home of the Gentry, which is in the midst of a political upheaval; and Bana the Bone Kingdom (the World Beneath the World Beneath), home of goblinkind, which doesn’t figure heavily into any of the stories in this volume. The ways between these three worlds were once open but are now sealed off, travel between them limited to certain powerful individuals like Nyx the Nightwalker (Queen of the Gentry) and Kalos Kantzaros, king of all the koboldkin. And even for them, the crossing can only be done at certain times and certain places (as in the titular Dark Breakers / Breaker House). To most people in Athe the other realms are fairy stories and cautionary tales, the stuff of authors and artists.
It is not accidental then that the lead human characters of these stories are creatives: Elliot the painter, Ana the author, Gideon the sculptor, Salissay the investigative reporter. In their own way, each tap into the old beliefs, molding those tales into paintings, books, and sculptures that bring change, as art so often does. Change to Athe and change to the Valwode (and by extension, to Bana), although the extent of those changes is not immediately evident to the characters or to the reader.
So much of the characters’ creativity is tied up with their ability to love not just others but themselves. It is Elliot’s instant connection with an unassuming maid who goes by “Nixie” on the night of a grand party at Breaker House that sets the first novella in motion, but it’s the friendship between Elliot, Ana, and Gideon (and later Nixie) that underpins everything. Even when they don’t believe in themselves (and low self-esteem runs rampant among these three), they believe in each other, and at key moments that support makes all the difference in what they are able to accomplish with and for each other. I recognized a lot of myself in each of them: Elliot’s social anxiety in large crowds, Ana’s fears that her work isn’t as good as people say it is, Gideon’s attempts to hide what he really feels behind a bit of witty repartee (okay, I use dad jokes, but same thing), Nixie’s dislike of one she thinks is unworthy of the woman she comes to love like a sister. But also their unwavering support for each other even when they’re not getting along, their teasing and gentle prodding, their willingness to deprive themselves to help their loved ones out of tight spots. Along the same lines, I recognized in Salissay’s sense of social justice some of my anger at the way things are in our own world and my urge to make things better. (Salissay also seems to lack any self-doubt, which works against her a bit, but hey, no one is perfect!) The best fantasy books are centered around people we can relate to and recognize despite the otherworldly or supernatural setting, and Dark Breakers is very much among the best fantasy.
You do not have to have read Cooney’s novella Desdemona and the Deep to enjoy these stories, but if you have (or when you do), you’ll pick out the connections easily enough. They all stand alone very well, and all feature Cooney’s trademark love of language. If you’re like me, you’ll be so invested in the stories that you won’t notice the amazing craftwork, but it will hit you afterward how amazing is Cooney’s knack for the right descriptive word in each moment.
I’ll say again here what I said at the end of my review of Desdemona and the Deep: the stories of Elliot, Ana, Gideon, Nixie, and Salissay may or may not be concluded, but I hope we still have many more visits to the worlds of Athe, the Valwode and Bana in our future. I think there are many stories left to tell.
I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
October 2, 2022
I really don't remember what attracted me to this book in the first place, but I bought it, and by the time I got around to reading it, it was too late to return for a refund. Not wanting my money to be wasted is the only reason I actually made it past the first few pages, but honestly, I wish I hadn't bothered. The first story has one of the most tedious beginnings of any book I've ever read, with NOTHING but characters talking for the entire first chapter. I nearly deleted it from my Kindle out of boredom. Here's a hint to any writers out there: readers won't care what your characters have to say before you've made them care about the characters themselves. And that won't happen just by having said characters jabber on and on and on without doing anything meaningful.
The first and last stories were the most tedious and pointless, in my opinion. The one about the investigative journalist was more interesting than the rest and actually had a little action in it, which is why I'm giving the book a second star. Overall, though, my advice is not to bother with Dark Breakers if you're looking for an exciting fantasy story, compelling worldbuilding, or engaging characters. I suppose fans of Jane Austin might enjoy it (due to the similar style) if they don't mind characters sleeping around. If that doesn't describe you, my advice is not to bother.
The first and last stories were the most tedious and pointless, in my opinion. The one about the investigative journalist was more interesting than the rest and actually had a little action in it, which is why I'm giving the book a second star. Overall, though, my advice is not to bother with Dark Breakers if you're looking for an exciting fantasy story, compelling worldbuilding, or engaging characters. I suppose fans of Jane Austin might enjoy it (due to the similar style) if they don't mind characters sleeping around. If that doesn't describe you, my advice is not to bother.
January 1, 2022
As this year is coming to an end I can easily say Dark Breakers was one of my favorite books this year. This is a collection of wonderful short stories/novellas full of magic and beautiful oddities. All of the stories in this collection take place in the same world, with a great atmosphere that sucks the reader in. The way Cooney described the characters was amazing. This was my first time reading Cooney's works and I would happily read it again!
February 11, 2022
HIGHLIGHTS
~prose like fairy fruit
~human art = Faerie warcraft
~even queens know a gift of a book = Best Friends Forever
~joyful decadence
~who wants roses when you can give your wife the MOON
~sometimes you have to save the git who keeps stealing all the toilet-paper
~there were no words !!! enough to describe this book SO I INVENTED MY OWN enjoy
This is a book for the dreamers. For the ones who never stopped peeking at the back of wardrobes, just in case; the ones who could never quite bring themselves to stop watching for a door where a door shouldn’t be. This is a book for everyone who ever ran a finger over the illustrations in their favourite storybook and ached; for everyone who stopped talking about magic because Grown Ups Don’t, but who never stopped wishing, never stopped wanting, never stopped hoping.
This book is jewel-tones and gilt and bells of bone. This book is secrets and yearning, terror and triumph, wonder and wildness. This book is a whisper and a song and a howl.
(Do you know why wolves howl? It’s to let other wolves know where they are.
Here we are. The dreamers, the wishers, the would-be world-walkers: here we are.)
*
When you sit down to write about the work of the one and only C.S.E. Cooney, you find all the words you know running through your fingers like sand, turned to dust from trying to touch perfection. You need to go on quests to find worthy words; east of sun and west of moon, to the waters of life at the end of the world. Maybe drinking from that well will give you the divine inspiration you need, give you a chance of describing the sheer gorgeous glory of the book you just read.
Maybe. If you’re lucky.
More likely, you’ll find yourself in the same predicament as all those who return from Faerie; unable to make yourself understood to those who’ve never been. Because reading Dark Breakers is just like that, just like being whisked off your feet into another realm entire: you fall into Cooney’s world and are swept away by it, consumed by it, forever changed. It’s not a crucible but it is a prism, not distilling you down but magnifying you into the more-ness of a firework, making you grow and glitter and gleam, turning you into a thousand shades of rainbow colour. Dark Breakers is beautiful beyond the power of words to describe, but even more incredible is what it does to you. Lighting you up inside, snatching your breath away, holding you hypnotised because it’s a reminder, a promise, a proof you can hold in your hands that the world is so, so far from grey. That it’s worth getting up in the mornings, darlings; it’s worth it to keep carrying on, because we have art and magic and wonder and books like this!
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~prose like fairy fruit
~human art = Faerie warcraft
~even queens know a gift of a book = Best Friends Forever
~joyful decadence
~who wants roses when you can give your wife the MOON
~sometimes you have to save the git who keeps stealing all the toilet-paper
~there were no words !!! enough to describe this book SO I INVENTED MY OWN enjoy
This is a book for the dreamers. For the ones who never stopped peeking at the back of wardrobes, just in case; the ones who could never quite bring themselves to stop watching for a door where a door shouldn’t be. This is a book for everyone who ever ran a finger over the illustrations in their favourite storybook and ached; for everyone who stopped talking about magic because Grown Ups Don’t, but who never stopped wishing, never stopped wanting, never stopped hoping.
This book is jewel-tones and gilt and bells of bone. This book is secrets and yearning, terror and triumph, wonder and wildness. This book is a whisper and a song and a howl.
(Do you know why wolves howl? It’s to let other wolves know where they are.
Here we are. The dreamers, the wishers, the would-be world-walkers: here we are.)
*
When you sit down to write about the work of the one and only C.S.E. Cooney, you find all the words you know running through your fingers like sand, turned to dust from trying to touch perfection. You need to go on quests to find worthy words; east of sun and west of moon, to the waters of life at the end of the world. Maybe drinking from that well will give you the divine inspiration you need, give you a chance of describing the sheer gorgeous glory of the book you just read.
Maybe. If you’re lucky.
Nyx was probably old enough to survive it. To sip of a mortal’s fumbling grasp at immortality–their words, their images, their art–and not die of it.
More likely, you’ll find yourself in the same predicament as all those who return from Faerie; unable to make yourself understood to those who’ve never been. Because reading Dark Breakers is just like that, just like being whisked off your feet into another realm entire: you fall into Cooney’s world and are swept away by it, consumed by it, forever changed. It’s not a crucible but it is a prism, not distilling you down but magnifying you into the more-ness of a firework, making you grow and glitter and gleam, turning you into a thousand shades of rainbow colour. Dark Breakers is beautiful beyond the power of words to describe, but even more incredible is what it does to you. Lighting you up inside, snatching your breath away, holding you hypnotised because it’s a reminder, a promise, a proof you can hold in your hands that the world is so, so far from grey. That it’s worth getting up in the mornings, darlings; it’s worth it to keep carrying on, because we have art and magic and wonder and books like this!
It might take her a thousand years, Nyx thought, just to make it past the first page. But if she did–once she did–and if she survived the rest, then reading such a book–finishing it–would confer upon her powers beyond even her belief. She would be able to hold millions of bellicose gentry spellbound with a single quotation, end a war with a whispered fragment chosen for its meticulous craftsmanship, its hope, its ambition, even a kind of ecstasy…
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
February 23, 2022
As expected, I still really enjoy Conney's playful writing. She never takes a story too seriously and still manages to have her characters wrap up my heartstrings and give them a tug. I love rooting for characters and I was there, she convinced me, with invisible pom-poms.
Back in the day I was told not to describe anything as "fun". It was overused and far too simple. Yes. Okay, yes. But I'm tired and busy but wanting to give my support for a unique, tasty bit of writing.
Dark Breakers was fun to read. Go read it.
((some spoilers below and mostly written for the author))
For various reasons I have no time to get into: here are some of my take-aways:
1. I love a good metaphor and she has a couple in there that are so great, a full grown picture exploded in my head. It tickles the word nerd in me. One was about the inside of a coat and one was about the stone curls on a statue.
2. The structure of this book is like eating Korean food with all the little dishes. Instead of one huge story, you're getting various tidbits from the same world in linear order. FUN
3. Coony is skilled in giving the reader a fully formed, complex, novel world is very little space.
4. It's a whimsical world with BANTER. Also, (go ahead and come after me 6th grade English teacher and I will come back at your with a string of VERY VERY VERY VERY) Fun
Of the numerous stories, the one I enjoyed the least was the first. Mostly because I am not a huge romance fan. If I'm going to do romance it needs to be awkward and complicated and not a right away thing.
Which leads into the second story being much more my thing. Though I'm way more team Ana than Gideon. He's a bit of a dick. I get why, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kick him for his lip. Happy for Ana though. She deserves whatever she wants. I just came away from it forking my fingers at and stabbing them at my eyes. Watch yourself, Gideon.
Oh, but then the third was my favorite. why? I don't know. I'm too tired to think. Probably because there was no romance and Salissay is a determined bad ass and I like how it was a bit spooky with the zealots and iron baby coffins. Yes....
Followed by the fourth that made me want to lay my head down because grief is something I know very well myself. Very well done and felt true to me.
The final was just silly and a great way, I think, to end the book. The leg hair was the best part and I never thought I'd write something like that. So much banter! Yes! Yes!
Back in the day I was told not to describe anything as "fun". It was overused and far too simple. Yes. Okay, yes. But I'm tired and busy but wanting to give my support for a unique, tasty bit of writing.
Dark Breakers was fun to read. Go read it.
((some spoilers below and mostly written for the author))
For various reasons I have no time to get into: here are some of my take-aways:
1. I love a good metaphor and she has a couple in there that are so great, a full grown picture exploded in my head. It tickles the word nerd in me. One was about the inside of a coat and one was about the stone curls on a statue.
2. The structure of this book is like eating Korean food with all the little dishes. Instead of one huge story, you're getting various tidbits from the same world in linear order. FUN
3. Coony is skilled in giving the reader a fully formed, complex, novel world is very little space.
4. It's a whimsical world with BANTER. Also, (go ahead and come after me 6th grade English teacher and I will come back at your with a string of VERY VERY VERY VERY) Fun
Of the numerous stories, the one I enjoyed the least was the first. Mostly because I am not a huge romance fan. If I'm going to do romance it needs to be awkward and complicated and not a right away thing.
Which leads into the second story being much more my thing. Though I'm way more team Ana than Gideon. He's a bit of a dick. I get why, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kick him for his lip. Happy for Ana though. She deserves whatever she wants. I just came away from it forking my fingers at and stabbing them at my eyes. Watch yourself, Gideon.
Oh, but then the third was my favorite. why? I don't know. I'm too tired to think. Probably because there was no romance and Salissay is a determined bad ass and I like how it was a bit spooky with the zealots and iron baby coffins. Yes....
Followed by the fourth that made me want to lay my head down because grief is something I know very well myself. Very well done and felt true to me.
The final was just silly and a great way, I think, to end the book. The leg hair was the best part and I never thought I'd write something like that. So much banter! Yes! Yes!
October 8, 2023
What an addictive, beautiful world Cooney has created in Dark Breakers.
I first heard about Cooney years ago when Gene Wolfe mentioned her in an interview, she was one of the writers he mentored and highly recommended keeping an eye on. And although her work is nothing like Wolfe’s, I can see why he was impressed. It’s just a pity I don't think he lived long enough to read this book, it'd make him proud.
Beautiful, lucid prose fills Cooney’s book to the brim. Her characters are unforgettable, and in a a world where humanity, the Faerie (the Gentry), and the Kobold/Goblin kingdom are separated into three levels of existence, they are all at risk. The humans live in the top layer of reality, the Gentry faery in the middle layer, and the Goblin kingdom exists at the lower level. These kingdoms are separated and impassable except for in certain locations and at certain times, and in such a rigid way that humans mostly don’t believe the other kingdoms exist. One of those places where the other worlds can be accessed is Breaker house which exists in some form on all levels of existence (Human/Gentry/Kobold), where much of the action happens.
Its a very weird and dark novel, full of very richly described and terrifying creatures, wonderfully romantic and romanticised characters (I say that in all the best ways), and beautifully written in eloquent prose fit for the setting and the themes of the enthralling, nail-biting story. It’s the kind of novel you dwell in and savour, not wanting it to end. The characters are unforgettable, the suspense visceral, and the descriptions and prose beautiful but never without substance and precision.
When the novel (more like a selection of long stories) was over, I was already searching the web for more stories set tin the Dark Breakers universe. I am not usually a great reader of romance novels, and this id firmly in the fantasy/romance genre — but Cooney won me over. I just couldn't get enough.
I first heard about Cooney years ago when Gene Wolfe mentioned her in an interview, she was one of the writers he mentored and highly recommended keeping an eye on. And although her work is nothing like Wolfe’s, I can see why he was impressed. It’s just a pity I don't think he lived long enough to read this book, it'd make him proud.
Beautiful, lucid prose fills Cooney’s book to the brim. Her characters are unforgettable, and in a a world where humanity, the Faerie (the Gentry), and the Kobold/Goblin kingdom are separated into three levels of existence, they are all at risk. The humans live in the top layer of reality, the Gentry faery in the middle layer, and the Goblin kingdom exists at the lower level. These kingdoms are separated and impassable except for in certain locations and at certain times, and in such a rigid way that humans mostly don’t believe the other kingdoms exist. One of those places where the other worlds can be accessed is Breaker house which exists in some form on all levels of existence (Human/Gentry/Kobold), where much of the action happens.
Its a very weird and dark novel, full of very richly described and terrifying creatures, wonderfully romantic and romanticised characters (I say that in all the best ways), and beautifully written in eloquent prose fit for the setting and the themes of the enthralling, nail-biting story. It’s the kind of novel you dwell in and savour, not wanting it to end. The characters are unforgettable, the suspense visceral, and the descriptions and prose beautiful but never without substance and precision.
When the novel (more like a selection of long stories) was over, I was already searching the web for more stories set tin the Dark Breakers universe. I am not usually a great reader of romance novels, and this id firmly in the fantasy/romance genre — but Cooney won me over. I just couldn't get enough.
February 9, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and Mythic Delerium Books for a copy of the eArc of C. S. E. Cooney's Dark Breakers. If you've read and enjoyed Desdemona and the Deep - as I did - you need to pickup this collection of novellas and stories that also takes place in Seafall City. It has been several years since I read Desdemona and the Deep, but Cooney's wonderful method of storytelling pulled me right in and helped me remember from the very first steps into Breaker House in Dark Breakers. The characters are fully formed in each story and many evolve over the course of several stories, Analise Field being a highlight. The stories I loved the most were The Two Paupers, Salissay's Laundries ,and Susurra to the Moon.
February 18, 2022
I LOVED this collection of connected stories, and I am very much looking forward to reading Desdemona and the Deep now.
The writing is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. It was challenging at first, a bit of a tangle, and then as I read it opened up and I fell in love with it. With Athe and the Valwode, humans and gentry and goblins, and doors that open at midnight and art that can change the world.
The characters were so layered and intriguing, so interconnected, and it was a joy to come to know them.
There was honestly nothing I would change about it - a rare thing - and I am hereby adding CSE Cooney's name to my list of favorite and must-read authors.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Mythic Delirium Books for providing an e-arc for review.
The writing is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. It was challenging at first, a bit of a tangle, and then as I read it opened up and I fell in love with it. With Athe and the Valwode, humans and gentry and goblins, and doors that open at midnight and art that can change the world.
The characters were so layered and intriguing, so interconnected, and it was a joy to come to know them.
There was honestly nothing I would change about it - a rare thing - and I am hereby adding CSE Cooney's name to my list of favorite and must-read authors.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Mythic Delirium Books for providing an e-arc for review.
December 21, 2021
First of all, i'd like to say that this is probably one of the best books i have read all year.
It was my first time reading any of Cooney's work and i was pleasantly surprised; the characters were delightfully eccentric and lovable, the prose was gorgeous and the over-all atmosphere just felt so lush! As an artist, this book was a total feast for my imagination. A lot of popular fantasy books nowadays depicts the fair folk, but i loved Cooney's take on them, making them just the right amount of achingly beautiful and terrifying.
I can definitely see myself shamelessly recommending this to all my friends - honestly, what a delightful read!
It was my first time reading any of Cooney's work and i was pleasantly surprised; the characters were delightfully eccentric and lovable, the prose was gorgeous and the over-all atmosphere just felt so lush! As an artist, this book was a total feast for my imagination. A lot of popular fantasy books nowadays depicts the fair folk, but i loved Cooney's take on them, making them just the right amount of achingly beautiful and terrifying.
I can definitely see myself shamelessly recommending this to all my friends - honestly, what a delightful read!
February 8, 2022
This was a beautifully atmospheric read. At first I was lost, and if asked I would say it reminded me of Alice in wonderland, because of how you don't understand what is real and how the story flows. But then it becomes very adult, and the whole time I felt like I was in a magical dream.
The book contains 5 stories, all in the same world. In this world there are three dimensions, but we only get a look into 2 of those. The human world where some artists are in the know, and are in high demand in the gentry world, a world built on dreams. I believe there is more about the 3rd in the book that takes place after the first two stories in this one, so I am very intrigued!
The book contains 5 stories, all in the same world. In this world there are three dimensions, but we only get a look into 2 of those. The human world where some artists are in the know, and are in high demand in the gentry world, a world built on dreams. I believe there is more about the 3rd in the book that takes place after the first two stories in this one, so I am very intrigued!
October 26, 2023
4 stars, a wonderfully atmospheric collection of short stories
Cooney’s big strength is luxuriating in the character so unlike almost every other collection I’ve ever read, the longer stories really shone and I was sad when I got to shorter stories. I love how effortlessly the stories manage to get the reader into the setting and the dark, intimating magic at work really is captivating. My one real complaint is that I think this collection is at its worst (worst still being quite good) when it starts spelling out the magic at play or the specifics of how Dark Breakers operates. Even with that minor flaw though, it’s a great collection of stories that I really enjoyed.
Cooney’s big strength is luxuriating in the character so unlike almost every other collection I’ve ever read, the longer stories really shone and I was sad when I got to shorter stories. I love how effortlessly the stories manage to get the reader into the setting and the dark, intimating magic at work really is captivating. My one real complaint is that I think this collection is at its worst (worst still being quite good) when it starts spelling out the magic at play or the specifics of how Dark Breakers operates. Even with that minor flaw though, it’s a great collection of stories that I really enjoyed.
February 19, 2025
Hilariously, I ended up coming to this after having read Desdemona and the Deep first, and learning separately that there was a whole world that CSE Cooney was already playing in. You get a combination of Fae gently overlapping with a fantasy steampunk society (that is actually actively interested in workers rights!!) and the weird and strange things those who overlap it can get up to. There are two new fun stories here, and honestly, it only makes me want to see more of the world. Great collection.
January 8, 2022
Thank you netgalley for giving me an advance copy of this gem!
Ok look, I love C.S.E Cooney's writing. I got my first taste with Bone Swans and I've never looked back. Everything is magic. Sometimes dark, but absolutely always full of life. Reading her stuff just makes me feel good, what else is there to say?
Ok look, I love C.S.E Cooney's writing. I got my first taste with Bone Swans and I've never looked back. Everything is magic. Sometimes dark, but absolutely always full of life. Reading her stuff just makes me feel good, what else is there to say?
May 26, 2023
So, so utterly delightful. I enjoyed Desdemona and the Deep but this makes me want to revisit it. The world created by these stories is both vibrant and dreamlike at the same time. I love Ana and Gideon and Nix and Elliot. Such a gorgeous world and writing. All of the gushing. All of the love.
June 3, 2023
going into it i had no idea it’d b a collection of stories so i might read the desdemona story, however i enjoyed these short stories for the most part (except two which i couldn’t care less about, so minus one star for that oopsies)
March 10, 2022
The Breaker Queen 1.5/5
The Two Paupers 4/5
Salissay’s Laundries 1.5/5
Longergreen 3/5
Susurra to the Moon 1/5
The Two Paupers 4/5
Salissay’s Laundries 1.5/5
Longergreen 3/5
Susurra to the Moon 1/5
June 11, 2022
A fabulous collection of short stories all filled with Cooney's magnificent prose.
October 27, 2023
Simply brilliant. I will happily read anything Cooney writes. This does a fantastic job of covering romance and fantastic in an anthology setting
June 5, 2024
Real review to come - I adore this setting.
December 16, 2025
I think Ms Cooney might actually be fae?
May 25, 2023
I would read someone contemplating an orange in the store if Cooney wrote it tbh
May 28, 2023
In the Three-Petal World, there were three realms: Athe, where mortals dwell, Bana the Bone Kingdom, hame of koboldkin and goblins; and Valwode, the between, the Dreaming-place, the realm of the Gentry.
But once the Ways between worlds became Walls, there was no road to traverse between them: except in certain times and places. Places like Breaker House, known in the Valwode as Dark Breakers.
Reading Dark Breakers is like a whirlwind descent: down, down the rabbit hole, into an ur-Fairyland. Consume it at risk of being consumed. Rich, strange and haunting, it is a heady draught reminiscent of Angela Carter in its fantastic imaginings. It blurs the lines between poetry and prose, dreamer and dream.
My illustration of Loreila Winter Touched: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsT5u1nod...
But once the Ways between worlds became Walls, there was no road to traverse between them: except in certain times and places. Places like Breaker House, known in the Valwode as Dark Breakers.
Reading Dark Breakers is like a whirlwind descent: down, down the rabbit hole, into an ur-Fairyland. Consume it at risk of being consumed. Rich, strange and haunting, it is a heady draught reminiscent of Angela Carter in its fantastic imaginings. It blurs the lines between poetry and prose, dreamer and dream.
My illustration of Loreila Winter Touched: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsT5u1nod...
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews