It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s Women in Horror Month! Yayyyy! I have a whole month of woman-oriented content for you to feast your eyes upon, so get ready. I have a TBR the size of the known universe (you’d have seen this ludicrous list if you followed me on Twitter and seen photo-evidence if you followed me on Instagram). So, here goes with the inaugural post – Catfish Lullaby!
Synopsis:
Lewis is a town of secrets.
There have long been rumors of something unnatural in the swamp, and more than one person has gone missing. Many blame the Royce family while others believe in a local monster, rising from the dark waters.
As a child, Caleb witnessed something inexplicable the night the Royce place mysteriously burned to the ground. As an adult, Caleb returns to take over his father’s role as sheriff, and the long shadow of the Royce family returns to haunt him. Caleb struggles to solve an eerily familiar crime and finds himself face to face with another old mystery–the legend of Catfish John.
Awards/Nominations:
- Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novella (2019)
Edition:
E-book
This review copy of Catfish Lullaby was obtained via the Net Galley ‘Read Now’ function.
My Thoughts:
Catfish Lullaby is one of the most story-rich novellas that I’ve read in a long time. I don’t understand how A.C. Wise managed to cram so much into one little book! This book is ostensibly a southern folk tale, but it’s so much more than that.
“I was born to end the world.”
The story follows Caleb, one of the very few non-white residents in the small southern bayou town of Lewis. Caleb is the only child of the town Sheriff, he’s biracial, and he’s gay. Basically, he’s the local prejudiced bullies’ wet dream. And he certainly does get picked on.
One night, his next door neighbor’s house can be seen burning through the trees. Only nobody is in a big rush to put the fire out. See, these neighbors have a reputation for being mean, for being weird, for possibly being cultists. They get up to a lot of unsavory business there, and have for as far back as anyone can remember. They’re rumored to have started their own doomsday sort of cult.
“I can’t always keep the dark inside. All I did was let him see.”
Well, Caleb’s father isn’t about to let them all burn. He may not like them, but he’s still the Sheriff, and with that comes certain responsibilities. So he and Caleb head over to check it out. As the house burns furiously, the only member of the family to be found is Cere – Archie Royce’s daughter. The girl is the same age as Caleb. And she’s standing too close to the fire. And she seems remarkably unafraid.
“Sometimes you have to be scarier than the monsters.”
Although the story begins when Caleb and Cere are young people, it follows them into adulthood. Their paths diverged sharply not too terribly long after the fire, but they’re destined to come together once more to fight off something terrible – the end of everything.
About the Author:
A.C. Wise’s fiction has appeared in publications such as Uncanny, Shimmer, and Tor.com, among other places. She had two collections published with Lethe Press, and a novella published by Broken Eye Books. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as being a two-time Nebula finalist, a two-time Sunburst finalist, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. In addition to her fiction, she contributes the Women to Read, and Non-Binary Authors to Read series to The Book Smugglers.
Rating:
What a rich and wonderful story this is. Catfish Lullaby was a wonderful way to start off my Women in Horror Month’s reading!
Catfish Lullaby By A.C. Wise Broken Eye Books Published: September 3, 2019 ISBN: 1940372291 Paperback, E-book 110 Pages Author's Website
