The Grisha #0.5
Leigh Bardugo
June 5th 2012
Tor
32 pages
Amazon (free)
There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls… or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, Shadow and Bone.I've been reading a lot of short stories lately. It seems like with the e-book, the novella and the short story are easier to publish. I don't remember nearly as many existing beforehand. Sure, there was the odd paranormal romance anthology that you needed to pick up in order to get a delicious snippet of your favorite characters. Now, like game add-ons, this seems to be the norm. Not that I'm complaining, some of these shorts have introduced me to new authors and series. Some have cemented my love of an author. Which would be the case with Leigh Bardugo.
This is another freebie short, released by Tor. Don't worry. It doesn't have any characters from the novels. It doesn't spoil the novels. In fact, it's a thing all it's own. A folk story told in a fantasy land? One that isn't just foretelling of the plot? That was refreshing. Usually fantasy novels tell folk tales and then the characters encounter whatever the story was about. This is just a story that the book NPC's might tell their children.
It had all the elements of a really good, disturbing folk-tale. It has some Hansel and Gretel elements but deviates far away from Grimm. The climax, in particular was nightmare fuel and particularly surprising. Honestly, I shouldn't have been as shocked. Fairy tales are usually dark and twisted.
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